How were intimate feelings shaped by social and cultural practices in imperial China, and how did they, in turn, participate in processes of identity formation, generate new modes of subjectivity and sociality, and give rise to varied styles of emotional expression? In what ways did traditional Chinese literary texts articulate alternative discourses of the self, gender, and ethics that differ from modern Western models?

Addressing these questions, this book traces the evolution of caizi-jiaren romances across a broad historical span, from the Tang through the Qing dynasties. It pays particular attention to changing attitudes toward emotion in philosophical texts during this period, examining desire as it operates in dialogue with moral systems, public authority, and gendered forms of cultural expression. By situating literary representations of feeling within their intellectual and social contexts, the book reveals how concepts of the self emerged not as static entities but as evolving constructs produced through dynamic processes of self-constitution and socialization, thereby enabling the possibility of agency. In this regard, The Journey of Passion contributes to ongoing scholarship on subjectivity, gender, agency, and the history of emotions in Imperial China.