Bao-yu is the young heir of the prominent Jia clan, distinguished by the magical inscribed jade he wears around his neck. He possesses a highly romantic, sensitive temperament and strongly prefers the company of the women in the Rong mansion over traditional Confucian studies. His intense karmic energy makes him prone to wild emotional tantrums and sets him on a path of profound, fated encounters.

Dai-yu is the chronically ill, highly intelligent daughter of a prominent minister. She comes to live at the Rong mansion, where she experiences the constant anxiety of feeling like an outsider among her wealthy relatives. She possesses a sensitive, easily offended temperament that often puts her at odds with others, though she shares a profound emotional resonance with Bao-yu.

As the matriarch of the Jia family, Grandmother Jia presides over the sprawling Rong household. She loves boisterous parties, card games, and surrounding herself with her grandchildren. She exercises ultimate authority in domestic matters and works actively to ensure her favorite family members are comfortable and well-cared for.

Wang Xi-feng is the brash, highly capable young wife of Jia Lian. Known widely as the "lady of the house," she manages the complex daily operations of the sprawling estates with a sharp tongue and strict accounting. Her intelligence, ambition, and forceful personality make her one of the most powerful and feared women in the household.

Bao-chai is the highly intelligent, level-headed daughter of Aunt Xue. She contrasts sharply with Dai-yu by being accommodating, polite, and generally beloved by everyone, including the household servants. She manages an undiagnosable chronic illness with specially prescribed Cold Fragrance Pills and wears a golden locket bearing an inscription that mystically mirrors Bao-yu's jade.

Jia Zheng is an undersecretary of the ministry of works and a serious, scholarly figure within the Jia family. He represents traditional Confucian values and prefers spending his time with literary gentlemen discussing classic texts. He views his son Bao-yu's romantic nature with extreme skepticism and frequently tests the boy's academic progress.

Lady Wang is the primary wife of Jia Zheng and holds significant structural authority in the Rong mansion, though she often delegates daily management to Wang Xi-feng. She coddles her son Bao-yu, actively protecting him from his father's wrath while trying to steer him away from corrupting influences.

Qin-shi is the young wife of Jia Rong, living in the Ning-guo mansion. She is deeply sensitive and prone to chronic nervousness that manifests physically. Her lavishly decorated bedroom serves as the mystical gateway for Bao-yu's fated dream journey to the Land of Illusion.

Qin Zhong is a handsome, slightly frail boy who quickly forms an intense, inseparable bond with Bao-yu. Despite his middle-class background, he attends the Jia clan school alongside his wealthy new friend. He shares Bao-yu's romantic temperament and susceptibility to strong, overwhelming emotions.

Aroma is Bao-yu's chief maid, handpicked by Grandmother Jia for her reliability and grounding presence. A few years older than Bao-yu, she takes her duties seriously and frequently attempts to manipulate situations to calm his tantrums or improve his overall behavior. She initiates a secret, intimate relationship with her young master.

Xue Pan is a wealthy, hopelessly spoiled "oaf king" from Nanking who uses his family's vast influence to evade legal consequences for his violent crimes. After moving into the Rong household to avoid a manslaughter charge, he spends his time drinking, gambling, and pursuing romantic conquests, bringing chaos wherever he goes.

Aunt Xue is the meek, agreeable mother of Bao-chai and Xue Pan. She relies on the hospitality of her sister, Lady Wang, moving her small family into a corner of the sprawling Rong estate and largely staying out of the complex family politics.

Impervioso is a Buddhist monk who walks the mortal world disguised as a dirty, eccentric beggar with uneven legs. He understands the cosmic origins of the magical stone and periodically appears to humans to deliver cryptic spiritual warnings or provide vital mystical healing.

Mysterioso is a Taoist illuminate who travels the world alongside Impervioso. Appearing in the human realm as a ragged vagrant, he offers mystical items—such as the "Mirror for the Romantic"—to help overly passionate mortals escape the deadly illusions of earthly lust.

Feng-Yuan is a young man of modest means who unexpectedly falls deeply in love with a kidnapped slave girl. He spends his entire life savings to purchase her, intending to make her his legal wife, but runs afoul of a much wealthier buyer.

Grannie Liu is a poor widow from a rural farming family who claims a distant, generational connection to the powerful Wang family. She strategically uses her knowledge of social customs and hospitality to secure much-needed financial assistance from her wealthy relatives at the Rong mansion.

Euergesia is the Prioress of the Water-moon Priory, a nunnery located near the Jia family's rural burial site. She uses flattery and manipulation to pressure Wang Xi-feng into intervening in a local, high-stakes marriage dispute for profit.

Jokey Jin is a student from a relatively poor background who attends the Jia clan school. Resentful of the tight bonds forming among the wealthier students, he maliciously starts toxic rumors about Qin Zhong's relationships, sparking a massive, chaotic brawl in the classroom.

Tealeaf is Bao-yu's hot-headed, fiercely loyal personal servant. While he genuinely cares for his master, he often incites chaos, such as starting physical fights at the clan school and supplying Bao-yu with forbidden, raunchy romantic novels.

Vanitas is a Taoist monk endlessly searching for the secret of immortality. He discovers the magical stone, reads its inscribed story about the nature of love, and renames himself the "Passionate Monk" to share its profound teachings with the mortal world.

Zhen Shi-yin is a quiet, middle-class man who loves gardening, wine, and poetry. After suffering a rapid series of devastating losses—including the tragic kidnapping of his young daughter and the burning of his family home—he abandons his earthly life to wander the countryside as a Taoist monk.

Feng-shi is the wife of Zhen Shi-yin. She endures immense, compounding tragedies when her only daughter is kidnapped and her home is entirely destroyed by fire, eventually returning to live in poverty with her greedy father after her husband abruptly leaves her.

Feng-su is the greedy, unsympathetic father of Feng-shi. He complains bitterly about having to house his destitute relatives and actively embezzles the remaining funds his son-in-law manages to salvage from the ruins of their old life.

Born as Ying-lian to the Zhen family, she is kidnapped as a small child and sold into slavery. Renamed Caltrop, she grows into a strikingly beautiful young woman who inadvertently becomes the center of a deadly dispute between two buyers, eventually ending up as a quiet maid in the Rong mansion.

Disenchantment is a fairy who manages love-karma and resides in the celestial Land of Illusion. She attempts to teach Bao-yu that mortal love is fleeting and illusory by showing him prophetic song cycles and initiating him into the physical realities of romance.

Jia Yu-cun is a highly intelligent, skilled poet who rises from extreme poverty to become a prominent magistrate, thanks entirely to a charitable loan from his neighbor Zhen Shi-yin. His political career fluctuates dramatically due to his ego, forcing him to occasionally work as a traveling tutor to wealthy families.

Jia Rui is the grandson of the clan schoolmaster. He develops a dangerous, obsessive lust for Wang Xi-feng that blinds him to her retaliatory traps, leading him to ignore direct spiritual warnings and succumb to his own base desires.

Jia Dai-ru is the strict, traditional schoolmaster of the Jia clan school. He attempts to enforce rigorous discipline on the unruly students and physically punishes his grandson when he catches him behaving improperly.

Cousin Zhen is the head of the Ning-guo mansion. He maintains a notably lax approach to managing his household staff but spares absolutely no expense when organizing an extravagant, 49-day funeral to honor his daughter-in-law.

Yuan-chun is the older sister of Bao-yu who brings immense honor to the Jia family by entering the Emperor's inner circle. Despite her highly elevated social status, she is deeply sensitive and weeps openly over the extreme physical and emotional isolation her royal position forces upon her.

Musk is one of Bao-yu's lower-ranking maidservants. She willingly participates in Bao-yu's highly affectionate grooming habits, drawing criticism from other servants for being too intimate with the young master.

Nannie Li is Bao-yu's aging wet nurse. Bitter over her fading relevance in his life, she frequently steals the special treats he saves for others and resentfully berates the younger, prettier maids who have successfully replaced her in his affections.

Jia Huan is the illegitimate half-brother of Bao-yu, born to a concubine. Bitterly jealous of the special treatment and wealth universally afforded to Bao-yu, his deep-seated resentment occasionally erupts into acts of shocking, physical violence.

Big Jiao is an elderly, constantly drunken servant who once saved a former master in battle. His long-standing historical service makes him entirely untouchable, allowing him to loudly and publicly broadcast the family's secret, shameful depravities without fear of punishment.

Sapientia is a young nun who has regularly visited the Rong mansion since she was a child. She falls deeply in love with Qin Zhong, embarking on a passionate, rule-breaking romance that brings severe consequences to them both.

Shi Xiang-yun is an orphaned great-niece of Grandmother Jia who grew up in the palace. She has a notable speech lisp and a playful, teasing nature, occasionally clashing with Dai-yu's more sensitive temperament during their visits.

Patience is the clever, sharp-tongued personal maid to Wang Xi-feng. She actively helps her mistress manage the massive household and carefully navigates the complicated fidelity issues of her master, Jia Lian.

Jia Yun is an impoverished 18-year-old cousin in the extended Jia family. Ambitious and highly resourceful, he leverages borrowed money to buy expensive gifts, securing Wang Xi-feng's favor and landing a steady job within the household.

Mother Ma is Bao-yu's godmother and a quiet practitioner of dark arts. For a steep price, she happily uses intense witchcraft to help resentful family members curse their rivals, bringing chaos into the household.

Auntie Zhao is the deeply resentful concubine of Jia Zheng. Furious at her low status and the preferential treatment universally given to Bao-yu, she resorts to dangerous supernatural means to eliminate her rivals and elevate her own son's position.

Crimson is a plain, low-ranking maid in the Rong household. Desiring a better station, she seizes small opportunities to be noticed but faces harsh reprimands from the senior servants, finding solace in a budding romance with a young gardener.

Jia Lian is the husband of Wang Xi-feng and a trusted, capable member of the Jia family. He frequently travels to handle external family business, but struggles significantly with fidelity when away from his strict, imposing wife.