Qian Zhongshu è stato uno studioso e scrittore letterario cinese, rinomato per la sua arguzia e erudizione. Le sue opere, in particolare il romanzo satirico La fortezza assediata, sono caratterizzate da un uso estensivo di citazioni sia in cinese che in lingue occidentali. Questo autore ha lasciato un segno significativo con il suo stile unico e la sua profonda comprensione della letteratura.
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.
Erzählungen, ausgewählt und mit Nachworte von Charlotte Dunsing, umfasst 192 Seiten.