Just finished his first Inspector Chen Cao's novel, "The Death of a Red Heroine" and enjoyed it. It gives insights into how the opening of the Chinese economy in the early '90's begins to have profound effects on society. Some of the examples are metaphors for the decisions of the younger generation to eschew traditional values in their pursuit of money and a better life. The ending was fascinating showing the trade-offs between what would be considered "justice" versus keeping the tea pot from exploding within the upper ranks of the CCP – I think this part was a bit different from your typical "who-done-it" – less of a confrontational showdown. I'm sure I didn't pick up on every nuance and insight but found it enjoyable anyways.
The prevalence of translated books in Europe vs. the States is perhaps an amusing reinforcement of American insularity, lol.
That said, did you get a chance to discuss Qiu's personal optimism of cynicism for China's evolution into the future beyond what he projects onto his protagonist in his books?
Anyone who is openly associated with the TSM and its enduring legacies is obviously going to be sensitive or suspect (depending on where one comes down on any objective judgement of it), but it's always informative to consider their perspectives, right or wrong, fair or not, given their personal proximity.
That is discussed in the Inspector Chen novels, which are arranged in a chronological order. Qiu has traveled to China on a regular basis in order to update the backdrop of the changes in Chinese society. In the more recent stories, Chen has become promoted to Chief Inspector but, at the same time, he gets more cynical about life and work, and becomes more engaged with poetry and fine cuisine.
This reflects Qiu's personal pessimism that economic development will lead to political change.
These continuous updates are valuable in that they give English readers a view into how modern Chinese perceive the changes in their own society and where they lead to, in a much better way than all the books and articles about international relations the East/West clash do.
On a personal basis, this is why I like crime and criminals. Politicians and intellectuals usually talk about how they think people and society should behave, but crime and criminals tell us more about how they REALLY behave, and what is important to people at that period in time. If people read more crime fiction, they would see the world as it is, instead of what others pretend it to be.
Noticed a spelling error. My above comment should've read "personal optimism or cynicism".
So you believe Inspector Chen appropriately reflects Qiu's personal optimism or cynicism about China's evolution into the future. Cool, I get that his series reflect his and his character's observations and judgements of China's evolution so far, but was wondering if whatever he projected of himself onto the character might've been tempered by the needs of fictional narrative or publishing realities, that he might personally be more or less optimistic than the character.
Agree with your sentiments on coverage of international relations and the proscriptions of politicians and intellectuals vs. what is.
You need to keep in mind that Qiu came from a Shanghai intellectual family background which was assumed to western influence relatively early on. As I'm sure you know, people who come from Chinese intellectual families have a more nuanced understanding of China's developments, and this is reflected in the character of Inspector Chen. Basically, he is a bureaucrat who is given the task of finding the truth for his political superiors. But, because the judiciary is not independent, he needs to be careful about how the truth is handled. In his early years, this is accepted as a given, but over time, this leads to some frustration. For this reason, he cultivates his personal interests like poetry and fine food.
This life view and worldview is nuanced in a way which deviates from the mainstream of what we hear about China in the western press, which is either strongly pro-China and pro-party because of China's economic development, or anti-China, because the Party does not respect human rights in the western way. While one can find this view in Chinese literature, it is very hard to find it in detective novels written in English. Many westerners who do not have a deep understanding of China, and who maybe read the Inspector Chen novels because they like crime fiction instead of knowing about China, probably don't know what to make of it. But I think people who have a deeper appreciation of China, especially modern China, get it.
I have to say that I'm a bit disappointed by this interview. I was expecting interesting anecdotes and some real information about police work in China, but this is just a giant advertisement masquerading as an interview. I hope there aren't more articles like this in the future.
Have you read the Inspector Chen series? There is information about police work in his books. I was operating on the assumption that readers did not know about Qiu's work, and wanted to give them some background, including personal background, so that they can judge if they want to read his books. I have read them, and think they are an excellent source of information about what it is like to be a detective in today's China.
I haven't, and that's why I was disappointed in this interview. I don't think most people would be interested in reading a book because of someone's personal background (not to mention that the writer isn't even directly involved in police work himself) without any examples of the author's scope of interest (beyond personal angst) and specific things that he writes about. The impression I'm getting is that the books are about a detective's growing midlife crisis as opposed to intriguing cases that demonstrate the ins and outs of Chinese police work.
If your purpose is to encourage people to read the books, then perhaps you ought to be willing to see why the interview isn't accomplishing that. Are critiques not allowed here? Rather ironic considering that the books themselves are supposed to be a critique of Chinese police work and corruption (although again, I don't see anything that supports that in the interview beyond the author's assurance). I'm also rather surprised that someone I've believed to be so logical and even-handed would reply with a personal attack.
The books are detective fiction with contemporary China as the background; Inspector Chen is also a poet and enjoys fine Chinese cuisine; these are how he connects with his family and indulges his own personal escapes from the pressure of his own investigatory work. Obviously, the author has put a lot of his own personal background, like the poetry aspect, into his character.
I don't consider your criticisms valid because you have not done your homework by first reading the links which were furnished to you before making your criticisms; you are just acting on a personal whim because you did not find the information about police work you wanted. The general rule in making any critique is to at least read the information furnished to you before making any criticism, and if you can't do that, any remark you make is unlikely to add to the discussion.
The other aspect is that this interview is not written to be critiqued; it is just for the readers' personal enjoyment and interest. If you enjoy it and find it interesting; I'm pleased that I have opened the readers' eyes to something that they didn't already know. If they don't, that's OK too.
It's an interview; I am not trying to sell his books. I interviewed him because Qiu is an interesting person with an interesting background, which is why I offered links to the Wikipedia entry about him, and to his personal website.
I can tell from your comments that you have not even bothered to visit those two sites in order to get more of Qiu's personal background.
In the interview, Qiu mentioned how hard it is to get information about crime and investigatory work for novels from China because officially the Chinese government does not want to publicize the dark side of society. Again, this is just offered as background interest for people who are willing to read in order to satisfy their own curiosity.
If you are looking for detailed information about police work, all you need to do is borrow or buy one of his books to see if you like it. In his later books, Inspector Cao is promoted to Chief Inspector Cao, so there is considerable politics and background about current Chinese policies. If you are interested in that kind of thing, it is useful and I highly recommend reading it.
Just finished his first Inspector Chen Cao's novel, "The Death of a Red Heroine" and enjoyed it. It gives insights into how the opening of the Chinese economy in the early '90's begins to have profound effects on society. Some of the examples are metaphors for the decisions of the younger generation to eschew traditional values in their pursuit of money and a better life. The ending was fascinating showing the trade-offs between what would be considered "justice" versus keeping the tea pot from exploding within the upper ranks of the CCP – I think this part was a bit different from your typical "who-done-it" – less of a confrontational showdown. I'm sure I didn't pick up on every nuance and insight but found it enjoyable anyways.
Just downloaded the first of his books to my Kindle, I am looking forward to this.......
The prevalence of translated books in Europe vs. the States is perhaps an amusing reinforcement of American insularity, lol.
That said, did you get a chance to discuss Qiu's personal optimism of cynicism for China's evolution into the future beyond what he projects onto his protagonist in his books?
Anyone who is openly associated with the TSM and its enduring legacies is obviously going to be sensitive or suspect (depending on where one comes down on any objective judgement of it), but it's always informative to consider their perspectives, right or wrong, fair or not, given their personal proximity.
That is discussed in the Inspector Chen novels, which are arranged in a chronological order. Qiu has traveled to China on a regular basis in order to update the backdrop of the changes in Chinese society. In the more recent stories, Chen has become promoted to Chief Inspector but, at the same time, he gets more cynical about life and work, and becomes more engaged with poetry and fine cuisine.
This reflects Qiu's personal pessimism that economic development will lead to political change.
These continuous updates are valuable in that they give English readers a view into how modern Chinese perceive the changes in their own society and where they lead to, in a much better way than all the books and articles about international relations the East/West clash do.
On a personal basis, this is why I like crime and criminals. Politicians and intellectuals usually talk about how they think people and society should behave, but crime and criminals tell us more about how they REALLY behave, and what is important to people at that period in time. If people read more crime fiction, they would see the world as it is, instead of what others pretend it to be.
Noticed a spelling error. My above comment should've read "personal optimism or cynicism".
So you believe Inspector Chen appropriately reflects Qiu's personal optimism or cynicism about China's evolution into the future. Cool, I get that his series reflect his and his character's observations and judgements of China's evolution so far, but was wondering if whatever he projected of himself onto the character might've been tempered by the needs of fictional narrative or publishing realities, that he might personally be more or less optimistic than the character.
Agree with your sentiments on coverage of international relations and the proscriptions of politicians and intellectuals vs. what is.
You need to keep in mind that Qiu came from a Shanghai intellectual family background which was assumed to western influence relatively early on. As I'm sure you know, people who come from Chinese intellectual families have a more nuanced understanding of China's developments, and this is reflected in the character of Inspector Chen. Basically, he is a bureaucrat who is given the task of finding the truth for his political superiors. But, because the judiciary is not independent, he needs to be careful about how the truth is handled. In his early years, this is accepted as a given, but over time, this leads to some frustration. For this reason, he cultivates his personal interests like poetry and fine food.
This life view and worldview is nuanced in a way which deviates from the mainstream of what we hear about China in the western press, which is either strongly pro-China and pro-party because of China's economic development, or anti-China, because the Party does not respect human rights in the western way. While one can find this view in Chinese literature, it is very hard to find it in detective novels written in English. Many westerners who do not have a deep understanding of China, and who maybe read the Inspector Chen novels because they like crime fiction instead of knowing about China, probably don't know what to make of it. But I think people who have a deeper appreciation of China, especially modern China, get it.
I have to say that I'm a bit disappointed by this interview. I was expecting interesting anecdotes and some real information about police work in China, but this is just a giant advertisement masquerading as an interview. I hope there aren't more articles like this in the future.
Have you read the Inspector Chen series? There is information about police work in his books. I was operating on the assumption that readers did not know about Qiu's work, and wanted to give them some background, including personal background, so that they can judge if they want to read his books. I have read them, and think they are an excellent source of information about what it is like to be a detective in today's China.
I haven't, and that's why I was disappointed in this interview. I don't think most people would be interested in reading a book because of someone's personal background (not to mention that the writer isn't even directly involved in police work himself) without any examples of the author's scope of interest (beyond personal angst) and specific things that he writes about. The impression I'm getting is that the books are about a detective's growing midlife crisis as opposed to intriguing cases that demonstrate the ins and outs of Chinese police work.
I'm disappointed that you draw your own conclusion without even being willing to read his books. Is that laziness or what?
If your purpose is to encourage people to read the books, then perhaps you ought to be willing to see why the interview isn't accomplishing that. Are critiques not allowed here? Rather ironic considering that the books themselves are supposed to be a critique of Chinese police work and corruption (although again, I don't see anything that supports that in the interview beyond the author's assurance). I'm also rather surprised that someone I've believed to be so logical and even-handed would reply with a personal attack.
The books are detective fiction with contemporary China as the background; Inspector Chen is also a poet and enjoys fine Chinese cuisine; these are how he connects with his family and indulges his own personal escapes from the pressure of his own investigatory work. Obviously, the author has put a lot of his own personal background, like the poetry aspect, into his character.
I don't consider your criticisms valid because you have not done your homework by first reading the links which were furnished to you before making your criticisms; you are just acting on a personal whim because you did not find the information about police work you wanted. The general rule in making any critique is to at least read the information furnished to you before making any criticism, and if you can't do that, any remark you make is unlikely to add to the discussion.
The other aspect is that this interview is not written to be critiqued; it is just for the readers' personal enjoyment and interest. If you enjoy it and find it interesting; I'm pleased that I have opened the readers' eyes to something that they didn't already know. If they don't, that's OK too.
Next.
It's an interview; I am not trying to sell his books. I interviewed him because Qiu is an interesting person with an interesting background, which is why I offered links to the Wikipedia entry about him, and to his personal website.
I can tell from your comments that you have not even bothered to visit those two sites in order to get more of Qiu's personal background.
In the interview, Qiu mentioned how hard it is to get information about crime and investigatory work for novels from China because officially the Chinese government does not want to publicize the dark side of society. Again, this is just offered as background interest for people who are willing to read in order to satisfy their own curiosity.
If you are looking for detailed information about police work, all you need to do is borrow or buy one of his books to see if you like it. In his later books, Inspector Cao is promoted to Chief Inspector Cao, so there is considerable politics and background about current Chinese policies. If you are interested in that kind of thing, it is useful and I highly recommend reading it.