In this writing, Akinari took "The Tale of Genji" by Murasaki Shikibu and "Water Margin" by Lo Kuan-chung as examples of authors who wrote masterpieces that were true to life and then fell into a dreadful realm (a tradition saying that Murasaki Shikibu went to Hell was recorded in both "Hobutsushu" written by TAIRA no Yasuyori during the Jisho era and "The Tales of Ima," considered to have been written by FUJIWARA no Nobuzane after the Eno period, while the traditional story that Lo Kuan-chung's offspring over three generations became dumb was according to "Seiko Yuran Shiyo" (edited by Josei DEN in Ming) and "Hsu wen-hsien t'ung-k'ao").
この文中で秋成は、『源氏物語』を書いた紫式部と『水滸伝』を書いた羅貫中を例にあげ、ふたりが現実と見紛うばかりの傑作を書いたばかりにひどい目にあったという伝説をあげている（紫式部が一旦地獄に堕ちた、というのは、治承年間、平康頼によって書かれた『宝物集』や延応以降の、藤原信実によって書かれたとされる『今物語』に、羅貫中の子孫三代が唖になった、というのは、明、田汝成編の『西湖遊覧志余』や『続文献通考』によっている）。