[1] Guangzhou native Su Jishi (蘇吉士), also referred to by his childhood moniker Xiaoguan (笑官), is unwilling to follow in the footsteps of his father, a Cohong merchant, preferring to lead a hedonistic lifestyle instead.

[3] Throughout the novel, Su seeks to improve his sexual prowess; he finally becomes a "man of infinite capacity" after encountering a Tibetan monk who supplies him with some aphrodisiacs.

[5] He further argues that the novel reuses many common tropes found in "previous vernacular fiction", for instance "the lone Tibetan monk with his potent aphrodisiacs and retractable penis" and "the corrupt and lecherous official and his sycophants".

Cai Guoliang, in a 1985 treatise on Ming and Qing dynasty literature, found it one of the better "second or third rate" novels of the era but inferior to the likes of Dream of a Red Chamber and Rulin waishi.

[13] Choice reviewer P. F. Williams praised the translation work on Mirage, calling it "superb", and the efforts taken to give notes and other information to explain allusions specific to the Chinese culture and language.

It reflects the style of longer and more popular epics, including with its having hundreds of named characters, but Hanan's translation helps make the text more readable and a book that is to be "enjoyed" with its "clear, vernacular English".