Li infuses her story with a great deal of history, but brings it alive through her skill as a writer, a skill that seems almost superhuman when she writes of the cannonade. Nonetheless, at the story's climax, Li falls into the clutches of the spirits of feminist writing-by exaggerating the power of sexual awakening, the story loses its persuasive force.
小說裡，李昂引用大量歷史，卻因動人文筆，免於落入枯燥，在火炮攻擊一段，甚至筆力萬鈞，劇力無窮。