The first time I saw Fortress Besieged, I heard that it was forbidden, but I was still a little boy. I ate dates like a book. I don't know its goodness, and I haven't read anything. At that time, I never took notes when reading, nor did I read the author's introduction, content introduction and preface. But I read the main part directly, so I don't know who Qian Zhongshu is. I only read the general love story and didn't see why it became a banned book.
I reread Fortress Besieged this time in order to finish reading * * *, but I didn't expect to get stuck in it. I couldn't dial it myself, and even spoke with a "besieged city" accent. The simple and delicate descriptions and vivid metaphors in the book moisten the characters' experiences and the development of stories like spring rain, and then leave inadvertently.
Fortress Besieged was written for two years, first published in Shanghai in 1947, republished in 1948, and third published in 1949. Until 1984, every time it was reprinted, Mr. Qian Zhongshu would "correct a few typos", "or modify a few words" and "correct a few mistakes and omissions and modify a few words. It happens that this book will be printed for the fourth time, and those corrections can be inserted. " It can be seen that it is really "completed by accumulation."
First, the content introduction
When Fang Hung-chien returned from studying abroad, he brought the doctoral title he bought, his first love experience on the ship and his "scandal" with Sue. It never occurred to him that he would fall in love with Miss Su's innocent and straightforward cousin Tang Xiaofu.
Facing Su, who has brains, status and looks like a good family, "Fang Hung-chien looked at the general trend and panicked. Washing handkerchiefs, mending socks and sewing buttons are all small obligations that wives do to their husbands. Why should I enjoy these rights? By virtue of her husband's rights, of course, she is a husband. Otherwise, why is she willing to fulfill these obligations? Is there anything she said that could make her mistake it for her husband? Fang Hung-chien's hair stood on end at the thought. If the engagement ring is a symbol of falling into a trap, the button is also a symbol of being buckled. You should be vigilant! "
Fang's father thinks: "Women who have read several books are the most difficult to control. Men must be a layer taller than her and can't be equal to her. So college graduates marry middle school girls, and foreign students marry college girls. Only foreigners dare to marry a woman with a doctorate in studying abroad, otherwise men are at least male and female doctors. ..... The woman you marry must be better than my family, and the woman you marry must not be like my family. "
And Fang Hung-chien "hates modern girls in small cities all his life. Her fashion is outdated and urbanized, just like the first suit made by a tailor in China, she patched the old clothes of foreigners and put them on sleeves and trousers as usual."
But he can be himself in front of Miss Tang. He said: "A woman has the unique intelligence of a woman and is as light and lively as her actions. With this intelligence, learning is nothing more than precipitation. Saying that a woman is talented is like praising a flower, saying that it is as heavy as cabbage and sweet potato on the balance. A really smart woman never tries to be a talented woman, she is just smart and lazy-"
He also said, "Studying abroad now is the same as the imperial examination fame in Qing Dynasty. My father always said that those who were unsuccessful in the past would always regret how much your official had done. You can also get rid of this inferiority complex by staying in school, not for advanced knowledge. Going abroad is like getting pimples and thorns. You must go abroad. Children who have had acne can grow up safely, and they are not afraid of infection when they encounter these two problems in the future. We have been abroad, and we have made a wish. Our souls are sound, and when we meet these microscopic worms, doctors and masters, we have the resistance to self-defense. When the acne is over, we forget it; Those who have studied abroad should also say that they have studied abroad. "
When Fang Hung-chien wrote to, he was always ambiguous about Sue. Although he tried to make it clear several times, he repeatedly put it off. After breaking up with Tang Xiaofu, I was devastated. "When I returned the letter to Miss Tang, I was dull and insensitive. After a while, he woke up from fainting and began to feel heartbroken, just like the numbness of curled limbs. As soon as he straightened out the blood circulation, he felt tingling. I swallowed the whole pain yesterday, and I didn't have time to distinguish the taste. Now, like a cow ruminating, I chew a deep aftertaste intermittently. The sofa desk in the bedroom, the trees and grass outside the bedroom window, the people I meet every day are the same as usual, and have not changed at all, as if ignoring the sad and humiliating events. Strangely, at the same time, he felt that the world was dim, at least his own world had changed. His personal world is suddenly separated from the world where people live, just like a ghost isolated from the living, looking at Shi Yang's enjoyment, he can't get in, looking at the sun in Shi Yang, he can't get in. In other people's world, he can't get in. In his world, anyone can come in ... "
"Marriage is like a golden birdcage. Birds outside the cage want to live in it, and birds inside the cage want to fly out. So leave, leave, and there will be no games. " "The besieged castle, people outside the city want to rush in, and people in the city want to escape." Later, Fang Hung-chien mentioned this matter again and commented, "I feel this way about everything in life recently."
Su later married someone else, but Fang Hung-chien mistakenly became good friends with "sympathetic brother" Zhao, who introduced him to teach at the university. During this period, he married Sun Roujia "for a long time". After returning to Shanghai for work reasons, the two families disagreed and quarreled over trifles. ...
Hung-chien said, "It's a betrayal to tell you that marriage is so terrible."
Hsin-mei said with a smile, "You didn't betray your relatives, you betrayed them."
Dun Weng now understands why these two cousins are called "Qin Jin": "During the Spring and Autumn Period, Qin Jin married each other, but the world sought war. In-laws hate each other, and now it is very fierce. It is also appropriate to call them Qin Jin. "
"Hung-chien and Jou-chia are in a dilemma. They were fed up with their anger and had to vent on each other. Hung-chien was angry with his wife, but at the same time he felt that it was convenient to have a wife. Once upon a time, I wanted to keep my anger in my heart and not vent it at will. No one can be as happy as my wife. Needless to say, parents and brothers, friends will break up, servants will go on strike, and only the wife, like the bag of Fengshen in Homer's epic, has the largest capacity to suffer indignities. After all, divorce is not easy. Jou-chia also felt that there was no need to be as cautious about her husband as she was about her parents. But she is more educated than Hung-chien. When Hung-chien gets angry, she doesn't talk. She seems to be grabbing a rope with Hung-chien and trying to pull at both ends. When the rope was about to break, she took a few steps together and the rope was loose again. Although quarreling is the fastest way to get angry, everyone feels very tired and empty after quarreling, just like the psychology after the play is over and the wine wakes up. The quarrel before returning to Shanghai is just like the meal of the rich. It's too good to stay overnight. "
Sun Roujia is highly educated and has no special skills, but he is not stupid; Not beautiful, but not ugly; I'm not interested, but I have my own opinion. Fang Hung-chien "has a wide range of interests and no experience"; She has no interest except planning. Her world is very small, only inside and outside the besieged city. The freedom she enjoys is limited. She can squeeze into the city from outside the city or squeeze out from the city. Her greatest success was to marry a Fang Hung-chien, and her greatest failure was to marry a Fang Hung-chien. She and Fang Hung-chien are typical women among intellectuals. Thankfully, Sun Roujia's cleverness lies in that she can draw Mrs. Wang's "summary": ten red nails and one red lip. A young woman who envies and despises herself can be so sharp.
"It's naive to think so seriously about love before marriage now. To tell the truth, no matter who you marry, after you get married, you will always find that you are not married to the original person, but to another person. If I had known this, I could have saved all my pursuits, love and so on until I got married. The two met and fell in love, and both sides converged. They didn't know each other before they got married. Instead, the old marriage is simple, and no one knows anyone before marriage. "
"But every time many readers are interested in a novel, they are also interested in the author, taking the characters and plots in the novel as real facts. Some simply regard the protagonist of the novel as the author himself. Smart readers admit that the author can't be equal to the characters in the book, but they say that the characters and stories created by the author can't be separated from his personal experiences and thoughts and feelings. " (Mr. Jiang Yang)
In fact, there is another possibility, that is, the reader may find the shadow of someone he knows well in the novel, or read something that is empathetic and deeply recognized, and continue reading because of these familiarity and recognition, just like finding a bosom friend, and reading with a light at night is like having a long talk with a bosom friend, which is very enjoyable!
Second, what have I read?
1, Chu said, there is an old English proverb: "Marriage is like a golden birdcage. Birds outside the cage want to live inside, and birds inside the cage want to fly out; So leave, leave, and there will be no games. " Sue said, "There is also a saying in France. However, it is not a birdcage, but a besieged castle. People outside the city want to rush in, and people in the city want to escape. "
2. From marriage to Fortress Besieged, I finally feel that life is Fortress Besieged. Fang Hung-chien is constantly eager to break out of the "besieged city", but he has to enter another "besieged city". Fortress Besieged not only refers to marriage and love, but also reveals people's spiritual predicament. How many modern people do not have lofty ideals and lack the courage to fight against traditional forces and concepts. As a result, they can't even grasp their own lives. Like the protagonist Fang Hung-chien, Su, who is as cold as ice and gorgeous as peaches and plums, Li, a vulgar and greedy academic liar, and others who hide their minds under submission. ...
Some people think this is a novel about the isolation and communication between people. Others think that it explains the absurd philosophical proposition of life; Some people combine the fate of the characters with the realistic struggle life, and think that this absurdity is caused by their spiritual siege. Only in the face of a broad life can we get rid of the shackles of all kinds of besieged cities.
4. The famous ancestor clock, the precious clock that Fang Hung-chien's father gave his son and daughter-in-law as a wedding gift, is only 7 minutes slow, and now it has been 5 hours slow: this outdated timing inadvertently contains irony and sorrow for life, which is deeper than all languages and all smiles.
Some western critics say that Fortress Besieged describes the spiritual crisis of China intellectuals under the influence of western culture, while some people in China say that it shows the failure of modern western civilization in China. Qian Zhongshu, on the other hand, focuses more on mocking ridiculous, pitiful and shameful pseudo-intellectuals, and more on writing the embarrassment, embarrassment and dilemma in the cultural conflict between China and the West.
6. Fang Hung-chien wanted to enter the besieged Tang Xiaofu, but he couldn't. Su once thought that she had entered Fang Hung-chien's besieged city, but in fact she was outside. When she married Cao Yuanlang and lived a real bourgeois life that Qian Zhongshu absolutely needed to escape, she felt at ease. She once seemed to have entered a cultural siege, but only when she became a rich official did she really find her own place to live. You forced her with a gun. Fang Hung-chien didn't want to live in Sun Roujia, so he went in a daze. After marriage, he also has the impulse to rush out, but he is a passive person, afraid to act and will not act. On the surface, Fang Hung-chien's experience of going to San Lv University fits the metaphor of "besieged city" best, but in fact, Fang Hung-chien didn't feel at home at San Lv University because he still had some basic ethics of intellectuals, or the most basic ethics of being a man. Gao Songnian, Li and Wang Chuhou, are these people willing to come out?
7. Starting from the metaphor of "besieged city", it vividly shows the dilemma of "besieged city" of human beings: constant pursuit and subsequent dissatisfaction and boredom with the success pursued, contradiction and transformation between the two, hope and disappointment, joy and pain, persistence and vacillation-all these constitute everything in life. The dilemma of Fortress Besieged tells us that the result of life pursuit is likely to be illusory and seemingly pessimistic, but it is a serious pursuit in the bones, and the enthusiasm is deeply buried under the calm.
8. The satire in Fortress Besieged is more based on the anatomy of human nature. For example, Fang Hung-chien's famous fake doctor at Clayton University embodies the fraud, vanity, weakness and helplessness of human nature. Another example is that Li stole roasted sweet potatoes, Lu Zixiao bluffed with envelopes from the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Miss Fan gave herself English books that she could not use as a fake author. Ask yourself, it seems that not only these people have done these things, but sometimes we also include ourselves.
9. The cultural satire in Fortress Besieged is more based on the historical platform of cultural conflict and collision between China and the West. First, some drawbacks of China's traditional culture have been observed by modern culture, such as the pedantry of Mr. Fang Lao, Fang Hung-chien's father, and his thread-bound book "China people have a square personality, foreigners have a smooth personality, so the land is round". The second is to mock western culture mechanically, "just like the first tailor's copy of a suit in China, foreigners' old clothes are patched on both sides and made on sleeves and trousers according to the style", such as Yang Jingbin of comprador Mr. Zhang. The third is to explore the absurdity in absorbing western civilization and western culture. For example, in his speech at his hometown middle school, Fang Hung-chien said, "For hundreds of years, only two Western things have survived in China society. One is opium and the other is syphilis, both of which are western civilizations absorbed by the Ming Dynasty. " Another example is the tutorial system of San Lv University.
Third, my favorite sentence.
1, ..... He always thinks that this girlish accent is not worthy of Miss Su ... For example, the kitten chases its tail in circles, and we watch it for fun, while the puppy chases it and turns around with that short tail, saying that the fun is reduced.
2. Hung-chien said, "This is not a big professor engaging in politics, but a small politician engaging in education. In the past, people were not allowed to receive education, while in modern times, people were only allowed to receive some kind of education. People who are illiterate are taken in by teachers, while those who are literate are taken in by printed materials, such as your newspaper propaganda materials and handouts for training cadres. "
3, baked sweet potatoes, as the China proverb says, "It is better to steal than not to steal", and the fragrance is not as good as the taste; When you smell it, you think you must eat it. It's really delicious, but unlike you.
It is cruel to look at an ugly person carefully-unless he is a bad person, you should punish him. "
5. Hung-chien said, "This idea is very fresh. The existence of ghosts is indeed timely, like flowers in spring, but not in summer. "
6. Hung-chien said, "I find that flattery is like falling in love, and no third party is allowed to look on coldly. When we compliment people in the future, we must be careful that there are no others around. "
7. Hsin-mei said, "Traveling like ours is the best way to test a person's character. Travel is the most tiring, troublesome and exposed time. Only people who don't hate each other after a long trip can make friends-wait a minute, listen to me-on a honeymoon trip after marriage, on the other hand, they have to travel together for a month. After a month's travel, the two sides have not seen through each other, hated each other, quarreled and turned against each other, but they still have to maintain their original engagement. This kind of couple promises not to divorce. "
Gao Songnian, president of San Lv University, is an old scientist. The position of the word "old" is difficult. It can describe both science and scientists. Unfortunately, scientists are not the same as science; Scientists are like wine, the older they get, the more valuable they are, while science, like women, is worthless when they get old.
9. In the past, all libraries were like the brains of people who worked hard during exams and were the graves of learning; This library is like an old-fashioned charity that respects word paper. If God knows, his staff will not be struck by lightning in this life, and everyone will be smart in the next life and become a doctor.
10, Hsin-mei said like a sermon, "Where there is mass life, there is politics."
1 1, when it comes to poverty, it's hard to tell a lie.
12, Hung-chien suddenly found that the ugliness of westerners is different from that of China people: the ugliness of China people is the same as the result of the creator's cutting corners; The ugliness of westerners is like the creator's malicious performance, deliberately making fun of the five senses, so the planned ugliness has a role.
13, hung-chien gloomily back to the room. He was so happy that he found a friend to spoil his fun. Born to teach them to be lonely, they should repay each other one by one, and they should never contact each other. What can't be contained in the body, nor can it be digested or excreted. This is a personal matter. Why do you want to find a partner to share your unbearable feelings? When we are together, we will always offend others, or others will offend ourselves. Just like hedgehogs, we have to keep our distance from each other and be close and United. Either you stab my flesh or I scrape your skin. Hung-chien really wants to talk about these feelings with someone who can understand himself. Miss Sun seems to know herself better than Zhao. At least she is interested in listening to her own words-but just now, people should avoid contact. How can she find a woman? Maybe men are like hedgehogs and men are like women-Hung-chien couldn't think of anything like it, so he opened his notes to prepare his homework for tomorrow.
14, the new wife got sick as soon as she entered the door. Wang Chuhou impeached someone himself, but the official failed. Thanks to the official's somersault, like a cat falling from a height, it always lands on all fours, so it won't be too embarrassing.
15, this war disaster has certainly left many people with money and houses homeless and destitute, and it has also given many poor people a chance to trace back to their past prosperity. The Japanese burned many castles in the air, occupied many utopian industries and destroyed many unrequited marriages.
16, Miss Fan found a secret in her heart, which was as painful as coughing in her throat. Important people know that they have secrets, but they don't let others know what they are. This is the vanity of human nature. When they ask and let them guess.
17, the meaning of a word, in the listener's mind, often like a strange cat into the room, there is no sound. After a while, meow, you realize it exists.
18, this is too much like a poor little girl who is not sensible. Hsin-mei said she was playing dumb, which may be true. Hung-chien's suspicion is like a swallow skimming across the water. Miss sun not only asks for his advice, but also obeys him, which is enough for him, and there is no room for doubt in his heart.
19, I got my degree to coax my thesis into my husband; Teaching is to fool your students with handouts.
20. "There are only two kinds of people in the world. For example, if you get a bunch of grapes, one person chooses the best to eat first, and the other person saves the best for last. The first person should be optimistic as usual, because every grape he eats is the best grape left over; The second one should be pessimistic, because every grape he eats is the worst grape left. But it is actually counterproductive, because the second person still has hope, and the first person only has memories. " From falling in love to growing old together, it is like a bunch of grapes. There is always the best, and there is only one best. How good is it to keep hope?
2 1, leaving a place is equivalent to dying once. Knowing that death is inevitable, I always hope that others will express their willingness to live by themselves. Fame after death is as concerned as sorrow, joy, honor and disgrace after death, and I can't know. I am deeply afraid of going or dying, just like a foreign candle goes out, leaving only an unpleasant smell. Someone said goodbye, as if the dying person had a dutiful son and grandson, and he closed his eyes with peace of mind. These students come and go, and the temporary excitement aggravated his loneliness and he couldn't sleep in the middle of the night. Although I hate this place, when I left, I was disappointed because I couldn't come back later. The human heart is so unpredictable. When I came last year, only two companions have gone back now. Thanks to Jou-chia, otherwise I would have lost my job and walked this long way alone. I really have no courage. When Hung-chien thought of this place, he felt a little warm psychologically, like a huddled body on a winter night, and only hated that she was not around.
22. Hung-chien chuckled. Women are born politicians. They slandered each other behind their backs, with a deep affection on their faces. I'm afraid the efforts of the two political opponents to clink glasses at the champagne party are so much. If I hadn't heard them mean to each other with my own ears, I would have thought they were really good friends.
23. Hung-chien's heart was not made of raincoat material, but was soaked by her tears. He sat on her head, held her hand, wiped her tears, coaxed her and persuaded her.
24. It seems that she is fighting with Hung-chien for a rope and wants to pull at both ends. When the rope was about to break, she took a few steps together and the rope was loose again. Although quarreling is the fastest way to get angry, everyone feels very tired and empty after quarreling, just like the psychology after the play is over and the wine wakes up. The quarrel before returning to Shanghai is so good, just like the food of a rich family, without spending the night.
25, John Niu bragged, Uncle Sam was originally Uncle Sham; ; As for Marx's wonderful metaphor of the so-called "French rooster", he does have the instinct of a rooster-unfortunately, he mistook the sun flag for the real sun. Shiploads of scrap iron were shipped from the United States to Japan, and Britain was considering stopping China's weapons. Prices are like a fairy, and the ground is soaring. Public utility workers have been on strike again and again, and trams and cars only hope that they will not be as full as theaters and hotels. All the copper coins and nickels have been searched, otherwise the difficulty of crowded cars can be avoided. The competition for survival gradually took off the ornaments and masks, revealing the original viciousness. Shame is not cheap, many people can't afford it. At the same time, the number of people who are difficult to make a fortune and break the national disaster has increased, and they do not commit crimes; Because the poor only beg in the busy streets, they will not go to the quiet residential areas of the rich, but only ask people on foot for money, and the streamlined cars of the rich can't catch up. Slums are spreading like ringworm on the outside of a city. Political terrorism happens almost every day. People with lofty ideals are slowly oppressed like the traffic arteries of western metropolises and develop underground, and the vicious humanoid reptiles in the underground also climb up to raise their prices. Newspapers advocating "peace between China and Japan" publish lists of new comrades every day, and these "collaborators" often declare "no politics" in another newspaper at the same time.
26. "What about me?" Jou-chia's face was expressionless, like a window with shutters closed. Hung-chien knew that this was the silence before the storm.
Note: It is actually very difficult to sort out these sentences, just because there are too many likes and limited space, and only so many can be left. It seems that I have to reread Besieged City in the future. Some friends also recommend watching Huang Shuqin's TV series Fortress Besieged, saying that the TV series in the 1980s and 1990s are loyal to the original works and worth watching, such as 1986 version of Journey to the West, 1987 version of Dream of the Red Mansion, etc., which makes sense.