People in the Tang dynasty were fascinated by the exploits of Sima Qian's knights errant and assassins and many anecdotes were told about them based on rumors and hearsay.
唐人傳奇追慕司馬遷的俠、刺客蹤跡，採納街談巷語、道聽途說的俠客軼事，大加渲染，產生了為數眾多的豪俠小說，如《虯髯客傳》、《霍小玉傳》、《紅線傳》等。