Meng, who studies material culture and history, says that, when she first read about the story in a collection of Tang Dynasty anecdotes, she was fascinated by its beauty and absurdity. She had questions, such as: If the story is true, why would anyone go through such effort in creating a myth; and if it is fictional, where did the writer get such imagination from?

"The story has no moral, yet my mind was fixated on it. Then I came to the realization that any artist or writer, no matter how much talent or imagination they have, their creations are influenced by their own cultural backgrounds and the material they have in their particular era," Meng says.

Driven to uncover the inspiration for this story, she spent years researching the practices and customs of ancient Chinese people, in particular the lifestyle of upper-class women. She then discovered the legend's roots in ancient cosmetic practices.