Fortress Besieged

Author: Qian Zhongshu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-05-01
Features: This is an interesting book. To be precise, it is a wise book, for its interest stems from the insight and satire of a sage into human nature. Fortress Besieged shows us how a truly intelligent person views life and how they express their "views" and "feelings" using the words that all writers must employ. The novel demonstrates that it can be written this way, and that such an approach exists in the higher realm of the novelist. One could say, Fortress Besieged has a dual charm: the life itself revealed by the author, and the author's own self-revelation. After reading Qian's works, including his academic writings, especially this Fortress Besieged, you will find that everything around you, including yourself, and even some things you were once quite passionate about, have taken on a significant comedic hue. In this book, I wanted to depict a certain segment of modern Chinese society and a particular type of character. When writing about such people, I did not forget that they are merely human—just humans, with the fundamental nature of bipedal, hairless creatures. The characters are, of course, fictional, but those who have a penchant for research will certainly not miss the chance to seek hidden meanings or to abandon their right to make associations. This book took me two full years to write. During those two years, I was often filled with sorrow for the world and its people, and I repeatedly considered giving up. Thanks to the constant encouragement of Ms. Yang Jiang, who shielded me from many distractions and saved me time, I was able to painstakingly complete it. As usual, this book should be dedicated to her. However, recently I've come to think that dedicating a book is like the phrases "dedicating oneself to the nation" or "returning power to the people"—they are merely empty fantasies spun from language. They say the work is handed over, but in reality, it's more like a flying knife played with by a magician: you let go, but you never truly release it. No matter how you dedicate your work to someone, the work always remains the author's own. At most, it's just a book—not worth being so cleverly dishonest about it. That's all.