At this point, the beautiful and refined diction of Tang and Song dynasty poetry was no help in expressing the ideas Wu wanted to convey through images, and she continually reflected and sought inspiration in the works Records Through a Small Window by the Ming-dynasty writer Chen Meikong and Rural Dreams and Shadows by the early Qing-dynasty writer Zhang Chao.
此時，唐詩宋詞的優美辭藻已無助於她想藉畫面傳達思緒的構想，明朝文學家陳眉公所著《小窗幽記》，與清初文學家張潮所著《幽夢影》，成了她一再反芻與尋找靈感的來源。