Fang Hung-chien is a passive, incompetent, unstable person who can't stand the temptation, and even more a loser. His failure is due to his lack of rationality, belief, enthusiasm and strength to face the cruel competition for survival and serious spiritual crisis in modern society, and also because he is not a despicable person, and he still has some self-knowledge. Sometimes he wants to maintain his dignity as a human being.
Many scholars associate Fang Hung-chien with the image of "superfluous man" in Russian literature, but the tragedy of "superfluous man" lies in his ideological awakening and lack of courage and historical conditions for action, and the tragedy of "besieged man" lies in his mediocrity. "Redundant people" will give people an avant-garde and heroic sense of the times, while "besieged people", like us, are vainly looking for liberation or attachment as ordinary people.
Extended data
The book Fortress Besieged was written by the miser of Qian Zhongshu. The novel has no clear story clues, but some trivial plots pieced together by the author's trivial knowledge and experience. Generally speaking, a book with trivial plots must have excellent language skills if it wants to be a successful work. Qian Zhongshu's Fortress Besieged really applied language to the highest level. Therefore, reading Fortress Besieged can't just focus on the plot and ignore the language like reading ordinary novels. In that case, Fortress Besieged will lose its meaning of existence. The punch line in Fortress Besieged is the most successful part of this novel, and it is also the most admirable part.
The immediate background of Fortress Besieged is 1937 and a few years later, it is the period when China was invaded by Japanese imperialism. However, to understand Fortress Besieged, we must go back to modern times, especially since the Opium War. Under the artillery fire and warships of imperialist powers, China was forced to contact with the world, and the ancient civilization of the Chinese nation and western civilization began unprecedented confrontation, collision, conflict and even convergence and integration. This cultural phenomenon is embodied in a large number of international students-Qian Zhongshu is one of them, so it is of typical significance to dissect.
Fortress Besieged is praised as a modern scholar by many people because Qian Zhongshu satirizes intellectuals incisively and vividly in this novel. This satire is due to the times and human nature, and also to Qian Zhongshu's personal reasons.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Besieged City (Novel by Qian Zhongshu)