Qiu Jin

Qiu Jin (; 8November 187515July 1907) was a Chinese revolutionary, feminist, and writer. Qiu was executed after a failed uprising against the Qing dynasty and is considered a national heroine in China and a martyr of republicanism and feminism.

Born into a wealthy family in Fuzhou, Qiu Jin spent her childhood in Zhejiang, where she received an education, uncommon for women at the time. In the early 1900s, she left her husband and children to study in Japan. After returning to China, Qiu Jin became actively involved in revolutionary activities.

Biography

thumb|Wax figure of Qiu Jin at her desk

Born in Fuzhou, China, Qiu Jin spent her childhood in her ancestral home, Qiu Jin's wealthy and educated background, along with her early exposure to political ideologies were key factors in her transformation to becoming a female pioneer for the woman's liberation movement and the republican revolution in China. Qiu Jin was one of these elites that got the chance to study overseas, although it was self-funded rather than being part of the Qing dynasty's study abroad programs. After studying in a women's school in Japan, Qiu returned to China to participate in a variety of revolutionary activities; and through her involvement with these activities, it became clear how Qiu wanted others to perceive her. Qiu called herself 'Female Knight-Errant of Jian Lake' — the role of the knight-errant, established in the Han dynasty, was a prototypically male figure known for swordsmanship, bravery, faithfulness, and self-sacrifice — and 'Vying for Heroism'.

Early life in China

Childhood activities

Qiu Jin had her feet bound and began writing poetry at an early age. With the support from her family, Qiu Jin also learned how to ride a horse and use a sword—activities that usually only men were permitted to learn at the time.

Marriage

In 1896 Qiu Jin got married. Although she was only 21, this was considered late for a woman at the time. Qiu Jin's father arranged her marriage to Wang Tingjun, the youngest son of a wealthy merchant in Hunan province. Qiu Jin did not get along well with her husband, as her husband only cared about enjoying himself. Unhappy in her marriage, Qiu sought personal and intellectual fulfillment by obtaining education in Japan. The Dowager Empress Cixi looked to Japan as a model to emulate, and her court organized tours to Japan. Many Chinese elites were sent to Japan to learn how they could build China like the Japanese were able to do. Qiu Jin was one of the girls who got the chance to study overseas as these opportunities were only given to the children of higher social class.

Life while studying in Japan

In 1903, she decided to travel overseas and study in Tokyo, Japan, leaving her two children behind. She initially entered a Japanese language school in Surugadai, but later transferred to the Girls' Practical School in Kōjimachi, run by Shimoda Utako (later to become Jissen Women's University). The school prepared Qiu Jin with the skills she needed for revolutionary activities later on. With the education from Shimoda school, many female activists participated in the Republican Revolution in 1911. During her time in Tokyo, Qiu also helped to establish the Encompassing Love Society, a women's group that promoted women's education and protested the Russian presence in northeast China. She joined the anti-Qing society Guangfuhui, led by Cai Yuanpei, which in 1905 merged with a variety of overseas Chinese revolutionary groups to form the Tongmenghui, led by Sun Yat-sen. Already known as a calligrapher and a poet, Qiu described herself as "tossing aside the brush to join the military ranks," in encouraging educated women not to waste time on poetry but to instead engage in direct action. She subsequently returned to China in 1906 along with about 2,000 students.

While still in Tokyo, Qiu single-handedly edited the journal Vernacular Journal (Baihua Bao). A number of issues were published using vernacular Chinese as a medium of revolutionary propaganda. In one issue, Qiu wrote A Respectful Proclamation to China's 200 Million Women Comrades, a manifesto within which she lamented the problems caused by bound feet and oppressive marriages. Having suffered from both ordeals herself, Qiu explained her experience in the manifesto and received an overwhelmingly sympathetic response from her readers. Also outlined in the manifesto was Qiu's belief that a better future for women lay under a Western-type government instead of the Qing government that was in power at the time. She joined forces with her cousin Xu Xilin who spoke out for women's rights, such as the freedom to marry, freedom of education, and abolishment of the practice of foot binding. In 1906 she founded China Women's News (Zhongguo nü bao), a radical women's journal with another female poet, Xu Zihua in Shanghai. They published only two issues before it was closed by the authorities. In 1907, she became head of the Datong School, which Xu Xilin had established with the goal of developing revolutionaries. Her last written words, her death poem, uses the literal meaning of her name, Autumn Gem, to lament of the failed revolution that she would never see take place:

(Autumn wind, autumn rain — they make one die of sorrow)</blockquote>During Qiu's life, she also drew support from two close friends: Xu Zihua and Wu Zhiying — both of whom had sworn sisterhood with her. In the months following Qiu's execution, Wu wrote three essays mourning Qiu — in which she criticized Qing officials for the execution and argued that Qiu Jin had been slandered and her actions "unjustly besmirched". that explores Qiu Jin's friendship with her sworn sisters Wu Zhiying and Xu Zihua and situates her work in the larger sociopolitical and literary context of the time.

Her life has been portrayed in plays, popular movies (including the 1972 Hong Kong film Chow Ken (《秋瑾》), and the documentary Autumn Gem, written by Rae Chang and directed by Chang and Adam Tow. One film, simply titled Qiu Jin, was released in 1983 and directed by Xie Jin. Another film, released in 2011, Jing Xiong Nüxia Qiu Jin (競雄女俠秋瑾), or The Woman Knight of Mirror Lake, was directed by Herman Yau. She is briefly shown in the beginning of 1911, being led to the execution ground to be beheaded. The movie was directed by Jackie Chan and Zhang Li. Immediately after her death Chinese playwrights used the incident, "resulting in at least eight plays before the end of the Ch'ing dynasty." In 2018, The New York Times published a belated obituary for her. she wrote the following:

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: left"

|+ 《日人石井君索和即用原韻》

! Chinese

! English

<big>漫云女子不英雄，</big>

<big>萬里乘風獨向東。</big>

<big>詩思一帆海空闊，</big>

<big>夢魂三島月玲瓏。</big>

<big>銅駝已陷悲回首，</big>

<big>汗馬終慚未有功。</big>

<big>如許傷心家國恨，</big>

<big>那堪客裡度春風。</big>

Don't speak of how women can't become heroes:

alone, I rode the winds eastward, for ten thousand leagues.

My poetic ponderings expanded, a sail between sky and sea,

dreaming of Japan's three islands, delicate jade under moonlight.

Grieving the fall of bronze camels, guardians of China's palace gates,

a warhorse is disgraced, not one battle yet won.

As my heart shatters with rage over my homeland's troubles,

how can I linger, a guest abroad, savoring spring winds?

Editors Sun Chang and Saussy explain the metaphors as follows:

: line 4: "Your islands" translates "sandao," literally "three islands," referring to Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu, while omitting Hokkaido - an old-fashioned way of referring to Japan.

: line 6: ... the conditions of the bronze camels, symbolic guardians placed before the imperial palace, is traditionally considered to reflect the state of health of the ruling dynasty. But in Qiu's poetry, it reflects instead the state of health of China.

On leaving Beijing for Japan, she wrote a poem, Reflections (written during travels in Japan)

Gallery

File:Qiujin.jpg|Statue of Qiu Jin beside West Lake in Hangzhou

File:QiuJin feminist revolutionary.jpg|Statue of Qiu Jin

</gallery>

References

External links

The Qiu Jin Museum (archived) from chinaspirit.net.cn
Autumn Gem, documentary film
Five poems by Qiu Jin, contemporary translations by Yilin Wang
Translation: Poems by Chinese feminist and revolutionary writer Qiu Jin, contemporary translations by Yilin Wang, with presentation
Feminist, Revolutionary, Poet: A selection of poems by Qiu Jin, in new translation by Yilin Wang, biographical note and contemporary translations by Yilin Wang