Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses suicide and sexual violence.

The relationship between Shen Fu and Chen Yun is one of the most important elements of Six Records of a Floating Life. It is the focus of Part 1 and also features heavily in the following two parts. Furthermore, Shen Fu is seldom alone throughout the whole course of the book, with practically every episode of his life seeing him in the company of a friend, lover, relation, or group of companions. Through Shen Fu’s relationship with Chen Yun and with his friends, the author highlights the resilience of love despite gender differences, socioeconomic obstacles, and other barriers.

The most prominent example of love and companionship in the text is Shen Fu’s marriage to Chen Yun; theirs is one of the most celebrated literary romances to come out of the Qing period. The marriage spans more than two decades until Chen Yun’s untimely end, and their love persists beyond death in Shen Fu’s grief, his immortalized reminiscences of their life together in Six Records of a Floating Life and in their vows to be reunited in the next life. Shen Fu’s admiration for Chen Yun is evident in the way he describes and presents her throughout the text.