| | | | Book I Taipei 1947 - 1952 |
| 1 | Jeng Li | Min | A painter. aka: Ah Bin. |
| | Zhan | Tian-ma | A popular silent film narrator. |
| | Dr. | Tsai | Li Min's husband. aka Baba. |
| | Cheung | | A midwife. |
| 2 | Tsai | Li Ka | Li Min's eldest daughter. aka: Ah Zhay. |
| 3 | Matsu | | A sea goddess in Chinese folk religion. |
| | Chen | Yi | The Governor-General. |
| | Chiang | Kai-shek | A Chinese political and military leader. aka: Generalissimo. |
| 4 | Zhee | Hyan | Li Min's younger son. |
| | Chun | Chun | A singer. |
| | Dua | Hyan | Li Min's older son. |
| | Su Ming | Guo | Dr. Tsai's very good friend. |
| 6 | Liou Kai | Hsiang | A fisherman. |
| 7 | Karl | Marx | German philosopher, economist, sociologist, journalist. |
| | Mr. | Sasaki | A high school teacher. |
| | Professor | Wu | One of Dr. Tsai's acquaintances. |
| | Professor | Hsiao | One of Dr. Tsai's acquaintances. |
| | Yang | Kuei-fei | The infamous concubine. |
| | Mao | Zedong | Former Chairman of People's Republic of China. |
| 8 | Huang | Shih-hui | A writer. |
| 9 | Naomi | | Li Min's acquaintance. |
| | Wei | Lin | Naomi's son. |
| | Lin | | Naomi's husband. |
| | Ah Ma | | Li Min's mother. |
| | Ah Gong | | Li Min's father. |
| 11 | Paul | Gauguin | French Post-Impressionist artist. |
| 12 | Marcel | Proust | A writer. |
| | Hsiao | Yen | Narrator's best friend. |
| | | | Book II Taichung 1958 - 1972 |
| 13 | Uncle | Owyang | The grandparents' neighbor. |
| | Deng | Yan | Ah Zhay's husband. aka: Jie-fu. |
| | Mei Mei | | Ah Zhay's daughter. |
| | Dowager | Cixi | Chinese empress dowager. |
| | Aunty | Owyang | Uncle Owyang's wife. |
| 14 | Deepak | Chahar | Indian Cricket player. |
| | Aunty | Chu | One of Li Min's relatives. |
| | Aunty | Wong | One of Li Min's relatives. |
| | Wei | Shin | Aunty Wong's daughter. |
| | Uncle | Wong | Aunty Wong's husband. |
| 15 | Cheng | Ping | Narrator's classmate. |
| 16 | Pablo | Picasso | Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist. |
| | Rene | Magritte | Belgian surrealist artist. |
| | Ah | Lu | Zhee Hyan's classmate. |
| | Confucius | | Chinese teacher, editor, politician and philosopher. |
| 20 | Dr. | Sun | Owned a medical clinic. |
| | Mona | Rudao | The son of a chief of the Seediq tribe of Taiwanese aborigines. |
| 21 | Robert F. | Kennedy | American politician and lawyer. aka: Bobby. |
| | Martin Luther | King Jr. | African American Baptist minister and activist. |
| | Sister | Chen | One of the church members. |
| | Sister | Tsai | One of the church members. |
| | Brother | Zhang | One of the church members. |
| | Brother | Yu | One of the church members. |
| | Ting | Ting | Narrator's friend. |
| | Mick | Jagger | English songwriter, singer of The Rolling Stones. |
| | Marianne | Faithfull | British singer, songwriter and actress. |
| | Sam | | Narrator's acquaintance. |
| 23 | Madame | Chiang | The wife of Generalissimo and President Chiang Kai-shek. |
| 24 | Yi | Hua | A waitress. |
| | Eddie | | Ting Ting's fiancé. |
| | Teresa | Teng | Taiwanese singer. |
| | Jia | Lun | Ah Zhay's son. |
| 25 | Steve | McQueen | American actor. |
| 27 | Jia | Zhe | Ah Zhay's son. |
| | Richard | Nixon | 37th President of the United States. |
| 28 | George H. W. | Bush | 41st President of the United States. |
| | Liu | Chieh | The last Permanent Representative of the Republic of China at the UN. |
| | Olivia | Hussey | English actress. |
| | William | Shakespeare | English playwright and poet. |
| | Zhou | Enlai | 1st Premier of the People's Republic of China. |
| | Henry A. | Kissinger | U.S. Secretary of State. |
| | | | Book III Berkeley 1979-1980 |
| 29 | Jimmy | Carter | 39th U.S. President. |
| | Chiang | Ching-kuo | Eldest and only biological son of former president Chiang Kai-shek. |
| 30 | Stephanie | | Wei's youngest daughter. |
| | Lu Ai | Guo | A liaison for the ROC consulate. |
| | Emily | | Stephanie's older sister. |
| | Johnny | Carson | American talk show host and magician. |
| | Dolly | Parton | American singer-songwriter and actress. |
| 31 | James | Joyce | Irish novelist, short story writer, poet, teacher, and literary critic. |
| | Tang Jia | Bao | Wei's acquaintance. |
| 32 | Bo | Yang | Chinese author. |
| | Peng | Ming-min | A democracy activist, advocate of Taiwan independence. |
| 33 | Sun | Yat-sen | Chinese physician, politician and revolutionary. |
| 34 | Mr. | Boyd | Wei's colleague. |
| | James | | Wei's friend. |
| | Helen | | James' wife. |
| | Adolf | Hitler | The leader of Nazi Germany. |
| | Francisco | Franco | Ruled Spain as a military dictator from 1939 until his death. |
| | Jacqueline | Onassis | Former First Lady of the United States. |
| 35 | Mary | | Stephanie's teacher. |
| | Rebecca | | Stephanie's classmate. |
| | Dr. | Seuss | American children's writer and illustrator. |
| | Dr. | Brancusi | A physician. |
| 36 | Dave | Matson | A therapist. |
| 37 | Thomas | Pynchon | American novelist. |
| | Lorraine | | The general's wife. |
| 39 | Graham | Greene | An actor and writer. |
| 40 | Amy | | Emily's friend. |
| 43 | Professor | Ong | Jia Bao's acquaintance. |
| 44 | Janet | | A waitress. |
| 47 | Chen | Wen-cheng | A Carnegie Mellon University professor. |
| | Henry | Liu | Taiwanese writer. |
| 48 | Lin | Yi-hsiung | The major leader of the democratization movement in Taiwan. |
| | | | Part IV Taipei 1982-2003 |
| 49 | Joni | Mitchell | Canadian musician. |
| | Janet | Austen | English novelist. |
| 50 | John | Fraser | Scottish actor and author. |
| | Qiong | Hua | Jia Bao's wife. |
| | Melody | | Jia Bao's daughter. |
| | Jia | Lung | Jia Bao's son. |
| 51 | Yaru | | Mei Mei's daughter. |
| | Ching | Ching | Zhee Hyan's girlfriend. |
| 52 | Lin | Wang | An elephant. |
| | Mr. | Ping | One of the interrogators. |
| | Mr. | Yang | One of the interrogators. |
| | Huang | Ying Cheng | Wei's acquaintance. |
| | Mark | Jenson | An AIT employee. |
| | Benjamin | Sutton | Mr. Jenson's colleague. |
| 53 | Pam | | Wei's neighbor. |
| | Dr. | Sloan | A physician. |
| | Yu | | Wei's dead son. |
| 58 | Du | Fu | Chinese poet and politician of the Tang dynasty. |
