After The Peony Pavilion appeared, it became popular reading throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties. Jin Fengdian of Yangzhou loved the book so much that she had a copy buried with her; when Yu Erniang of Louzhou read it, she died of a broken heart.
牡丹亭故事一出，即在明清兩朝家傳戶頌，揚州女子金鳳鈿讀成癖好，以之殉葬；婁江女子余二娘讀到斷腸而死… …