This book focuses on the lives of courtesans and talented women active along the Qinhuai River in Nanjing during the late Ming Dynasty, such as Liu Rushi, Dong Xiaowan, and Li Xiangjun, as well as the male scholars closely associated with them, including Qian Qianyi, Mao Pijiang, and Hou Fangyu. It showcases the romantic tales and refined pursuits amidst the turbulent times of national upheaval and dynastic change. The book also recounts the lives of some Ming Dynasty empresses and courtesans, whose joys and sorrows are intricately intertwined with the chaos of the late Ming era and their fates are also connected to those of the courtesans of Qinhuai.
本书以晚明时期活跃于南京秦淮河畔的柳如是、董小宛、李香君等歌妓才女以及与她们密切相关的男性士人如钱谦益、冒辟疆、侯方域的因缘际会为主要书写对象，展示山河变色、朝代更迭的时代风云背景下的风月旧事、雅事。书中亦述及一些明末后妃与名媛才女，她们的离合悲欢与晚明乱世紧密镶嵌，跟秦淮诸艳的命运也有一定穿插或关联。
本书以晚明时期活跃于南京秦淮河畔的柳如是、董小宛、李香君等歌妓才女以及与她们密切相关的男性士人如钱谦益、冒辟疆、侯方域的因缘际会为主要书写对象，展示山河变色、朝代更迭的时代风云背景下的风月旧事、雅事。书中亦述及一些明末后妃与名媛才女，她们的离合悲欢与晚明乱世紧密镶嵌，跟秦淮诸艳的命运也有一定穿插或关联。
