I think Qiu Jin
She is China’s first modern woman
Actually there were many outstanding women during the Republican period
Commercial genius
And the first to open a female school
But they were the kind of people
Receiving admiration from women
Qiu also earned men’s respect
She was born in a family of scholars
Her grandfather and father were all government officials
She was great-hearted by nature
When she was a girl
She wrote poems often
She compared herself to Hua Mulan and Qin Liangyu
At the age of 21
She got married with Wang Tingjun from Xiangtan as her parents wished
The marriage was really upsetting
The equality of men and women had rooted in her mind
So she called for women’s rights
She went to study in Japan at 29
And joined the revolutionary group Guangfuhui
After returning to China, she planned an uprising with Xu Xilin
But the uprising failed
She was arrested and executed
She was only 32 years old then
Qiu had double identities
On one side, she was a feminist who called for women’s rights
On the other side, she was a revolutionary
All the men dare not to participate in the revolution
As a woman, she did it
I think she’s extraordinary
Later in my studies for women
I have done a lot of research and writing
On inequality between the sexes and women status
I’m moving forward on the foundation laid by Qiu Jin
I think her growth environment played a role
While she was little
She did many things girls at that time were not allowed to do
For example, one relative of her did martial arts
She wanted to learn and her father didn’t stop her
After having knowledge
She came into contact with information from all over the world
Like information from the western countries
Then in Europe the first feminist movement broke out
People called for voting right and property right for women
There were various appeals
In fact Qiu had a traditional marriage
She gave birth to and raised children after getting married
And took care of the family
She was even beaten by her husband
Can you imagine that
A feminist pioneer
Serves her family at home
And is beaten by her spouse
She wore men’s clothes for the first time when she went to the theatre
One evening she cooked the dinner and waited for her husband
But he didn’t come back
In her anger she went to the theatre by herself
In the past young ladies of eminent families
Only watched operas at home
The actors and actresses came to perform
She was the first women in China going to the theatre
She gave birth to one son and one daughter
And stayed in the marriage for 8 or 9 years
After leaving her husband
She wore men’s clothes on many occasions
She went to horse-riding and tried all the things men did
She even said
“I don’t have a position in the man’s world but I have a heart stronger than man’s”
Although she was not a man
Her heart was stronger than that of a man
Obviously she was not a transgender
Or a transvestite
The thing is
She wanted to appear in public places as free as a man
Or manifest women’s rights by wearing men’s clothes
She threw down challenges against the Chinese customary marriage
For example when she was studying in Japan
She knew a Chinese student who went abroad with two concubines
She hated to see that
So she persuaded the two concubines
Drew them over
One of them took part in the revolution later
Eventually they all left the man and became independent
When she was the head of the Datong school
She heard one woman was forced to marry a local tyrant
So she took a gun and disguised herself as a bridesmaid
Sneaking into the wedding to save the woman
She also intimidated the local tyrant
She had done more than that
What’s more, she was a revolutionary
She sacrificed her life in Shaoxing
She could have run away
After Xu Xilin confessed he had assassinated En Ming, provincial governor of Anhui Province
Qiu Jin faced great danger
As she belonged to the same revolutionary society with Xu
People tried to persuade her to escape but failed
I think she stayed on purpose
Like what Tan Sitong had said
“If blood is needed in the revolution
I’m willing to give my life”
Such heroism is really touching
For Qiu’s death
People were greatly touched
And admired her a lot
Meanwhile
They also felt deeply sad
Xu’s story resembles the novel Medicine by Lu Xun
The main character was named Xia Yu
It seems Qiu Jin was Xia Yu in real life
Warriors bled and sacrificed for the revolution
But the ignorant masses were still thinking about
Dipping a steamed bread with the blood
As a medicine to treat their children with lung disease
Lu Xun is truly a great writer
He’s incisive
Whether a woman is traditional or modern
Depends not on her position in the history
Like Li Qingzhao and Liu Rushi, they wrote great poems
And Empress Dowager Cixi was the most powerful person then in China
But I’m afraid it never occurred to them that they wanted to be equal to men
So I say Qiu Jin is China’s first modern woman
While other women remained asleep
She woke up
She started the feminist movement
In China
Actually our current society is still male-dominated to some extent
I remember once I was asked
“Ms. Li, what would you feel if someone says you are no longer a feminist pioneer?”
I said I’d be really glad
If I’m no longer a feminist pioneer, then our society must have moved forward