Born in 1937, Pai Hsien-yung migrated to Taiwan with his family after 1949 and eventually settled in the United States. His other famous works include Crystal Boys, the first contemporary Chinese novel with an explicit gay theme, and various early short stories, essays as well as film scripts. He is now working on a biography of his father, Pai Ch'ung-hai (1893-1966), a famous general of the Anti-Japanese Resistance War.

The stories are translated into English by the author and Patia Yasin, who is a translator of traditional Chinese and Japanese folk lyrics and modern Turkish poetry. She is currently translating Luigi Pirandello's theatre works. The editor, George Kao, is a founding editor of the journal Renditions.