Qian Zhongshu était un érudit et écrivain littéraire chinois, réputé pour son esprit et son érudition. Ses œuvres, notamment le roman satirique Forteresse assiégée, se caractérisent par l'utilisation extensive de citations en chinois et en langues occidentales. Cet auteur a laissé une marque significative par son style unique et sa profonde compréhension de la littérature.
Published in English as Fortress Besieged.From Amazon:"Intended for learners of Chinese as a second language, this is an abridged version of the novel by Qian Zhongshu. [....] Maintaining the major plots true to the original, the abridged version of 40,000 words, represents approximately one-sixth of the original 230,000 Chinese characters."
Set on the eve of the Sino-Japanese war, this work recounts the exuberant misadventures of the hapless hero Fang Hung-chien, who after aimlessly studying in Europe at his family's expense returns to Shanghai armed with a bogus degree from a fake university. On the liner back, Fang's life becomes deeply entangled with those of two Chinese beauties.