qiu jin — IIX
In attempting to find information on Qiu Jin's grave I found a cryptic message on a website concerned with Dragon Boat races, "Qiu Jin, also called rui qin jing xiong, Jianghu Swords-woman and yu gu, born in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, was good at poetry and verses, horse riding and swords-craft when she was young. So she was also called another Hua Mulan …" Then, on a website advertising tourist adventures in Hangzhou, China, I found an actual description of the island she is buried on:
Solitary Hill is located at the northwest corner of West Lake in Zhejiang Province. It is a natural island, about 900m from the bank … there is a huge square-shaped stone at the west side; there is a stone hole at the east side; a cliff is at the south side … In the water under the cliff, there are large groups of fish. Above the cliff, there is a wooden platform, standing on which, one can see the special scenery of "Fish Kingdom". The platform is called "Platform for Watching Fish" …. Solitary Hill is not only a place of beautiful scenery, but also a place of cultural relics … At the north foot of the Hill, there is a pavilion commemorating a poet named Lin Bu of Northern Sung Dynasty (960-1279 AD) … All he did was to raise cranes and plant plums. So there is a saying "Plum wife and crane son" … At the west foot of the Hill, there is the tomb of Qiu Jin, a heroine in Chinese history. When she died in 1907, she was only 32 years old. The present tomb was built in 1981. The tomb is made of granite with a square seat. A white marble statue of Qiu Jin was built on the seat … Besides, there also has a small garden. There are brooks, flowers, trees, pavilions and bridges inside the garden.
失题
登天骑白龙，
走山跨猛虎。
叱咤风云生，
精神四飞舞。
大人处世当与神物游，
顾彼豚犬诸儿安足伍！
不见项羽酣呼钜鹿战，
刘秀雷震昆阳鼓，
年约二十余，
而能兴汉楚；
杀人莫敢当，
万世钦英武。
愧我年二七，
于世尚无补。
空负时局忧，
无策驱胡虏。
所幸在风尘，
志气终不腐。
每闻鼓鼙声，
心思辄震怒。
其奈势力孤，
群才不为助。
因之泛东海，
冀得壮士辅。
The poem titled, "Untitled," is a good example of Qiu Jin's revolutionary and romantic roots coming together. She sees herself as "a violent dancing spirit," the stuff of legend and wishes she had lived long enough ago to witness Commander Xiang and Liu Xiu (two ancient generals of myth) wage war. To the sound of battle drums she curses her inability to act; again we see Qiu's lament that life is passing her by and she has nothing to show for her labors. Her own people are unable to or unwilling to help so she departs to Japan to seek like minded friends and allies. It is hard not to read into Qiu's poem biographical hints since she really did leave her "kids and/ dogs" and move to Japan in 1904 to attend university. But it is exactly that conceit, attributing biographical information from literature to a person, I wish to avoid. Poetry is poetry; a person's life is something completely different. Again, I must thank my friend Linnypooh, for without her help none of this would be possible.
Untitled
Riding a white dragon up to the sky,
striding deep in the mountains on
a fierce tiger. I am born in a roaring storm
with a violent dancing spirit; I shall be
holy on the earth. How could I ever
be satisfy with settling down with kids and
dogs! Without witnessing Commander Xiang
win his great battles, or hearing Liu Xiu rumbling
war drums; they were only twenty years old
but could make their countries flourish.
Don’t blame them for bloodshed but admire
them for bravery. Shame and failure! I’m
already 27; yet have no glory to my name.
I only worry for my country and have no idea
how to expel these invaders. I am glad my
great ambitions will never rot and waste away,
not when I hear the roar of war drums. Deep
inside I am outraged I cannot get help from my
own people; that I feel so helpless, so weak.
It is for that reason alone why I’m going
to Japan; to rally up aid, to look for assistance.