Fortress Besieged

by Qian Zhongshu, Jonathan D. Spence (Introduction)

The greatest Chinese novel of the twentieth century. Fortress Besieged is a classic of world literature, a masterpiece of parodic fiction that plays with Western literary traditions, philosophy, and middle-class Chinese society in the Republican era. Set on the eve of the Sino-Japanese War, our hapless hero Fang Hung-chien (à la Emma Bovary), with no particular goal in life and with a bogus degree from a fake American university in hand, returns home to Shanghai. On the French liner home, he meets two Chinese beauties, Miss Su and Miss Pao. Qian writes, "With Miss Pao it wasn't a matter of heart or soul. She hadn't any change of heart, since she didn't have a heart." In a sort of painful comedy, Fang obtains a teaching post at a newly established university where the effete pseudo-intellectuals he encounters in academia become the butt of Qian's merciless satire. Soon Fang is trapped into a marriage of Nabokovian proportions of distress and absurdity.

Recalling Fielding's Tom Jones in its farcical litany of misadventures and Flaubert's "style indirect libre," Fortress Besieged is its own unique feast of delights. The translators Jeanne Kelly and Nathan K. Mao have breathed life into the English translation.

Genres: Fiction, China, Literature, Classics, Chinese Literature, Novels, Asia

448 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1947

About the author

Qian Zhongshu (Chinese name: 錢鍾書 / 钱钟书) (November 21, 1910 – December 19, 1998) was a Chinese literary scholar and writer, known for his wit and erudition.

He is best known for his satirical novel Fortress Besieged. His works of non-fiction are characterised by their large amount of quotations in both Chinese and Western languages (including English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Latin). He also played an important role in digitizing Chinese classics late in his life.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Yikang · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read the Chinese version years ago, recently some personal experiences provoked nostalgiac feelings and led me to dig this up again. In curiosity, I looked up the English version and wanted to see from another angle. I would give the Chinese version a 5 star, but English version at its best is a 2.5 star.

Unfortunately, the English translation does no justice of the author's talent, and I do not blame the translators after the read. This probably is the most difficult and worst book for translation, the book is best known for its writing skills, not the storyline. The author's wording, tone, pun, sarcastic criticism, cultural specific jokes, etc. made it almost impossible to translate its essence to western readers. Witty nonchalant yet sharp comments lose all their flavor into a bland description all the time.

One line from the sample,
"Meeting at a far corner of the earth, they became good friends at once, discussing the foreign threats and internal turmoil of their motherland, wishing they could return immediately to serve her."

Sounds simply like the returning students became friends and are worried about the motherland. Whereareas in the original Chinese wording, this sentence has a sarcastic wording poking fun at these students being useless, yet acted all patriotic just for the show, while deep down they were lazy and uncaring.

Immediate later sentences also had a tone poking at the students casually justifying their greed and gambling in mahjong with "in tune with world trends." which were lost in translation, at least to my interpretation.

Reading some quotes from other reviews I get that the translators managed to get some of the tones and wordplays across, and some naturally brilliant metaphors/jokes transversed wording and cultures. But most of the flavors are unfortunately lost or likely impossible to get across languages, as I myself can't come up with a sentence to convey any flavors either, the translators sometimes did convey some at least.

Again amazing work by the translator. It's just unfortunate that this book's essence cannot be translated. Publication by the author's wife mentioned that the author used to come up with hundreds of words of text in length, and read to her for criticism, and wanted to give up this writing project many times in the process, it is purely because of her support and request that this book was finished.

I love this book. Before I lost the paper copy in moving, it used to rest by my desk and I would often pick it up, flip to a random page, discover new messages, or just chuckle at some sentences. And as I aged I discovered new layers in many criticisms and jokes. It's a pity that these joys can't be had from the English version.

If you are looking for a good story, this is not the book. As for characters, without the playful wording, a lot of them lost their essence too. If you are somewhat proficient in or learning Chinese, the Chinese version is a gold mine and great learning material for subtle cultural layers. I apologize for all my blabbering and random thoughts, this is probably the least helpful review lol.

[João Reis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fang Hung-chien went abroad to study. He's a smart guy but didn't study much. He finally bought a bogus degree, but then was too honest to keep lying after he returned to 1937's China (during the Sino-Japanese War). Love problems ensue, and he moves from Shanghai to the unoccupied Chinese interior. The world is full of scoundrels and the university is no exception. Gossip, lies, schemes, and back-stabbing are the preferred methods to improve one's career. Hung-chien is still too honest for his own sake, and honest people usually end up with crap up to their necks. He's dismissed, he marries and moves back to Shanghai. But marriage is not really what he thought it would be.

A very funny novel (some people find the translation inferior to the original, but I think it's great anyway) about relationships, the academic world, differences between West and East, and also an important historical work on Chinese culture and history. Highly recommended.

[Tish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fortress Besieged (1947) is one of the most famous and influential Chinese novels of the 20th century, and yet I had never heard of it myself till last year. 钱钟书 writes about a generation of Western-educated Chinese youths, and is knowledgeable enough about Europe and America to poke fun at everyone, from French diplomats to the Irish, though he saves his most savage lampooning for the Chinese themselves. Perhaps he overdoes it a little, sometimes you want to tell his characters to JUST STOP, but recalling similar incidents with some of my own extended family members, I can say that he has accurately captured the pattern (though perhaps exaggerated the amplitude) of pettiness, sly bickering, and the combative mindset of constantly trying to take advantage of everyone and guarding against everyone else taking advantage of you.

For me, it was a fascinating look into life in 1930s China. There is a picaresque cross-country journey in which he mercilessly derides the country's backward and bureaucratic transport systems and the repulsiveness of Chinese innkeepers, and a couple of exhibits of labyrinthian Chinese office politics, one set at a university in the middle of nowhere, and a smaller one at a Shanghai newspaper. The marriage at the end (spoiler, the book is about courtship and marriage) was so believable it was painful to read, much like Madame Bovary. The blurb compares Hongjian to Emma Bovary, but 钱钟书 is no Flaubert and his prose does not rank at the top of the Chinese authors I have read, though he does have many insightful literary metaphors and satirical observations. I was surprised by how funny his writing was, and how often I burst out laughing in the first two-thirds of the book. For example, the scene where Hongjian meets the gauche, Americanised English-spouting 张先生 (p39) and the description of the landlady's carnage picking lice out of her daughter's hair at a bug-ridden hotel (p150) are friggin hilarious.

Here are highlights from the book (I have over 30 highlights and favourite passages):
p16: “谁知从冷盘到咖啡，没有一样东西可口：上来的汤是凉的，冰淇淋倒是热的；鱼像海军陆战队，已经登陆了好几天；肉像潜水艇士兵，会长时期伏在水里；除醋以外，面包、牛油、红酒无一不酸。”
[At a Western restaurant they thought looked respectable] “To their surprise, not a single dish from the cold cuts to the coffee tasted good. The soup was served cold and the ice-cream served warm; the fish was like the Marines, having landed days ago, while the meat was like the submarine corps, deployed for long periods underwater; and apart from the vinegar, all the bread, butter, and red wine were sour.”

p220 王先生得意地长叹道， “这算得什么呢！我有点东西，这一次全丢了。两位没看见我南京的房子——房子总算没给日本人烧掉，里面的收藏陈设都不知下落了。幸亏我是个达观的人，否则真要伤心死呢。”这类的话，他们近来不但听熟，并且自己也说惯了。这次兵灾当然使许多是有钱、有房子的人流落作为穷光蛋，同时也让不知多少穷光蛋有机会追溯自己为过去的富翁。日本人烧了许多空中楼阁的房子，占领了许多乌托邦的产业，破坏了许多单相思的姻缘。
[On his current residence] Mr. Wang sighed, “This is nothing! I used to have a few nice things, but now they're all gone. You gentlemen never saw my house in Nanjing––at least the house wasn't burnt down by the Japanese, but all my furnishings and collectibles are nowhere to be found. It's a good thing I'm an optimistic person, or else I'd die of grief.” Not only had Hongjian and Xinmei heard plenty of this kind of talk recently, but they themselves had said plenty of it. The ravages of war had certainly reduced many wealthy, landowning people to paupers, but at the same time it gave an untold number of paupers the opportunity to reminisce on their past riches. The Japanese burnt down so many imaginary mansions, seized so many utopian estates, and ruined innumerable one-sided romances.

Hongjian is a loser and not a likeable character, but 钱钟书 paints his woes so vividly that you cannot help but be immersed in his 进退两难 damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don't world. If you want to experience the headache of an authentic, demanding Chinese family and marriage, you have to read this book.

Note: I've heard the Jeanne Kelly & Nathan K. Mao translation is lacklustre, so try to read the original in Chinese if you can. It was slow-going for me but worthwhile in the end.

[Ethan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fortress Besieged is regarded as one of the great Chinese novels of the twentieth century. Published in the 1940s, and set in 1937-38 during the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese war that preceded World War II, it's supposed to be a triumph of social satire, word play, and uniquely Chinese cynicism about relationships, families, and human behavior in general.

If all this is true, then the translation in this version has not done Qian Zhongshu justice. Either that, or the social elements that he's sending up are so alien to a modern, western reader that getting the joke is a mostly hopeless endeavor. Put another way: at no point during my reading of Fortress Besieged was I able to discern what the big deal is about this book.

I suspect the translation is not up to the task of communicating Qian's mastery of Chinese puns, twisted word play, diction-based comedy, and subtle absurdism. He peppers his writing with ancient proverbs that can't be translated literally without losing all meaning, but the translators (Jeanne Kelly and Nathan Mao) make little effort to find English equivalents, and instead leave us with gobbledegook. Sentences that are most likely dripping with irony come across as confusing or incoherent.

Fortress Besieged needs an update. I'd be willing to try it again some day if a superior translation ever emerges.

[Yinxue · Rating 4 out of 5]

三十多岁才看围城，发现讲的根本不是婚姻。方鸿渐这种人，和那个时代的中国，无战事的2016，依然举目皆是，远望不到边。那种赤裸粗暴的习惯互撕，容不下丁点真善的迫不及待的呲牙咧嘴，对人际人生低智商低情商经营方式的根本性失败，惶惶然似曾相识。心有余悸。

[Justin Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

An odd book, sometimes clunky, but which ultimately stuck with me. The clunkiness is fairly straightforward: it reads more like a series of novellas parodying familiar genres (the tourist novella, the road trip novella, the campus novel, the romantic comedy, the romantic farce). Each of them has its merits, and they do hold together, just, but the structure is very odd.

That said, the parody and satire on both West and East (and West-in-East and East-in-West) is great. I'm unsure of the commentators' attempts to turn the book into a kind of existentialist zeitgeist thing about "what it means to be a 20th century Chinese man". I'm very sure that readers of twentieth century Anglofiction will enjoy it, as will any academics anywhere at anytime.

[Yvette · Rating 4 out of 5]

很多人说围城讲的是婚姻，但我不以为然。它描述的不仅是婚姻，更是家庭，事业，教育，文化与精神困境，“围城”意义贯穿各个层次。“围城”围的的不是婚姻，而是处于中西文化，传统与现代，理想与现实，愤世嫉俗而又无法脱离世俗的困境。用作者的话来说，这书讲的是“现代中国某一部分社会、某一类人物。”
围城，读着读着忍不住就笑了。作者笔工细腻，作者笔下的人活灵活现，很多特征在当代人身上满满皆是。虽说时代背景是抗日时期，但如今看来却没有时代感，因为当今社会也都是作者笔下主题突出的人物。书内人物大多是留学归来的年轻人，受到了西方文化的熏陶但又没有远大的理想，也缺乏同传统势力和思想斗争的勇气--就像方鸿渐，虽是书里怕是最好的一个人，但是庸庸碌碌，高不成，低不就，与世无争也于事无补，自以为高人一等，但是平庸的不能再平庸，无法把握自己的生活。全书跟着他的脚步走，难免让读者有种悲催的心情。虽然读着读着会心地笑了，笑里面的人，笑自己身边有同样性格特征的人，但是回头一细想，生活处处是“围城”，所以最后笑的还是作为人类的自己和这说不清楚的人生。
此书整体诙谐而又悲观，严肃而又可笑，读完之后心里不知是个什么滋味，但却使读者思考人类与社会的关系。人生要有追求，成功后不满足的不断追求，或许只有在不断的追求与实现希望中，人们才能摆脱真正的“围城”。

[AbdEl-Rahman · Rating 5 out of 5]

هي الرواية ديه بتأكد إنك تقرأ رواية واحدة مكثفة عن أحوال مجتمع ما -من وجهة نظري- أفضل من أن تقرأ كتاب (مجعلص) عن مجتمع ما.
تحكي الرواية عن شخص بلا أية مميزات ،بمعني أفضل شخص مهمش كأكثر الشباب في وقتنا هذا، فيحاول أن يجد لنفسه ميزة أو يجد شيء يميزه عن غيره من أقرانه فاختار أن يسافر بالخارج لإكمال تعليمه وقد ساعده في ذلك والده وصديق والده علي شرط أن يتزوج من ابنته، ولكن لحسن حظه ستموت ابنة ذلك الرجل بعد ذلك.
فذلك الشاب هو بطل الرواية، وعلي الرغم من ذلك تبدأ الرواية بالحديث عن شخص آخر ولعل قصد الكاتب ذكر هذا الشاب بشكل مهمش في أولي صفحات الكتاب لكي يؤكد علي تهميشه.
لم يسطع ذلك الشاب بطبيعة الحال أن يحرز أي انتصاراً في الخارج علي الرغم من حضوره لأكث من جامعه في أوروبا، ولكنه وبسبب ضغط والده يقرر أن يشتري شهادة التخرج، وبالطبع لن يشعر أحداً من أهله أن هذه الشهاده (مضرروبة) ثم يجئ الاختبار الأصعب وهو عليه أن يخطب أمام المئات من الطلاب ولكنه يفشل فشلاً محرجاً له ولابيه، ولكن أبيه يكابر ويبرهن فشله بأنه ليس إلا ارهاقاً وأن مستواه العقلي أكبر من مستوى عقل أبناء بلدته.
ثم تتصارع الأحداث وكأكثرية الفتيان في سنه يطلب منه والده الزواج، ولكنه لا يطيق الزواج الاعتيادي فقط يبحث عن قصة الحب المثالية.
فتغرم به فتاة، ولكنه يشعر بالغرور ويختار فتاة أخري هي لا تطيقه والنتيجة أنه خسر الاثنان.
وتستمر فشل ذلك الشاب المهمش فيسافر مع أحد أقاربه للتدريس مع أساتذة آخرون في جامعة جديدة، ولكن بسبب هجوم اليابانيين علي الصين استغرقت الرحلة وقتاً طويلاً.
ويذهب الي الجامعه، ويقع في غرام استاذة من هناك، ولكنه بطبيعة الحال يفشل كاستاذ في الجامعه، ويرجع الي والده مع الفتاة التي أًبحت زوجته، ولكنه يا لسوء الحظ يفشل كزوج وهنا تنتهي الرواية.
الرواية فيه وصف مدقق عن الأحوال في المجتمع الصيني والذي يشبه بدرجة كبيرة جداً أحوالنا في المجتمعات العربية كما أن الصراع بين الشباب وتقاليد المجتمع للخروج عن تلك التقاليد، والثورة الجامحة التي تتأجج في نفوس الشباب للخروج عن المألوف، ولكن في نفس الوقت لا يدرك أهذا صواب أم خطا؟! كل ذلك يمثل حصار للحصن الذي هو تسلط الأبوين والأجداد، وذلك يبدو جلياً عندما رفض ذلك الشاب وزوجته الركوع لأرواح الأجدا، الذي يعتبر سنه متبعه هناك.

[Mauricio Montenegro · Rating 5 out of 5]

¡Novelota! Aunque escrita hace casi 80 años, es para mí el mayor descubrimiento de lo que va de 2023. Cuenta la historia de Fang Hongjian, un bueno para nada que regresa a Shanghai tras vagar por Europa fingiendo estudiar. Cerca de cumplir los treinta años, se debate entre cumplir las expectativas de su familia y entender las suyas propias: el punto de encuentro es el matrimonio, esa inevitable prueba de la adultez. Tras intentarlo (sin demasiada convicción) con varias pretendientes, Hongjian termina casándose por cansancio. Entre tanto, asistimos a un enorme fresco de la China de los años 1930: Hongjian trabaja dando tumbos en un banco, una universidad y un periódico, sobre el fondo de la guerra con Japón, el crecimiento de las ciudades, la modernización y el esnobismo. Aunque por momentos la narración amenaza con volverse un cuadro de costumbres, siempre logra retomar el rumbo por su capacidad de crear tensión entre los personajes a largo plazo.
Si uno logra superar algunas convenciones retóricas (como la recurrencia de los símiles, comunes en la poesía china), la prosa avanza con elegancia.
Las últimas cincuenta páginas son devastadoras; ni Richard Yates logró recrear con tanta contundencia la amargura y la tristeza de un matrimonio que se derrumba. Y la última página, concebida con cuidado un par de capítulos atrás, es pura genialidad, una lección literaria en toda regla.

[Mustafa Emara · Rating 3 out of 5]

رواية اجتماعية شاملة جوانب كتيرة من حياة الناس فى الصين فى منتصف القرن العشرين سواء فى القرية أو المدينة ... بتتكلم عن الفرق فى التفكير بين جيل جديد من الشباب اللى سافرت أوروبا وجيل أبائهم ... وحصار الأباء لأولادهم فى خانة العادات والتقاليد ... والواحد بيقرأ الرواية تحس أنك بتقرأ عن عاداتنا وتقاليدنا فى القرى بس بشكل أوسع وأكثر تماسكا ... الزواج وتكاليفه والعادات الخاصة بيه زى عندنا تقريبا من مساعدة الأهل للزوجين وزيارات زوجة الأخ للبيت الجديد ومقارنة الأثاث وحكاية بيت العائلة .... الخوف من كلام الناس والحسد وأن زوجة الابن ملهاش وتقعد فى بيت زوجها أحسن .

الرواية طويلة ومملة فى أجزاء منها ومليانة حوار واجتماعيات ....

عيبها أنها مملة وفيها أخطاء فى الترجمة بس الاستفادة منها فى فهم الحياة فى الصين فى القرية والمدينة كانت استفادة كبيرة فعلا.

[Smiley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book readable, I think I should enjoy reading its Chinese copy more but I know just few Chinese words so I ordered a copy and gave it as a present to T., my bright Chinese student.

[杰 陆 · Rating 5 out of 5]

常常在梦里，每次要和自己不喜欢，但也不讨厌的人在一起的时候，就会有人在我耳边说，鸿渐兄，鸿渐兄……以前笑鸿渐，恨其不敢向晓芙表白，后来，遇到自己喜欢的人的时候，也如鸿渐似的，怕自己家庭配不上她，怕自己能力不及她……终于还是不敢说。现在，鸿渐兄倒是我常挂在脑子里的人，有时我做的像他，有时不像他，但总能含笑和自己轻声说，鸿渐兄啊，鸿渐兄啊

[Noah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vor dem Hintergrund der japanischen Invasion in China zeichnet Qian Zhongshu ein buntes Bild der damaligen chinesischen Gesellschaft der westlich orientierten gehobenen Mittelschicht. Sein Protagonist kehrt von einer Bummeltour unter dem Sobriquet "Auslandsstudium" zurück, die er mit einem falschen gekauften Doktor beendet hat und begibt sich Hals über Kopf in allerlei Liebeständel. Nach den ihn die Damen seines Herzens abgewiesen haben, nimmt er eine Assistenzprofessur einmal quer durch China an und die abenteuerliche Reise in Kriegszeiten gehört zu den Highlights dieses Romans. Vor Ort lässt er sich verkuppeln und bekommt wider Erwarten keine Vertragsverlängerung. Mit seiner Verlobten kehrt er zu seiner Familie nach Shanghai zurück, wobei er sie noch auf dem Weg in Hongkong heiratet. Ausgehend von den unterschiedlichen Erwartungen seiner Familie und seiner Frau, sowie der Tatsache, dass der Protagonist Hongjian ein ziemlicher Oblomow ist, ist die Ehe zum Scheitern verurteilt.

Die Handlung ist nicht berauschend aber der Roman zeichnet sich durch seinen subtilen Humor aus, bei dem Qian Zhongshu die westliche und die östliche Welt gleichermaßen sehr feinsinnig auf die Schippe nimmt. Die Ausgabe ist vorzüglich übersetzt und eingeleitet. So viel Wortwitz, Anspielungen und Wortspiele aus dem Chinesischen mitzunehmen ist schon eine besondere Kunst.

[Olive Huang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Humorous of harsh language and the deeper observation on life.

The title is based on a French proverb:

Marriage is like a fortress besieged: those who are outside want to get in, and those who are inside want to get out.

(Le mariage est une forteresse assiégée, ceux qui sont dehors veulent y entrer, ceux qui sont dedans veulent en sortir.)

[Sharon Zhao · Rating 5 out of 5]

常读常新 每一遍都看见从前和现在的自己

[吕不理 · Rating 5 out of 5]

十六岁HPY送我围城 二十六前再读一遍 方鸿渐太不体面 对浑身心眼的孙嘉柔心软 心软就无限接近爱情。小时候一度以为眼泪是女性必杀技 如今却觉得不了。你们女人总自顾自清高 矜持过头又自怜自艾 又当又立者不知凡几 想驾驭拿捏 讨巧卖乖 可一切不过幻觉。要我说还是真诚勇敢些好 受过的伤就当试错的风险 说不定能遇到真的爱情呢？

以及 我顶不喜欢杨绛写钱钟书 没劲透了

[Cheng Xu · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's the kind of classic masterpiece that you have to read in its original language to understand the subtlety, I can't even imagine how the translators could reproduce author's writing style. 50/5

[Jade · Rating 2 out of 5]

ik geloof echt dat het in de oorspronkelijke taal heel goed en grappig is maar engels werkte slecht

[Harker US Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a sad fact of English-language literature that the number of books translated from English and shipped around the world far outstrips that of books translated into English from other languages. That means the pool of books available to American readers in translation from, say, Mandarin is relatively limited—only works of scholarly interest, unusual acclaim, or specifically Western appeal make their way to our libraries. Fortunately, Qian Zhongshu’s classic Fortress Besieged meets all three criteria. Not only has it been the object of intense study and widespread consumption in the seventy-five years since its publication, but its consistent references to Western proverbs and literature make it uniquely relatable to an American audience. (The excellent translation by Nathan K. Mao and Jeanne Kelly also helps.) The reader follows Fang Hung-Chien, a graduate student returning home from Europe, as he stumbles through a sticky love triangle, an exhaustive trip to China’s interior, and finally a bitter and loveless marriage. The author’s intent sometimes seems to be to poke fun at every subject he can come up with, from the Chinese to the Jews, from government officials to university professors, from bachelors to husbands to women of every age. None of this, though, changes the novel’s unique and undeniable cultural value. - Andrew R. '17

[Ren · Rating 5 out of 5]

“围在城里的人想出来，城外的人想冲进去，对婚姻也罢、职业也罢、人生的愿望大都如此。” Been thinking about this a lot. Roughly: “those inside the castle want to get out. Those outside want to get in. The same is true for marriage, for careers, and for much of what we want in life.” I think this quote was from 杨绛, a brilliant writer and the author’s wife, but the metaphors are from the book. Contrast this with a platitude like “grass is greener on the other side.” What a joy to read :)

[két con · Rating 2 out of 5]

“Trên đời chỉ có hai loại người. Ví như một chùm nho đến tay, người này chọn quả ngon nhất ăn trước tiên, người kia để dành quả ngon nhất ăn sau cùng. Theo thường lệ, người thứ nhất hẳn là lạc quan, vì mỗi lần anh ta ăn một quả đều là quả ngon nhất trong số nho còn lại; người thứ hai hẳn là bi quan, vì mỗi lần anh ta ăn một quả đều là quả dở nhất trong số nho còn lại. Tuy nhiên trên thực tế hoàn toàn trái ngược, duyên do là người thứ hai còn có hy vọng, người thứ nhất chỉ có hồi ức.” - Tiền Chung Thư

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

400 pages of no story and no interesting insights. The main message is that everyone wants to get married but then everyone who gets married is miserable, but there was no commentary on why that is or why I should care. I threw an extra star on there because sometimes the writing was funny and sometimes the descriptions were clever.

[Kobe Bryant · Rating 2 out of 5]

its barely picaresque

[Eli Entrenebras · Rating 4 out of 5]

¿Puede un libro machista y xenófobo reírse de la falocracia y la xenofobia? Por supuesto que sí, y lo que es mejor, puede hacerlo con inteligencia y mucho, mucho humor.

En esta novela, Zhongshu se ríe. Se ríe de los extranjeros, esos franceses buenos para nada, esos yanquis que ya a mediados del siglo XX se creían el ombligo del mundo, esos japoneses que [inserte aquí cualquier comentario derivado de la mentalidad de posguerra sino-japonesa]; se ríe de las mujeres, seres hipócritas, controladores, despiadados y rebosantes de secretos; se ríe de la educación occidental, basada en locuras tales como la cordialidad entre el profesorado y sus alumnos; se ríe de los progresistas, esos individuos incapaces de mostrar su respeto por las tradiciones y las costumbres ajenas y siempre dispuestos a arruinar un matrimonio si con eso satisfacen su intransigencia.

Por suerte también se ríe de los chinos, ese pueblo que es una imposible unión entre las tradiciones más rígidas y las personalidades más volubles, donde la honradez es una utopía y el amor un significante vacío; ese pueblo de funcionarios buenos para nada; ese pueblo que aún a mediados del siglo XX se creía el ombligo del mundo. Por suerte se ríe también de los hombres, seres hipócritas, controladores, despiadados y tan estúpidos que son incapaces hasta de guardar un secreto; seres que en cuanto se encuentran cerca de una mujer tienen que debatirse entre la supremacía y la sumisión, pero se muestran inútiles a la hora de establecer un vínculo entre iguales. Por suerte se ríe también de los conservadores, esos individuos incapaces de mostrar su respeto por las novedades y las costumbres ajenas y siempre dispuestos a arruinar un matrimonio, eso sí, sin dejar de loar por un momento su condición de institución ancestral y de todo punto necesaria, porque nada malo puede haber en las tradiciones.

Se trata de un libro ameno, interesante y, sobre todo, divertido. Sabe armonizar su estructura casi folletinesca, donde los capítulos establecen separaciones temáticas y temporales claras, con un diseño de personajes brillante (salvo algún brochazo demasiado gordo aquí y allá en algunos personajes corales y humorísticos, totalmente planos). El estilo de Zhongshu es fluido y accesible, y sus habituales referencias culturalistas consiguen otorgarle profundidad sin entorpecer la lectura.

Haciendo un poco de metaliteratura, el comienzo de la historia recuerda a La bailarina; por momentos el argumento, y todo su personaje principal, es muy similar al de Botchan. El último capítulo tiene mucho de Abel Sánchez. Y el viaje de la mitad de la novela, alrededor del cual se organiza todo lo demás, me ha devuelto a la infancia y, sobre todo, a El Sulfato Atómico.

La traducción parece adecuada, aunque tiene sus momentos (¿"ordenar la comida"? ¿Nos hemos pasado todos al anglicismo como forma de vida?), la edición es tan impersonal y estéril como es costumbre en Anagrama, y pocas cosas justifican su precio: la sinopsis de la contraportada cuenta demasiado, apenas se incluyen notas aclaratorias y se echa en falta una introducción en la que se explicase al menos el contexto histórico, algo que habría dado una nueva dimensión a la lectura, especialmente para aquellos no iniciados en la literatura oriental.



"una pandilla de canallas bastardos y cretinos perros pekineses"

[Jean Cai · Rating 4 out of 5]

其实很多年以前读过，但是印象不深，没有标记。昨天一天之内一口气读完了。
最被人诟病的就是钱钟书的“金句式写作”。很多比喻都又刻薄又贴切又有典故，随手摘出都很有趣味。但金句太多太好，犯了喧宾夺主之忌。
整部小说的语言也好，特别是对话，各类人物跃然纸上。但是节奏太急，太密，缺少留白，也是一个缺点。
不过仍然是不错的小说，也很容易让人共情，因为主人公是这么一个中庸之人：有点才情又胸无大志，想自立上进又懒散清高，有点小聪明又不通人情世故，有点良心但怯懦胆小。受女人的骗，受女人的气；也受男人的骗，受男人的气。开局是自我感觉不错的归国留学生，兜兜转转，结尾是情场官场均不得意。但细思下来又很合理，因为主人公总在他人的“局”中，除掉一个好友比较真诚，其他人他都应付不了，因此结局总是苦涩。感觉“围城”的城就是人，整本书读下来，“他人即地狱”。怪不得虽然写得了这样的书，钱却是一个社恐了。
不由得想到张爱玲，觉得共通处是作者的国文功底都很好，且冷眼看世界。不同的是张更戏剧化，更追求美感、艺术感。钱更现实主义，不过我年轻的时候对《围城》也就更无感，因为我完全不懂人情世故，也感受不到艺术性，因此欣赏不了。现在才读明白很多部分，有几处还是靠“微信读书”的评论才明白的。

[Ivan Ruiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

La fortaleza asediada desmitifica cualquier idea romántica que tuvieramos sobre China y lo hace de una forma demoledora pero a la vez con un humor negrísimo que provoca que todo adquiera un tinte paródico muy llevadero. Los chinos tienen, en esencia, los mismos problemas que el común de los mortales, a saber: los matrimonios sin amor, el no saber qué hacer en la vida o los sinsabores de las relaciones interpersonales. Es cierto que Zhongshu mete a menudo sus críticas sociales sin importarle mucho si la cosa queda forzada o no (prefiero los relatos donde los temas están más escondidos o no se ven a la legua), abusando a veces de las metáforas y las comparaciones (algunas muy peregrinas) para situar al lector, pero uno se lo perdona porque por otro lado está soltando perlas continuamente. La etapa de la universidad de Sanlü y la recta final, de lo mejorcito.

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a satirical comedy of manners set in China in 1937 during the Japanese invasion, which only appears in the background. The language takes a little getting used to whether due to the translation or not, I couldn't tell. Almost every page has a funny metaphor, for instance: "He didn't realize that a person's shortcomings are just like a monkey's tail. When it's squatting on the ground, it's tail is hidden from view, but as soon as it climbs a tree, it exposes it's backside to everyone. Nevertheless, the long tail and red bottom were there all the time. They aren't just a mark of having climbed to a higher position." This is really maybe a 3.5.

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

a fantastic literary gem depicting a turbulent time of Chinese history. The original is much better than the translation but I guess this is unavoidable. There is much essence lost in the attempt to fit intricate Asian subtleties into western concepts.

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Chinese book, one I hope to read again. Funny, insightful, philosophical -- not much more one could ask from a book.

[Alisonnan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5星。前半部好多妙语，比喻新奇，但最后几章剧情好无聊，差点要放弃。