Career At A Glance
 

One of Qi’s scholarly interests is Thomas Hardy. His master’s thesis is titled “Tragic Effect of Thomas Hardy’s Major Novels,” an original study of The Return of the Native, Mayor of Casterbridge, Tess of the d’Urbervilles, and Jude the Obscure in the context of tragedy criticism and development. This early interest of his has blossomed into a number of papers in scholarly journals, conference presentations, and three books: A Pair of Blue Eyes (translation, 1994), The Well-Beloved (translation, 1996), and Voices in Tragic Harmony: Essays on Thomas Hardy’s Fiction and Poetry (coauthor, William W. Morgan, 2002).

Another scholarly interest Qi has been pursuing is rhetoric/composition studies. He has published several books in this area, e.g., Western Writing Theories, Pedagogies, and Practices (2000)--a book that has been regarded as a "classic" in China and used by many graduate programs there, Success in Advanced English Writing: A Comprehensive Guide (2000), and The New Century Guide in Practical English Communication (2000). He has also edited two collections: Best Contemporary American Essays (2003) and Candid Voices: Essays by American College Students (2004).

Being bilingual and bicultural, Qi sees helping build a bridge of cross-cultural understanding one of his lifelong missions. He has penned numerous columns and essays on US and China relations and cross-cultural (mis)understanding and published Bridging the Pacific: Searching for Cross-Cultural Understanding between the United States and China (2000) , a collection of essays and other (creative) nonfiction pieces, and The Swallow (2003). A Chinese edition of the nonfiction pieces was published in 1999. 
 

One of Qi’s new passions is fiction writing. His first novel, When The Purple Mountain Burns, is about the Rape of Nanking, a horrendous tragic event that happened in his hometown in the winter of 1937-08 (San Francisco: Long River Press; 2005). Two Chinese editions (one in simplified Chinese and one classic), also written by him, were published at the same time in Shanghai and Hong Kong respectively. He has also written a screenplay based on the novel, which has been optioned for production. Qi's short story collection Red Guard Fantasies and Other Stories was published spring 2007.

The Pearl Jacket and Other Stories: Flash Fiction from Contemporary China, which he translated and wrote the preface, is forthcoming (San Francisco: Stone Bridge Press, 2008). Among his works-in-progress, Qi is working on his second novel, Twin-Sun River, which is about an American Korean War POW who chose to go to China at the time of armistice (1953). A staged reading of Twin-Sun River was sponsored by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences New York on March 24, 2008 (Produced by Emmy-winning Louisa Burns-Bosogno and Ellen Muir; directed by Pam McDaniel). Another of his works-in-progress is a new book of creative nonfiction titled China Complex: From the Sublime to the Absurd on the US-China Scene.

Qi has taught a range of courses at both graduate and undergraduate levels from writing to literature to history and cross-cultural issues.