\[ **BT: [[China]] | [[Zhejiang province]]** ] --- # Qiu Jin 秋瑾 (1875–1907) **Qiū Jǐn.** (Born Qiu Guijin.[^1]) Chinese revolutionary, feminist, and writer.[^2] Qiu Jin lived at a time when ‘[[During the Qing, ‘women in China were not permitted to venture outside of their homes, let alone participate in public affairs’.|women in China were not permitted to venture outside of their homes, let alone participate in public affairs … her actions alone were a rebellion]]’.[^3] Executed following an uprising against the [[history--China#Qing dynasty (1644–1912)|Qing dynasty]].[^2] > [[Qiu Jin ‘argued that it wasn’t enough for women to just sit around and ask for equality … She believed you had to be willing to put your life on the line.’]][^4] > [[‘Perhaps her most notable critic was Lu Xun … who believed Qiu’s reckless behavior in Shaoxing was linked to the enormous adulation she received during her time in Japan. She was “clapped to death,” he told a friend.’|‘Perhaps her most notable critic was Lu Xun, one of China’s greatest 20th-century writers, who believed Qiu’s reckless behavior in Shaoxing was linked to the enormous adulation she received during her time in Japan. She was “clapped to death,” he told a friend.’]] > [[‘Some can also still recite the famous words she wrote just before her death— “Autumn wind, autumn rain, fill one’s heart with melancholy.” The line was a play on her surname “Qiu” which means “autumn” in Chinese.’]][^5] ## early life Born into a respected (but ‘declining’) gentry family, Qiu Jin (then called Qiu Guijin.[^1]) grew up in [[Zhejiang province#Shaoxing|Shaoxing]], in [[Zhejiang province]].[^6] She was taught the typical womanly pursuits and placed in an arranged marriage.[^7] ![[Wikimedia Commons - by unknown - Qiu Jin - undated - Public Domain.jpg]] <small>Qiu Jin, in an undated image, defied prevailing gender and class norms by unbinding her feet, cross-dressing and leaving her young family to pursue an education abroad.[^8]</small> --- ## poetry > [[‘Sun and moon have no light left, earth is dark; Our women’s world is sunk so deep, who can help us …Unbinding my feet I clean out a thousand years of poison, With heated heart arouse all women’s spirits.’|‘Sun and moon have no light left, earth is dark; Our women’s world is sunk so deep, who can help us? Jewelry sold to pay for this trip across the seas, Cut off from my family I leave my native land. Unbinding my feet I clean out a thousand years of poison, With heated heart arouse all women’s spirits.’]][^9] Note: there is a longer version than the one on World History Commons: ![[Qin, ‘Qiu Jin’, 2018#^e52da2]] [^10] [^1]: Amy Qin, ‘[[Qin, ‘Qiu Jin’, 2018|Qiu Jin]]’ in ‘Overlooked’, *New York Times* (online), ed. Amisha Padnani and Jessica Bennett, 8 March 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/obituaries/overlooked.html. [^2]: ‘Qiu Jin’, Wikipedia, last edited 24 August 2025, 03:20 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qiu_Jin. [^3]: Amy Qin, ‘[[Qin, ‘Qiu Jin’, 2018|Qiu Jin]]’ in ‘Overlooked’, *New York Times* (online), ed. Amisha Padnani and Jessica Bennett, 8 March 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/obituaries/overlooked.html. [^4]: Amy Qin, ‘[[Qin, ‘Qiu Jin’, 2018|Qiu Jin]]’ in ‘Overlooked’, *New York Times* (online), ed. Amisha Padnani and Jessica Bennett, 8 March 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/obituaries/overlooked.html. [^5]: Amy Qin, ‘[[Qin, ‘Qiu Jin’, 2018|Qiu Jin]]’ in ‘Overlooked’, *New York Times* (online), ed. Amisha Padnani and Jessica Bennett, 8 March 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/obituaries/overlooked.html. [^6]: Amy Qin, ‘[[Qin, ‘Qiu Jin’, 2018|Qiu Jin]]’ in ‘Overlooked’, *New York Times* (online), ed. Amisha Padnani and Jessica Bennett, 8 March 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/obituaries/overlooked.html. [^7]: Amy Qin, ‘[[Qin, ‘Qiu Jin’, 2018|Qiu Jin]]’ in ‘Overlooked’, *New York Times* (online), ed. Amisha Padnani and Jessica Bennett, 8 March 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/obituaries/overlooked.html. [^8]: Amy Qin, ‘[[Qin, ‘Qiu Jin’, 2018|Qiu Jin]]’ in ‘Overlooked’, *New York Times* (online), ed. Amisha Padnani and Jessica Bennett, 8 March 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/obituaries/overlooked.html. [^9]: ‘[[World History Commons, ‘Poem by Qiu Jin, Chinese Feminist’, trans. Spence, 2025]]’, *World History Commons*, trans. Jonathan Spence, accessed 25 August 2025, https://worldhistorycommons.org/poem-qiu-jin-chinese-feminist. [^10]: Qiu Jin, ‘[[Qiu Jin, ‘Regrets’, 1904|Regrets: Lines Written En Route to Japan’, 1904. Quoted in Amy Qin, ‘[[Qin, ‘Qiu Jin’, 2018|Qiu Jin]]’ in ‘Overlooked’, *New York Times* (online), ed. Amisha Padnani and Jessica Bennett, 8 March 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/obituaries/overlooked.html.