User:SkinnyTracy/Qiu Jin

Born in Xiamen, Fujian, China, Qiu spent her childhood in her ancestral home, Shaoxing, Zhejiang. Qiu Jin was born in a wealthy family, her grandfather worked for the official and was in charge of Xiamen city for defence.Zhejiang was a province that was famous for female education. Qiu Jin had the support from her family when she was young. Her mother was well educated and she made sure Qin Jin received good education in the family school. This key factor explained why Qiu Jin could be the female pioneer for woman's liberation movement and republican revolution.

Childhood activities:
Qiu Jin got her foot binded at the age of 13 and she studied how to read and write poetry.

With the support from her family, Qiu Jin also learned how to ride horseback, use a sword, and drink large quantities of wine as these activities were only allowed by men at that time.

Marriage:
Qiu Jin spent most of her childhood in Amoy since her grandfather was the perfect who was in charge of Amoy's costal defence. Her father was a secretary in charge of Taiwan's governing, Taiwan was still part of China at that time. Qiu Jin got married at the age of 21 which was considered late for a usual girl during that era. Qiu Jin's father arranged the marriage for her and made her marry Wang Tingchun -- youngest son of a wealthy merchant in Hunan province. While in an eight year long marriage, Qiu was exposed to new ideas.

The collapse of Qing Dynasty :

Qing government with the need to modernize.

Life while studying in Japan:
In 1903, she decided to travel overseas and study in 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. Qiu was fond of martial arts, and she was known by her acquaintances for wearing Western male dress  and for her nationalist, anti-Manchu ideology.

Life after returning to China:
She joined the anti-Qing society Guangfuhui, led by Cai Yuanpei, which in 1905 joined together with a variety of overseas Chinese revolutionary groups to form the Tongmenghui, led by Sun Yat-sen.

Within this Revolutionary Alliance, Qiu was responsible for the Zhejiang Province. Because the Chinese overseas students were divided between those who wanted an immediate return to China to join the ongoing revolution and those who wanted to stay in Japan to prepare for the future, a meeting of Zhejiang students was held to debate the issue. At the meeting, Qiu allied unquestioningly with the former group and thrust a dagger into the podium, declaring, "If I return to the motherland, surrender to the Manchu barbarians, and deceive the Han people, stab me with this dagger!" She subsequently returned to China in 1906 along with about 2,000 students.

Edit summary: copied from Qiu Jin