The story of Wang Zhi also hints that mortals waste too much of their time on earch. In the story Nanke Yi Meng (A Dream of Nanke), Chunyu Fen enters the land of Huai'an through a termite hole. There he marries a princess and becomes a minister. But in the end he loses a war, his wife dies, and he is sent into exile.
王質爛柯暗喻時間駭人大量的流逝；南柯一夢裡，淳於棼夢遊蟻穴槐安國，娶了公主、當了太守，最後卻因戰敗、妻死，自己也遭遣放。