Qigang Chen was born in Shanghai in 1951. From a young age, he was immersed in an environment where art was woven into daily life thanks to his family’s strong attachment to traditional culture. His father embodied the Confucian ideal of the “superior man” — a scholar who painted, practiced calligraphy, and dabbled in traditional musical instruments. His mother, a pianist and teacher, also attempted composing, though without success. Both parents had participated in the revolutionary movement of the 1930s, rising to prominent positions in the People's Republic of China: his father became Minister for Culture, and his mother was appointed director of music for documentary cinema. The family moved to Beijing, where Chen spent most of his childhood.

At the age of thirteen, Chen joined a school affiliated with the Central Conservatory of Music, where he studied clarinet for fourteen years. However, in 1966, the Cultural Revolution disrupted his education, banning anything influenced by Western teaching models. Chen was accused of being anti-revolutionary and was forced to work in an agricultural commune. He was also isolated and marginalized at school due to his father’s “bourgeois” status. From 1970 to 1973, he was held in the Baoding barracks in Hebei province for “ideological reeducation,” without any outside contact. However, in 1970, a slight easing of restrictions allowed him to resume his study of music.

In 1973, he joined the Hangzhou orchestra in Zhejiang province as principal clarinetist for three years, then conductor for two years. During this time, he began teaching himself composition. With the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976, the Central Conservatory in Beijing reopened its entrance exams. Chen ranked first in clarinet and twelfth in composition, a discipline he chose without hesitation. From 1978 to 1982, he studied harmony, counterpoint, and orchestration under Luo Zhongrong. During these years, he became aware of the vibrancy of Western music through conferences and masterclasses by visiting Western musicians, including Alexander Goehr, then a professor at Cambridge, who introduced him to the Viennese School, as well as Pierre Boulez, Iannis Xenakis, and Olivier Messiaen.

Chen graduated top of his class in his bachelor’s degree, earning a chance to study in France through an exchange program. He arrived in Bordeaux in July 1984 and contacted Messiaen, who, though retired from CNSM Paris, gave him private lessons from 1984 to 1988, making Chen his last pupil. To meet scholarship requirements, Chen enrolled at the University of Paris IV-Sorbonne, where he earned a degree in musicology in 1989. He also audited courses at CNSM, studying mainly with Ivo Malec and Betsy Jolas. He furthered his studies with Claude Ballif and Jacques Castérède at the École Normale de Musique, receiving an Advanced Diploma in Composition in 1988.

Recognition soon followed. In 1986, he won a prize at the Concours International de Composition de Paris for his piece Yi. Additional awards came from Darmstadt in 1987 for Voyage d’un rêve (Journey of a Dream), promoted by Brian Ferneyhough, and in 1989 and 1991.

Chen obtained French nationality in 1992, primarily for practical reasons and freedom of movement. A temporary return to China in 2003 gave him a renewed perspective on the country and its evolving political landscape. The country granted him official honors, appointing him musical director for the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games. His work also became more accessible, particularly through soundtracks for three Zhang Yimou films in 2010, 2011, and 2014.

Though fully devoted to composition and without a formal teaching position, Chen established the Gonggeng College–Chen Qigang Music Workshop in Huangniling (Suichang, Zhejiang) in January 2015. This annual workshop, which accepts around twenty students free of charge, allows him to pass on his experience and ideas while staying connected to young composers in a rapidly changing China.