Qiu Xiaolong

Earlier this week I had a chance to meet and listen to Qiu Xiaolong, the author of the Detective Chen series. Among other books he has written "When Red is Black" and "Loyal Character Dancer". A resident of St Louis for about 20 years, Qiu grew up in Shanghai during the Cultural Revolution when he and his family suffered greatly. In 1988 Qiu went to Washington University in St. Louis for a year's study but when Tiananmen happened in 1989 he decided not to return to China.

Qiu related that while he has received much aclaim in North America and Europe he has had mixed reactions in China. During a recent interview in China he was criticized for not writing in Chinese or returning to China to live. He couldn't discuss the real reason - that in China he cannot be free to write and have published what he wants.

The pettiness of China's censors were apparent in the way the translations of his books in China have been handled. While his books are all set in Shanghai his Chinese publisher had to change the venue to a fictional city called "H-City", apparently because the censors didn't want to admit that crime takes place in the real Shanghai. References to the Cultural Revolution had to be removed from the translations of Loyal Character Dancer (the title itself being such a reference) and his other books. The examples of why a writer such as Qiu cannot live and work in China go on and on.