Chief Inspector Chen Cao

Chief Inspector Chen Cao is the novel's main character. He is the lead investigator in the murder case that forms the central plot of the book. He is something of a rising star within the Communist Party. He is quite young to have been appointed Chief Inspector and he has been invited to an important Party symposium, which is a rare honor. Chen is a hard and conscientious worker. He never planned to become a cop, having studied English Literature at the university. Chen initially was on a diplomats track in his career but when it was discovered that an uncle of Chen's, who he had never met, had been a counter-revolutionary, his diplomatic career was derailed and he was assigned to the Shanghai Police Bureau.

Chen's real love is poetry. He is a writer as well as a cop and his poems have received...