jul 15, 1907 - Execution of Qiu Jin

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Qiu Jin encouraged her colleagues and students to seek protection and flee but refused to do so herself.

"After a brief battle in which two students died, the troops entered the school. Qiu Jin and seven others were captured. Subsequently interrogated and tortured, she steadfastly refused to answer questions or to write a confession. Just before dawn on July 15, 1907, Qiu Jin was beheaded in Shaoxing.

The revolution for which she gave her life would topple the Qing Dynasty on October 10, 1911.

Final Poem
by Qiu Jin (1875-1907)

The sun is setting with no road ahead,
In vain I weep for loss of country.
The country fragments, territories shrink,
Who will call home the soul of the dead hero?

Although I die, I still live
In sacrifice I have fulfiled my duty.
Let us part for good now,
The wind and tide of history will take the heads of my enemies

Though my great ambition has not yet been fulfilled,
My heroic aspiration will remain the same,
Looking back at China, my heart is broken!

Qiu Jin was right that her death would motivate others, and in that sense it was not a useless sacrifice. Among those many Chinese women who were inspired was Yu Manzhen , the mother of the later female literary and revolutionary figure Ding Ling (1904–1985). Qiu Jin's daughter Wang (Qiu) Canzhi edited her mother's poetry, which was continually reprinted and widely read. Chinese, and particularly Chinese women, continue to honor her memory.

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