Intented for learners of Chinese as a second language, this is an abridged version of the Novel by Qian Zhongshu, a renowned writer, scholar, and the classical Chinese expert.
With the hero Fang Hongjian's experience as the subject, the novel depicts the wretched and humdrum life of some intellectuals in a morbid society during the War of Resistance Against Japan. Lacking in motives and ideals, they seem to be locked in a besieged city unable to free themselves.