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This article examines one Chinese women's literature website by the name of Jinjiang, and focuses especially on a particular type of popular romance, nüzun, or matriarchal narratives. By identifying with a morally ambiguous yet powerful female protagonist, readers can suspend the social and moral constraints placed on their lives imaginatively albeit temporarily, and claim sexual and political power through reading. In producing such tales of female power, authors can satisfy their creative urges and yearnings for empowerment by simultaneously appropriating from and undermining dominant official ideologies and social norms. Ultimately, Jinjiang provides both a new platform for Chinese women to explore their gender identity and an alternative community where women can have easy access to emotional nurturance as well as entertainment and diversions.