For this series of works, Yang pulls references from a close inspection of classical Chinese tales (Chuanqi 传奇) and their influence on social reform after the Second Opium World War (1856-1860), when Britain and France invaded China. One such tale, Random records of a recluse in Wusong (Songyin manlu 淞隐漫录) written by Wang Tao (王韬, 1828-1897) and accompanied by landscape illustrations by Wu Youru (吴友如, 1840-1893) tells of European women falling in love with Chinese men in adventurous storylines, with fantastic landscapes as the background. Prior to the war, both male writers and characters in classical literature could be sensitive, gentle and socially engaged, while under the post-imperial “Body Engineering” reform agenda, they shifted to hyper-masculine, tough and ruthless. Yang’s works inspect the role early gender policy played in decolonization, and how an entangled vision of the West and a post-colonial landscape was portrayed.