was born in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, in 1966. He graduated from the composition class of Xu Shuya and Zhu Jian’er at the Shanghai Conservatoire beginning in 1992. On a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), he studied with Nicolaus A. Huber in 1998, and obtained a degree with honours from the Folkwang Academy in Essen in 2001. He has been teaching at the Central Conservatoire in Beijing since 2001.
He cooperates with leading ensembles such as Ensemble Recherche, Ensemble Itinéraire, Ensemble Europa Antidogma, Tokyo City Symphony Orchestra, RSO Berlin and the Ensemble of Line, and with music institutions and events such as NDR, WDR, Bavarian Radio, Radio France, New Music Biennale in Hanover, Holland Festival, Transatlantic Festival, and Chinese–Japanese Music Festival.
Qin is one of the most important composers of his generation. With the partial inclusion of traditional Chinese instruments, he creates an individual bridge between Chinese tradition and Western avant-garde. His musical language combines subtle, intensive, and differentiated sounds with exciting courses of development.

Major works: Yi Yun for orchestra (1991–92), He-yi for zheng and ensemble (1998), huai sha for ensemble (2000), The Sun Shadow III for harp, cello and percussion (2000), Yin Ji for orchestra (2000–1), The Spirit of the Mountains for soprano, violin, cello, piano and percussion (2003–4), Pilgrimage in May for orchestra (2004), Wind–Moon Consonance for sheng, recorder and orchestra (2004), The Sun Shadow VI for chamber ensemble (2005), The Sun Shadow VII for six strings (2005), Five Songs on the Horizon for cello, accordion and strings (2005), Pipa Words for pipa (2006), Sounds that Awake Memories for recorder, shō, guitar and percussion (2006), Dawn Concerto for Cello and Orchestra (2008), The Sun Shadow VIII for piccolo, oboe, clarinet and percussion (2009), Antiphony for flute, oboe, clarinet, piano, percussion and 12 vocalists (2009), Calling for Phoenix for suona and orchestra (2010), The Nature’s Dialogue for tape and orchestra (2010), Two Pieces for zheng solo (2011), Across the Skies for pipa and string orchestra (2012), Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (2012), Morning Sound Over the Land for ensemble (2013), Wind Lament for string quartet (2013), Listen to the Valleys for ensemble (2014).