Fortress Besieged

Fortress Besieged (Wéichéng) is a satirical novel by Qian Zhongshu, first published in 1947 and regarded as a landmark of 20th-century Chinese literature. The story follows Fang Hongjian, a man who returns to China after aimlessly studying abroad with borrowed money, buying a fake degree to save face. On the voyage home, he pursues Miss Pao, only to be discarded when she reunites with her fiancé. Back in Shanghai, he becomes entangled with Su Wenwan, her cousin Tang Xiaofu, and Su’s suitor Zhao Xinmei.

Romantic misunderstandings lead nowhere: Tang moves away, Su marries someone else, and Fang and Zhao take teaching jobs at San Lü University. Their journey through the countryside introduces workplace politics, and Fang falls for assistant professor Sun Roujia. After both are forced out of the university, Fang and Sun marry on the way back to Shanghai. Their marriage quickly unravels under family interference and constant bickering, ending with Fang alone in an empty house listening to a clock.

Origin and History

Qian began writing in 1944 during the Japanese occupation of Shanghai, inspired by his wife Yang Jiang’s successful plays. His own experiences—studying abroad in the 1930s and traveling to teach at Lantian Normal College in 1939—shaped the plot and characters.

The title comes from a purported French proverb: marriage is a besieged fortress, with outsiders desperate to enter and insiders desperate to leave. The novel is known for its sharp asides, such as describing a character as “Partial Truth” because, unlike the naked truth, she was not fully unclothed. Qian never finished another novel; a second work, Bai He Xin, was lost when he moved to Beijing in 1949.

Publishing history

The book first appeared in Shanghai in 1947, with second and third editions in 1948 and 1949. After the Communist Revolution, it was not reprinted in mainland China until 1980, and it was also banned in Taiwan for its satire of the Nationalist government.

Influence

International translations began in the 1960s, and the novel is now available in English, French, German, Russian, and Japanese. Critics like Jonathan Spence and C.T. Hsia have called it a masterpiece of world literature and the greatest Chinese novel of the 20th century. Its influence persists in Chinese idioms; for instance, the fictional “Carleton University,” where Fang bought his fake degree, is used as a shorthand for bogus credentials.