Some critics have argued that "The Raksha Country" serves as social commentary on topics including hypocrisy, conventional standards of beauty, and nationalism.

Ma Ji[a] (马骥), courtesy name Longmei (龙媒), is a handsome scholar who graduates at fourteen while "(acquiring) the sobriquet of the Beauty"[3] with his fine manners and appreciation of the arts.

They spot the Prime Minister, who has three nostrils and eyelashes "like bamboo screens hanging in front of his eyes"[5] and is flanked by less ugly officials.

To reciprocate, they offer to fetch rare pearls from the "sea market" – a trading hub that also houses the mermaids' treasures – but warn Ma against accompanying them.

The vessel reaches the sea market in three days and its passengers are greeted by walls "as long as a man's body" and buildings extending to the Milky Way.

As they are preparing to bid farewell to each other, the princess reveals that she is pregnant; Ma tells her to name the child Longgong (龙宫) if a daughter and Fuhai (福海) if a son.

However, the princess travels to Earth to pay both her children a visit and gifts them with camphor, pearls, and a coral tree, among other precious items.

[18] According to Qing dynasty critic Feng Zhenluan (冯镇峦), "The Raksha Country and the Sea Market" comprises "two disconnected episodes".

[1] Liana Chen elaborates that Pu's "deliberate materialisation of the familiar trope signifying the invisible and the actual reality" suggests that "the world Ma Ji enters ... is surreal and does not exist".

Pu's reference to "the castle in the clouds and the mirage of the sea" is thus seen as ironic;[19] the "deliberately" tragic conclusion of the story reminds the reader that a magical dreamland that absolves one of all his problems cannot exist.

[23] She posits that Pu is "(critiquing) insincerity and hypocrisy in his own society and thereby questions the existence of a spiritual Utopia, or refuge, for the literati" through the contrast of two worlds – the "hideous" Raksha Country and the "desirable yet surreal" Dragon Palace.

[28] Similarly, Glen Dudbridge points out Pu's reversal of "conventional expectations for ironic effect", in that "normal standards of beauty and ugliness are turned upside down, and a handsome man is viewed as an ogre.

"[29] The Rakshas are not unique to Pu's work and in fact originate from ancient Hindu mythology, with multiple epics detailing the inhabitants of Rakshasa Kingdom as "hideous-looking, bloodthirsty evil spirits" that were a bane to mankind.

[18] Such mythology, and by extension stories of the Rakshas, were likely disseminated to the Chinese in either the Sui or Tang dynasty via translated Buddhist scriptures from India.

[34] On the other hand, The Realm of Ultimate Bliss has 82 scenes and is staged in the pihuang (皮黃) style;[d] the "Theatregoing Daoist Priest" intended for his play to "(offset) the vulgar ones performed nowadays in the theatre".