Book Extract: "Fortress Besieged" by Qian Zhongshu, translated by Jeanne Kelly and Nathan K. Mao

Set on the eve of the Sino-Japanese War, Fortress Besieged recounts the exuberant misadventures of the hapless hero Fang Hung-chien. After aimlessly studying in Europe at his family's expense, he returns to Shanghai armed with a bogus degree from a fake university. On the French liner back, Fang's life becomes deeply entangled with those of two Chinese beauties -- when he does finally make it home, he obtains a teaching post at a newly established university, encounters effete pseudo-intellectuals, and falls into a disastrous marriage. A glorious tale of love, marriage, war, calamity, disillusionment and hope, this is one of the greatest Chinese novels, combing Eastern philosophy, Western traditions, adventures, tragicomedy and satire to create a unique feast of delights.

For dinner that evening, his mother herself prepared fried shredded eel, chicken wings in soy sauce, stewed chicken with melon and shrimps cooked in wine -- all his favorite local dishes. She picked out the best pieces for his bowl, saying, 'How terrible it must have been for you, living abroad for four years with nothing to eat!'

Everyone laughed and said she was at it again. If a person ate nothing abroad, how could Hung-chien keep from starving to death?

She said, 'I can't understand how those foreign devils stay alive! All that bread and milk. I couldn't eat them if they gave them to me free.'

Hung-chien suddenly felt that in this family atmosphere the war was something unbelievable, just as no one can think of ghosts in broad daylight. His parents' hopes and plans left no room for any unforeseen circumstances. Seeing them thus so firmly in control of the future, he too took heart and thought that maybe the situation in Shanghai would be eased, and there would be no outbreak of hostilities. And if there were, they could be brushed aside and ignored.