續書創作是中國小說的特殊現象,直到現代仍未間斷。李碧華以女性作家之姿追索《潘金蓮之前世今生》,有別於過去《金瓶梅》續書以道德教訓與獵豔眼光,將潘金蓮視作淫婦,乃是以一個拒絕喝下孟婆湯的女子,不斷被拋擲回過去的記憶,重演熟悉的場景,甚至親自翻閱自己的故事,穿上前世之服飾,以此作為仿擬的手法。在這個過程之中,李碧華卻又刻意裁剪了潘金蓮與奴僕、女婿通姦之亂倫,還有坑害宋蕙蓮、官哥兒、李瓶兒之罪愆,將其視作一位悲劇性的女性。李碧華的澡雪,讓潘金蓮/單玉蓮既不淫蕩,也不邪惡,而成為命運擺弄之下身不由己的人物。一如香港這座城市橫亙在中、英之間的割讓與回歸,潘金蓮/單玉蓮只能造化弄人地輾轉於身邊的幾個男人們──續書正是在此「承」與「衍」之間,提出對命運機械式運作的叩問。
Sequels of Jin Ping Mei in Ming and Qing dynasties mostly from the perspective of moral or pornography to look down upon Pan Jin-Lian. However, Lilian Lee as a female writer took a different approach to create The Reincarnation of Golden Lotus. In this novel, Pan Jin-Lian refused to drink Five Flavored Tea of Forgetfulness and reincarnate as a girl who named Shan Yu-Lian. She was haunted by the memories of previous life, read Jin Ping Mei personally and even dressed up in the image of Pan Jin-Lian. All kinds of coincidences are Lilian Lee's parody of the original. On the other hand, Lilian Lee also omitted Pan Jin-Lian's crimes of murder and adultery, and shaped her as a tragic figure. Through this transformation, Pan Jin-Lian was no longer evil or lustful, but just a poor girl who teasing by fate. Like Hong Kong, a city whose swing in the cession and return between China and Britain, she also roamed around different men without control. In other words, we can see the operation of predestination in The Reincarnation of Golden Lotus.