Cao Xueqin was born into a wealthy family whose status diminished, and whose fortune was confiscated when he was still a child. He spent the remainder of his life in poverty. Dream of the Red Chamber, which he wrote over a period of twenty years, was not published until thirty years after his death, in 1791.

H. Bencraft Joly was Vice-Consulate of Macao at the time he translated Dream of the Red Chamber in an effort to advance appreciation of Chinese literature among Westerns.

John Minford is Emeritus Professor of Chinese at The Australian National University, and Sin Wai Kin Distinguished Professor of Chinese Culture and Translation at the Hang Seng University of Hong Kong. He has published widely on Chinese literature and translated numerous works including Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio and the Art of War.

Edwin Lowe is an independent publisher of books on the humanities who has over 20 years of experience as an educator of Asian studies. He has taught at Macquarie University, the Australian National University and the University of New South Wales.