Abstract: Haoqi (pursuit of curiosity) in Chinese novels first emerged in chuanqi (tales of the strange) in Tang dynasty. This phenomenon does not merely represent a continuation of souqi tradition found in anecdotal fictions in Han, Wei, and Six Dynasties. Firstly, the term bowu (encyclopedic knowledge) rather than seeking the strange aligns more closely with the overall aesthetic of the anecdotal fiction in Han, Wei, and Six dynasties. Secondly, curiosity significantly differs from encyclopedic knowledge. The former embodies a conscious pursuit of the extraordinary, transcending the static depiction of objects inherent in the latter. Thereby, a more dynamic narrative is allowed in Tang chuanqi in which the plot-driven nature is facilitated. Therefore, the constraints of objectification imposed by encyclopedic knowledge was broken. Ultimately, there was a delineating boundary between chuanqi in Tang dynasty and ficfion in Han and Wei. Furthermore, pursuit of curiosity is more than the superficial recording of peculiar events or supernatural phenomena which are the job of encyclopedic knowledge. By contrast, it opens a unique path to reality, marking the first instance in Chinese literature where the extraordinary narrative is utilized as a specific strategy to address reality.