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Qiu Jin (1875-1907)
Dec. 15th, 2024 07:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nnozomi[I’m sorry this is both late and too short; Qiu Jin deserves better, but I’ve been sick this weekend and thought I was better off posting what I had. I hope other people can fill in more]
Qiu Jin was born in 1875 in Fujian, China, the daughter of government officials. Although her feet were bound according to the custom of the time, she was taught to ride a horse and use a sword along with writing poetry in her childhood. She was briefly and unhappily married in her early twenties, moving to Beijing with her husband, where she unbound her feet.
In 1903 she traveled to Japan to study, leaving two children behind in China; she attended the Girls’ Practical School run by Shimoda Utako, where she joined various revolutionary societies and made herself notable by wearing Western men’s clothes. She also edited the Vernacular Journal, which published revolutionary articles in vernacular written Chinese (still a rarity at the time), including her own protests against bound feet and forced marriage, as well as (with Xu Zihua) the China Women’s News.
In 1905 she returned to China and became principal of a girls’ school with a revolutionary focus in Shaoxing. She was arrested and put to death in 1907 for plotting against the Qing Dynasty. She wrote poetry and (often unfinished) novels throughout her life.
Sources
https://www.asymptotejournal.com/poetry/qiu-jin-five-poems/ (translations of Qiu Jin’s poetry by Yilin Wang)
Qiu Jin was born in 1875 in Fujian, China, the daughter of government officials. Although her feet were bound according to the custom of the time, she was taught to ride a horse and use a sword along with writing poetry in her childhood. She was briefly and unhappily married in her early twenties, moving to Beijing with her husband, where she unbound her feet.
In 1903 she traveled to Japan to study, leaving two children behind in China; she attended the Girls’ Practical School run by Shimoda Utako, where she joined various revolutionary societies and made herself notable by wearing Western men’s clothes. She also edited the Vernacular Journal, which published revolutionary articles in vernacular written Chinese (still a rarity at the time), including her own protests against bound feet and forced marriage, as well as (with Xu Zihua) the China Women’s News.
In 1905 she returned to China and became principal of a girls’ school with a revolutionary focus in Shaoxing. She was arrested and put to death in 1907 for plotting against the Qing Dynasty. She wrote poetry and (often unfinished) novels throughout her life.
Sources
https://www.asymptotejournal.com/poetry/qiu-jin-five-poems/ (translations of Qiu Jin’s poetry by Yilin Wang)
