Rediscovering Eastern roots

• Source: Global Times
• [10:45 September 08 2010]
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A new home

After graduation, Qin returned to Beijing where he and a group of Chinese folk musicians started a rock-and-roll band. He worked for the British Library for four years and later took a job with the British Council in China. He married a Chinese woman, who is an artist, whom he met in Beijing.

In 2009, Qin became the director of the ShContemporary. "My understanding of Chinese culture helped me get acquainted with many Chinese artists of the past, which in turn enabled me to communicate with Chinese artists for the exhibition," he said.

Although he is clearly a man of mixed race, he said it was hard to tell if he is a British or a Chinese, because of his experience with both cultures.

Qin is British by nationality, but he believes he belongs to both countries. He is not obsessed with the concept of national identity, but he does sometimes envy those who have only one country for the sense of identity it brings. "Sometimes you feel that you belong to two countries, but once in a while you feel you actually have no country. I do not know which country means more to me, but if either of them needs me, I will step forward," he said.