Fortress Besieged (Wei Sheng) is a comedy of manners written by Qian Zhongshu, published in 1947.
The title is based on a French proverb:
- Marriage is like a fortress besieged: those who are outside want to get in, and those who are inside want to get out.
The second section follows his securing a teaching post at a new university - where his fake credentials are used to keep him in line, and in the third part, it centers on his disasterous marriage. The novel ends with his wife leaving him, while he listens to a clock chiming.