Book of the Month: "Fortress Besieged" by Qian Zhongshu - one of the most famous Chinese novel in the 20th Century.The English version of the book has been published by both local and western publishers (e.g.Penguin) and is available at major foreign-language book stores in Beijing. Go to find it at the bookshelves of English books by Chinese publishers on the first floor (left) of Wangfujing Foreign Book Store or third floor of Wangfujing Book Store.

You are also welcome even though you may not have read a single page of the book yet. Just join our discussion!

Introduction

A masterwork of world literature, Fortress Besieged is a tale of love, marriage, calamity, disillusionment, and hope.

'This is my favourite Chinese novel'
Jung Chang, author of Wild Swans

Fortress Besieged is a classic of world literature, a masterpiece of parodic fiction that plays with Western literary traditions, philosophy and middle class Chinese society in the Republican era. The title is taken from an old French proverb, "Marriage is like a fortress besieged: those who are outside want to get in, and those who are inside want to get out". Set on the eve of the ferocious Sino-Japanese War, Fortress Besieged recounts the exuberant misadventures of the hapless hero Fang Hung-chien. This masterwork of world literature plays with Western traditions, picaresque humour, tragic-comedy, satire, Eastern philosophy and the mores of middle-class Chinese society to create its own unique feast of delights.