"The Siege of the City", the masterpiece of Mr. Qian Zhongshu, a master of modern Chinese literature, occupies an important position in the history of Chinese and even world literature with its unique artistic charm and profound philosophy of life. First published in 1947, this work constructs a picture that vividly reflects the living conditions and spiritual dilemmas of intellectuals in the ** period with its nuanced character portrayal, intricate plot weaving and intelligent satirical brushstrokes.
1. Overview of the main plot
The core story of "The Siege" revolves around the ups and downs of the fate of the protagonist Fang Hongji. Fang Hongjian was an intellectual who studied abroad, and after returning to China, he fell into a state of "siege". At first, he returned to Shanghai with the embarrassing secret of fake academic qualifications, and then tossed and turned in the multiple sieges of workplace, friendship, and love. He successively had emotional entanglements with the talented girl Su Wenjun and the innocent girl Tang Xiaofu, but failed to harvest the ideal love; and his friend Zhao Xinlin and others went to Sanlu University to teach, but they fell into the whirlpool of personnel disputes.
The emotional development of Fang Hongjian and Sun Roujia constitutes the main clue in the second half of the **. The two experienced acquaintances, misunderstandings, and reconciliations, until they finally got married, but their married life did not go as they wished, but fell into a new siege. In this way, the paradox of life is presented - dissatisfaction with the status quo drives people to desire breakthroughs, and once the goal is achieved, it is often nostalgic for the good things that were not obtained before.
2. Analysis of works
1 Topic DepthThe theme of "The Siege" is far-reaching, and the core lies in the clever use of the concept of "siege". Qian Zhongshu reveals the universal contradictions of life through Fang Hongji's life experience: whether in career or emotion, people are often in a psychological state of internal and external contradictions, yearning for things they never had, and feeling that they are not as good as expected after getting them, this eternal cycle of desire and loss has become a vivid portrayal of "people outside the city want to go in, and people in the city want to come out".
2 CharacterizationQian Zhongshu's characters have distinct personalities, especially the portrayal of Fang Hongji's character is very representative. He is not only a typical intellectual in the background of the times, but also an independent individual full of personality, and the contradiction between idealism and reality, seeking and escaping embodied in him is the true portrayal of many intellectuals in that particular historical stage.
3 Language ArtsThe language style of "The Siege" is unique, with humorous satire and elegant condensation, and Qian Zhongshu is good at using puns, allusions, and witty dialogues to form a satirical style full of wisdom. This language art gives the work a deep connotation, making it highly enlightening and critical in addition to being entertaining.
4 Social criticism** It is not only a concern for the fate of the individual, but also an in-depth analysis of many problems in Chinese society at that time through the details of the lives of Fang Hongjian and the characters around him, such as feudal relics, the impact of Western culture, and the complexity of interpersonal relationships, showing the various contradictions and changes in Chinese society during the alternation of the old and the new.
To sum up, "The Siege" is not only a book that depicts the life of intellectuals in the period, but also a work that carries a heavy historical and cultural accumulation and a deep philosophy of life. It guides readers to explore the true meaning behind life, and reveals that when facing the "siege" of life, we should have a clear understanding and a firm attitude, and learn to appreciate the beauty of the process, rather than blindly chasing the unpredictable results.