錢鍾書的《圍城》因其獨具一格的行文、諷刺和暗喻而聞名於世，該小說對中日戰爭初期的中國文人進行了辛辣且幽默的嘲諷及批評。然而，截至目前，學界鮮少討論錢鍾書在《圍城》中的旅行書寫。傳統上，旅行往往被視為是一個文化影響、發現他者及自我的過程；極端情形下，旅行甚至是征服的開始。本文認為，錢鍾書通過旅行的情節，揭露了人性的黑暗面，例如自大、虛偽、貪婪和算計，而這些陰暗面的存在無關種族、性別、階級、教育或地區。《圍城》的男主角方鴻漸本就是一個自卑且悲觀的人，經過數次旅行之後——從歐洲到上海、從上海到湖南、從湖南回到上海，他的這些性格特徵愈發明顯。他的一生是由一個接一個的圍城所構成，而從此圍城到彼圍城的旅途給了他短暫的可以喘息的時間和空間，這些旅行也給了他轉瞬即逝的虛假希望，那便是，他在下一站將迎來更好的機遇。

Famous for its masterful diction, satire, and metaphor, Qian Zhongshu’s Fortress Besieged is a sharp, humorous, and sarcastic criticism of Chinese intellectuals at the beginning of the Sino-Japanese War. Until recently, scant attention was paid to Qian’s travel writing in this novel. Travel is traditionally considered a process of cultural influence, the discovery of the other and the self or, radically, the beginning of conquest. This essay argues that Qian adopts the plot of travel to display a bleak picture of humanity, filled with pretentiousness, hypocrisy, greed, and manipulation, the existence of which is not impacted by race, gender, class, education, or region. For the novel’s protagonist Fang Hongjian, his habitual low-esteem and pessimism become more explicit after his several trips from Europe to Shanghai, from Shanghai to Hunan, and from Hunan back to Shanghai. His life consists of besieged fortresses one after another. The journey from here to there gives him temporary space and time for breathing, as well as a false and fleeting hope that he will have better chances in the next stop.