The detective story of Inspector first happened in Death of a Red Heroine, which is considered as the best of those books。 It is the first crime solved by Chen, during which time, the case is not the focus displayed by Qiu。 He requires the readers, including foreigners and Chinese, to pay more attention to the life and experience of the people in Shanghai in 1990s。 Inspector Chen, to some degree, is a symbol of that period of China more than a police officer。 What’s more, it can be clearly seen that Inspector Chen has some shadows of Qiu himself, who likes delicious food and elegant poems。 Through the description of the local citizens, Qiu shows us how people release themselves from the Cultural Revolution and get close to the reforms around 1990s and accept new ideas。 When Red is Black focuses on the sad love story of a couple, Yin and Yang , and the mystery of their death。 The background is set in a typical period of time in Shanghai when the socialist economy is booming and some people are allowed to get rich first by Deng Xiaoping’s policy。 Some people who are still stuck in the past time like Wang in When Red is Black inevitably get lost in that environment。 A lot of Chinese old sayings are translated into English and can be easily understood by western readers with great interest。

Qiu is talented in telling the stories about the world of Shanghai in 1990s。 In his stories, there exists a mixture of traditional Chinese culture, Chinese local food and classic poems and old sayings。 And they are mingled together so smoothly and naturally。 Inspector Chen, the poet and 

police officer who opens a new page of modern Chinese society in front of the eyes of the whole world, is getting more and more popular。

1。2 The Introduction of the Background

In the later 20th century, the American literary world has witnessed a series of revolutionary changes with Chinese American writers displaying their talent to the western world。 They have an outstanding command of English and a detailed observation of contemporary China and the world。 Consequently, gifted writers like Qiu Xiaolong have a wider stage than ever before to stand on。 What’s more, the experience of the Cultural Revolution and the Reform and Opening Policy raise their speaking volume。 Qiu is such a leading figure。 

As for the detective fiction , it was first introduced by Edgar Allan Poe。 Edgar Allan Poe wrote five short stories between 1840 and 1845: The Murders in the Rue Morgue, Thou Art the Man, The Purloined Letter, The Mystery of Marie Roget, and The Golden Bug。 He was regarded as the first person who created a different style of fiction combined with detection and stories about mystery。 The combination of the two kinds of writing was later named the detective fiction。 In that case, Edgar Allan Poe is considered to be the father of the detective fiction。 English writer and critic Dorothy Leigh Sayers believes Poe “laid down the principles of the genre for ever”。 (Sayers, 1929: 9) Aaron Marc Stein,who insists on the political, social and intellectual aspects in analyzing the origin and development of the genre, also agrees that Poe invents the genre with these five stories。 (Cerrito, 1993: 79) 

Detective fiction is thought as the popular literature, which aims to entertain people from all walks of life。 This is the reason why almost every detective story aims to solve a case and find the murder。 With the efforts of the masters like Conan Doyle, detective fiction turns out to be a great success and gain world-wide popularity。 The character Sherlock Holmes created by Conan Doyle is such a genius in analyzing the case and is able to find the murder by the slightest and unrelated clues。 The book series has been adapted in other medias like film and TV series。 The modern version of Sherlock Holmes is acted by Benedict Cumberbatch with Martin Freeman as Watson which is produced by the BBC。 As soon as it was released on 25th July 2010, it smashed the rating records of Britain。 Holmes is knowledgeable with low emotional quotient who is loved by readers all over the world。 Reading the plot with such a main character involved gives people a sense of participation and resonance。 This is the innovative point of Doyle which helps the detective fiction ascend one of the most popular genres in popular literature。 After Doyle’s contribution, reader participation and resonance have become the main feature of the detective story。 At the beginning of the 20th century, detective fiction developed rapidly in the western world。 New detective novels writers like Agatha Christie, Ellery Queen and Raymand Chandler have showed their talent after Doyle。 Detective fiction in contemporary era varies from each other but none is away from the classical norm。 Under such background, Qiu determines to achieve to his own success by using the formula created by the predecessors together with Chinese model。