Fortress Besieged (10 VCDs, includes《Moonlight Box》and《The Monkey King Marries a Princess》)

Author: Qian Zhongshu
Publisher: Xiamen Yinyue Chubanshe
Publication Date: Not available
Features: Director: Huang Shuqin, Actors: Chen Daoming, Lü Liping, Li Yuanyuan, Shi Lanya, Yingda, 10VCD set, Mandarin audio.
Publication Number: ISRCCN-E20-97-323-00/V.J9
Those inside the city want to get out, and those outside want to get in—whether it’s marriage or a career, most people’s desires in life are like this. On the ship returning from studying abroad, Fang Hongjian meets the charming Bao Xiaojie, and his fellow university student returning with him, Su Wenwen, also shows interest in him. Upon returning to Shanghai, Fang Hongjian works at a small bank run by a relative of his. At Su Wenwen’s home, he meets her cousin, the innocent girl Tang Xiaofu, and falls for her at first sight.
The political strategist Zhao Ximento, who is pursuing Su Wenwen, does not follow the government to Chongqing but stays behind to pursue her. To defeat his rival Fang Hongjian, he challenges Fang to a drinking contest with his friends. The two become friends after the contest. Su Wenwen eventually marries someone else, and Zhao Ximento is deeply disappointed. Fang Hongjian also feels disheartened after being rejected by Tang Xiaofu. Together with a few others, they decide to teach at a newly established Sanlun University in the interior. Along the way, Zhao Ximento tells Fang that Tang Xiaofu has also left Shanghai for Chongqing.
The group travels tirelessly to Sanlun University but discovers that the university is rife with factionalism and intrigue, making teaching a challenging endeavor. Zhao Ximento becomes infatuated with his colleague’s young wife and is eventually forced to resign, moving to Chongqing. Deprived of his friends, Fang Hongjian grows close to a Miss Sun he travels with. Later, after becoming a casualty of the university’s factional struggle, Fang and Miss Sun leave Sanlun University together. They get married and travel to Hong Kong, where they coincidentally meet Zhao Ximento and Su Wenwen.
Upon returning to Shanghai, Fang Hongjian struggles to find suitable employment and takes on odd jobs at a newspaper office. Later, he loses his job and constantly argues with his wife over trivial matters. Eventually, he decides to go to Chongqing again to seek employment opportunities with Zhao Ximento.