These lines began Pai's love affair with Kun Opera, and were later to reappear in his own signature work, the short story "Wandering in the Garden, Waking from a Dream." There, Mrs. Qian, the female protagonist, sings them to express the unbounded sadness of human existence.
這不僅開啟白先勇與崑曲的一世情緣，之後他的文學代表作〈遊園驚夢〉更讓女主角錢夫人，以崑曲來表達人生的無限感嘆。