IN BRIEF (Page 20)

Fortress Besieged in audio form

"Marriage is like a fortress besieged: Those who are outside want to get in, and those who are inside want to get out" is the French proverb that inspired master Qian Zhongshu's (1910-98) literary classic of the 20th century, Fortress Besieged. Ever since the novel started being reprinted in China in the 1980s, it has sold 10 million copies in total, according to the publisher. The work, which is a satirical story of a man returning to China with a fake degree certificate, began to gain more popularity after a TV series based on it was aired in the 1990s. The work is now also being offered as an audio book made by veteran radio broadcasters. An English version of the book is also available.

Zhejiang in the spotlight