The clay figurine Zhang was a novel written by Wu Chengen, a novelist from the Ming Dynasty. It was about how he traveled to the end of the Ming Dynasty and witnessed the dark side of society, thus creating a series of supernatural novels such as Journey to the West. In terms of material selection, the author chose the dark side of the society at the end of the Ming Dynasty as the background of the story. Through the description of various demons and ghosts, it reflected the injustice of society and the distortion of human nature at that time. This way of choosing materials not only reflected the author's concern for reality, but also enhanced the criticism of the novel. In addition, the author of the clay figurine Zhang also portrayed various images of demons and ghosts through colorful imagination and vivid descriptions, so that readers could feel the mystery and horror in the novel. At the same time, the characters in the novel were also very rich. The readers could understand the personality and fate of each character in depth. To sum up, the most praiseworthy aspect of the clay figurine Zhang's choice of material was his attention to the darkness of the late Ming Dynasty society, his rich imagination, and his vivid description.