Qu You (1347-1433), whose style name was Zongji and literary name Cunzhai, was a famous scholar and poet of the Ming Dynasty. He is the author of almost thirty books in different genres; however, only one-third of them are extant. New Stories Told while Trimming the Wick earned him the most fame and acclaim. Zhenjun Zhang is Professor of Chinese and Coordinator of Asian Studies Program at St. Lawrence University, author of Buddhism and Tales of the Supernatural in Early Medieval China (2014), translator of Hidden and Visible Realms: Early Medieval Chinese Tales of the Supernatural and the Fantastic (2018), and co-editor (with Victor Mair) of Anthology of Tang and Song Tales: The Tang Song Chuanqi ji of Lu Xun (2020) and Classic Chinese Poems of Mourning and Texts of Lament (2024). Sidney Sondergard is Piskor Professor Emeritus at St. Lawrence University. He is the translator of the complete English edition of Pu Songling's Strange Tales from Liaozhai (6 vols.

, 2008-2014). His essays have appeared in Studies in Philology, The American Journal of Semiotics, Studies in the Humanities, Theatre Survey, and Critique. Trever McKay is Associate Professor of Chinese language and literature at Brigham Young University-Idaho, whose translations have appeared in Anthology of Tang and Song Tales: The Tang Song chuanqi ji of Lu Xun and Classic Chinese Poems of Mourning and Texts of Lament.