Chinese classic: A Dream of Red Mansions

I love this novel. A Dream of Red Mansions contains an extraordinarily large number of characters: nearly thirty are considered major characters, but I just like Xue Baochai who is really cute and smart. How about your guys?

This is one of the Four Great Classics I'd love to start reading, but unfortunately I still need to learn many characters to achieve some understanding without looking to a dictionnary.... Is there an 中英对版 english/chinese edition? I know to translate this must be a colossal task, but just to have some reference....

annasui wrote: I love this novel. A Dream of Red Mansions contains an extraordinarily large number of characters: nearly thirty are considered major characters, but I just like Xue Baochai who is really cute and smart. How about your guys?

I think it's misinterpretation, correct translation should be "A Dream of Red Chamber", not mansion

The novel was written by Cao Xueqin during Qing era, but the story set its background in Ming dynasty