Qian Zhongshu (Chinese name: 錢鍾書 / 钱钟书) (November 21, 1910 – December 19, 1998) was a Chinese literary scholar and writer, known for his wit and erudition.
He is best known for his satirical novel Fortress Besieged. His works of non-fiction are characterised by their large amount of quotations in both Chinese and Western languages (including English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Latin). He also played an important role in digitizing Chinese classics late in his life.
The works of Mr. Qian can normally catch attention on the resemblance between characters from stories and influential intellectuals in real world. But to my perception, this is not the major merit of Mr. Qian's literature. His ironic tone could be a brief but severe reminder for intellectuals nowadays, which urges a serious reflection on our actual performance. In this collection, The Cat, should win an endless applause.
I've always been really interested in Qian Zhongshu, partly because his international approach is idiosyncratic, ironic, and not easily imitable. He's also arguably one of the first Chinese post-modern novelists, although he himself would probably disavow that label.
So what do we have? With this volume of his collected short stories and essays we get hints of Montaigne, Lao She, and even maybe Maupassant, except taken in by a wide view of interlacing complications. Allusions to ancient Chinese stories (the Dream of the Red Chamber is a favorite) along with Western poetics and rhetoric, a startling wit that often makes one laugh out loud, and a forceful yet fanciful storytelling makes all of these pieces really fantastic. Zhongshu's erudition is unique in both its' humor and ability to pierce through both human psychology and cultural significance. Love this dude.
The key element of a masterpiece is that it often transcends through time and stays relevant whenever you read it. When one read though this book and read through the characters in it, one can see oneself in them.