5-15 Report for Week 11

Hello again 5-15 reports! It was nice to have a break off last week, but I’m excited to be working on them once more.

Reading Journal – What did I read (and watch!) this week?

• Autumn Gem. Produced by Adam Tow. Directed by Kanopy (Firm). Adam Tow, 2009. 
  • Summary
    • This film was about the “Chinese Joan of Arc,” Qiu Jin, who would lead the struggle for women’s rights and fight to overthrow the corrupt dynasty, becoming a symbol for the women of modern China. She was educated from a young age alongside her brothers, and also preferred to train in outdoor activities, like horseback riding and weapons training. Like most women, her feet were bounded, but she remained active despite the pain. “Scholars throw down your brushes, Maidens, take up arms! Who can save us? Together we must hold back the waves of despair.” 13:41
  • Information
    • I found her discussion on gender to be very interesting, specifically how she did not feel like a woman, and that she felt trapped in her position. She said that her female body felt like a trap, and that the masculine side of her, her “masculine spirit,” felt stronger. In class, we were wondering whether or not her feelings regarding her gender could be translated to the Western idea of being transgender, but ultimately we thought that she was probably more concerned with the idea that women were less than men, and so she wanted to be more masculine so she would be able to be treated better.
  • Connection
    • This film reminded me of a lot of other warrior women that we have studied throughout class.
  • Classification
    • Autumn Gem was a film made in 2009
• “The Beheaded Feminist: Qiu Jin”. In The Red Brush: Writing Women of Imperial China. Edited by Wilt Idema and Beata Grant, 767-808. Harvard East Asian Monographs, 231. Cambridge: Harvard University Asia Center, 2004.
• I read from page 780-782, and 786-794, and 796-799
  • Summary
    • The reading starts out with text written by Qui Jin talking about how women were treated unfairly, from their bound feet to their lack of freedom regarding picking a husband.

To-Do List – What to do next week?

• I fell behind again, so I need to catch up!!