Set in the 1930s, “Fortress Besieged” follows the misadventures of Fang Hung-chien, a bumbling everyman who wastes his time studying abroad, and secures a fake degree when learning he has run out of money and must return home to China. Fang was the son of a country gentleman. A marriage had been arranged for him while at university, but the intended wife died before he could see her.