Mr. Cao received his M.A. from the University of Wisconsin, where he is finishing his Ph.D. dissertation, tentatively entitled "The Qing Dynasty Evidential Research Scholarship (kaozheng) on The Grand Scribe's Records." His research interests include early Chinese narrative and historical works, the development of Chinese fictional writings, and the translation of ancient Chinese texts. He is part of the group project translating Sima Qian's Shiji (The Grand Scribe's Records—popularly known as The Book of History), and his annotated translation of "The Basic Annals of Emperor Wen, the Filial" appeared in volume 3 of that book last year. Mr. Cao teaches Chinese language and literature.