| Big | Abu | Ma Woo's older sister. |
| Small | Abu | Ma Woo's younger sister. |
| Yasuhiko | Asaka | Emperor Hirohito's uncle. |
| Shen | Bao | The most prominent Chinese-language newspaper in Shanghai. |
| Grace | Brady | A choir director. |
| Maybing | Can | Bing's close friend. |
| John | Chan | One of Benny's St .John's schoolmates. |
| Isabel | Chao | Doreen's classmate. |
| Ben | Char | The man that Bing met. |
| George | Cheng | Benny's close friend. |
| Paul | Chih-Meng | The director of China Institute in New York. |
| Chang | Ching-Kuo | The major general. Chang Kai-Shek's eldest son. |
| Bai | Chongxi | The general. |
| Lee | Chou | Raymond's friend. |
| Ho | Chow | One of the protagonists. A gifted child in science and mathematics. |
| Hosun | Chow | Ho's brother. |
| Wanyu | Chow | Ho's sister. |
| Valentin | Chu | A journalist. |
| Shangying | Dai | Annuo's mother. Aka: Muma, Chao Keping. |
| Han | Deqin | Yongchio's commanding officer. |
| Tang | Enbo | The Nationalists commander. |
| Auntie | Fong | Madame Hsu's friend. A doctor. |
| Vichy | France | A partner in Hitler-Hirohito-Mussolini Axis. |
| Francis X. | Frod | A Bishop. |
| Mrs. | Fung | Owner of a shop. Bing's friend. |
| Harry | Gold | An American scientist. |
| Chen | Gongbo | The Shanghai's Mayor. |
| First | Grandmother | Ho's grandmother. |
| Great | Grandmother | Benny's great-grandmother. |
| Madame | H.H Kung | Soong's sister. |
| F.L | Hawks-Pott | St. John's President. |
| Alger | Hiss | The suspected communist. |
| Frank | Hsieh | The owner of the baby furniture store. Bing's friend. |
| Pai | Hsien-Yung | The general's son. |
| Madame | Hsu | Bing's guardian. Young wife of a government official. |
| Kim | Il-Sung | North Korea's leader. |
| Ole Egner | Jarldane | Elder Sister and Kristian's son. |
| Wang | Jingwei | The leader of China's nationalists party. |
| Wang | Jingwei | The President of China. |
| Theresa | Junlin | Ho's lover. |
| Kristian | K. Jarldane | Husband of Bing's sister. |
| Chang | Kai-Shek | The leader of China's nationalist government. |
| Wellington | Koo | Representative to the league of nations. Ambassador of France. |
| David | Kung | The nephew of Ching-Kuo's stepmother. |
| Frank | Kwok | Benny's schoolmate. |
| Berne | Lee | John Yee's close friend and boss. |
| Auntie | Li | Huiling's sister. |
| Dai | Li | Chiang Kai-Shek's top spy. |
| Dai | Li | The Nationalists' chief intelligence. |
| Eileen | Lin | Paul's wife. |
| Paul | Lin | The National Leader of CSCA. |
| Chen | Ling | Benny's lover. |
| Miss | Ling | The YMCA director. |
| Richard | Lin-Yang | Benny's classmate. |
| Annabel A. | Liu | One of the protagonists. Aka: Chang Tsen, Zi Ruo. |
| Charley | Liu | Annuo's brother. Aka: Chao Ping. |
| Yongchio | Liu | Annuo's father. |
| Mr. | Lo | The new tenants at Woo's place. |
| Chen | Lu | The minister. |
| Henry | Luce | The board chairman of China Institute in New York. |
| George | Marshall | The U.S. commanding officer. |
| Jardine | Mathesonn | The generous employer of three genarations of Pans. |
| Iwane | Matsui | The Japanese commander-in-chief. |
| Joseph | McCarthy | The U.S. Senator. |
| Ah | Mei | Bing's only friend. |
| Rhoda | Metraux | Mead's research partner. |
| Annie | Pan | Benny's older sister. |
| Benny | Pan | The son of one of the richest families in Shanghai. Aka: Long-Long. |
| Cecilia | Pan | Benny's sister. Aka: Little Sister. |
| Doreen | Pan | Benny's brother. Aka: Little brother. |
| Edward | Pan | Benny's brother. |
| Frances | Pan | Benny's sister. |
| G. Grandfather | Pan | Benny's great-grandfather. |
| Zhijie | Pan | Benny's father. A high-ranking officer. Aka: Pan Da. |
| John | Powell | The Shanghai newspaper editor. |
| John | Rabe | A German Nazi. |
| Quentin | Roosevelt II | Grandson of Theodore Roosevelt. |
| Auntie | Rose | Madame Hsu's friend and former classmate. |
| Ethel | Rosenberg | Julius's wife. |
| Julius | Rosenberg | An American engineer. |
| Joan Marie | Ryan | Ford's secretary. |
| Ho's | Second Uncle | Jo's uncle who owns a British-American house in Shanghai. |
| Edward | Shaughnesy | The acting director of INS New York District. |
| Lao | Shi | Ho's teacher. |
| Uncle | Shu-Shu | Yiniang's husband. |
| Charlie | Sie | John's brother. |
| John | Sie | Charlie's brother. |
| Margaret | Soong | A flight attendant at CNAC. |
| May-Ling | Soong | Chiang Kai-Shek's wife. |
| T.V. | Soong | Former finance minister and governor of the Central Bank of China. |
| John | T.S Mao | A Catholic priest. |
| Diane | Tang-Woo | An American Consulate. |
| President | Truman | The U.S. President. |
| Bu | Wancang | The famous Shanghai movie director. |
| Kenneth | Wang | The President of Aurora College. |
| Huiling | Woo | Bing's adoptive elder sister. Aka: Elder Sister. |
| Ma | Woo | Bing's adoptive mother. |
| James | Wooten | The President of Alaska Airlines. |
| K.C | Wu | The new Mayor of Shanghai. |
| Wang | Xiaohe | The popular labor leader. |
| Qian | Xuesen | A renowned rocket scientist. |
| Marlene | Yang | Bing's neighbor. |
| Tingchang | Yao | Benny's schoolmate. Aka: T.C. |
| Dr. Sun | Yat-Sen | The founding father of the Republic of China. |
| Florence | Yee | Bing's sister-in-law. John Yee's sister. |
| Henry | Yee | John and Bing's close friend. |
| John | Yee | A widow. Bing's potential suitor. |
| Chen | Yi | Shangyai's newly appointed Mayor. |
| Kwan | Yin | The Changshu's patron. |
| Tao-Fu | Ying | A St. John's student. |
| Auntie | Yiniang | Shangying's sister. |
| Wu | Yinxian | Yongchio's close friend. Mao Zedong's personal photographer. |
| Dennis | Yu | Benny's close friend. |
| Zhonghe | Yu | The daughter of Annuo's landlord. |
| Tu | Yu-Ching | The former President of St. John's. Benny's boss. |
| Du | Yuesheng | The Green Gang leader. |
| Lin | Yutang | Influential writer and philosopher. |
| William | Z.L Sung | St. John's former President. |
| Mao | Zedong | The China communist party leader. |
| Li | Zongren | Chiang Kai-Shek's political rival. |
| Amah | | Benny's servant. |
| Andrew | | Doreen's lover. |
| Baba | | Bing's biological father. |
| Bing | | One of the protagonists. An abandoned girl. |
| Chinyee | | A painting student in the College of Mount Saint Vincent. |
| Grandfather | | Benny's grandfather. |
| Li-Ning | | Annuo's sister. |
| Ma | | Bing's biological mother. |
| Mother | | Benny's mother. |
| Peter | | Bing's nephew. |
| Raymond | | The man who accompanied Bing in America. |
| Tjibadak | | The Royal Dutch Ocean liner. |
| Zhongying | | Liu Family's new servant. |
