《镜花缘》前半部分描写了唐敖、多九公等人乘船在海外游历的故事，包括他们在女儿国、君子国、无肠国等国的经历史。后半部写了武则天科举选才女，由百花仙子托生的唐小山及其他各花仙子托生的一百位才女考中，并在朝中有所作为的故事。全书以丰富的想象、幽默的笔调展示万般世相。其中突出地描摹了女子的才华，体现尊重女权的思想。独具文学史意义的是其中以奇幻的笔法，揭示了人间社会的种种风俗败坏和道德堕落，体现了对社会问题的思考，具有现实意义。
The first half part of Flowers in the Mirror tells the overseas travel of Tang Ao, Duo Jiugong and others by ship and includes their experiences in Kingdom of Females, Kingdom of Gentility, and Kingdom of No Intestines. The second half part tells that Wu Zetian selected talented women through the imperial examination; 100 talented women passed the exam, including Tang Xiaoshan reincarnated from the Fairy Flowers and other Flower Faeries, and they made great achievements. With rich imaginations and in a humorous style, the book shows all kinds of social phenomena, highlights the talents of women and reflects the thought of showing respect for women's rights. Its unique significance in Chinese literature history lies in that it reveals a variety of corrupt morals in human society and reflects the thinking on social problems with the fantasy writing technique, thus of practical significance.