🎯 Where Should I Start?
ⓘ About Qiu Xiaolong
Born in 1953 in Shanghai, China, Qiu Xiaolong is a prolific English language author. As well as working as an academic, he writes poetry, crime fiction, literary translations and works of literary criticism. For example, he has translated several poems from the original Chinese into English and published these in a volume entitled ‘Treasury of Chinese Love Poems’ and he has also written a sizeable series of detective novels which are often popularly called ‘The Detective Chen Novels’ (though each novel, of course, has an individual title). Qiu moved to the United States from China in the 1980s. He originally visited the US in 1988 with the aim of research and writing a book on the modernist poet TS Eliot (who was born in the US, though he later settled in Britain).
All Book Series by Qiu Xiaolong
The Conspiracies of the Empire
Latest in the series · book 2 of 2 · published 2024
Disappearing Shanghai: Photographs and Poems of an Intimate Way of Life
Latest in the series · book 3 of 3 · published 2012
Poems of Tang and Song Dynasties
Latest in the series · book 2 of 2 · published 2006
? Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Qiu Xiaolong?
Born in 1953 in Shanghai, China, Qiu Xiaolong is a prolific English language author. As well as working as an academic, he writes poetry, crime fiction, literary translations and works of literary criticism. For example, he has translated several poems from the original Chinese into English and published these in a volume entitled 'Treasury of Chinese Love Poems' and he has also written a sizeable series of detective novels which are often popularly called 'The Detective Chen Novels' (though each novel, of course, has an individual title).
Which Qiu Xiaolong series should I start with?
The best place to start is the Inspector Chen series, the earliest of Qiu Xiaolong's multi-book series: it opens with Death of a Red Heroine (2000) and runs to 14 books across 2000–2026, ending with The Secret Sharers (2026).
How many books has Qiu Xiaolong written?
Qiu Xiaolong has 26 books catalogued in this guide, published between 2000 and 2026. 18 of them belong to 3 named series — the largest being the Inspector Chen series with 14 books — and 8 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.
In what order should Qiu Xiaolong's series be read?
Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Qiu Xiaolong's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Inspector Chen (2000–2026, 14 books), Inspector Chen Collections (2016–2018, 2 books) and Judge Dee Investigation (2022–2024, 2 books).
How are Qiu Xiaolong's books organised into series?
This guide splits Qiu Xiaolong's 26 books into 3 named series and 8 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: Inspector Chen (14 books, 2000–2026); Inspector Chen Collections (2 books, 2016–2018); Judge Dee Investigation (2 books, 2022–2024).