Zhou Xiuying - “Ms. Broadsword Xiu”Zhou Xiuying (? - 1855) was born in Hangdou, pre

Zhou Xiuying - “Ms. Broadsword Xiu”Zhou Xiuying (? - 1855) was born in Hangdou, present-day Shanghai, China. She was a contemporary of rebel female generals Qiu Ersao, Su Sanniang and Hong Xuanjiao.Xiuying was born to a peasant family and her father, Zhou Lichun, was the chief of the local branch of the Tiandihui (society of heaven and earth). She learned martial arts alongside her adopted sister, Zhou Feixia. Xiuying preferred the broadsword while Feixia specialized in the spear.In 1852, the local magistrate pressured the peasants to pay a grain tax they had been exempted from. Xiuying and her father decided to revolt and she placed herself at the rebel’s head. The peasants, armed only with iron-toothed rakes, defeated the soldiers. This exploit was celebrated in a folk song: “Songjiang soldiers with shields were no equal to folks with rakes”.Xiuying knew that the government would retaliate. She had the peasants make weapons and prepare themselves to fight. In autumn, more than a thousand soldiers were sent to quell the rebellion. Xiuying led once again the peasants in battle and defeated the enemy. From now on, she was known as “Dadao Xiuguniang” (Ms. Broadsword Xiu). A folk song praising her courage in battle still circulates today: “True heroine Zhou Xiuying/clad in red trousers and fitted top/carries a big sword of 120 jin (60 kgs)/fighting over the Tangwan bridge with her “kai simen””.In 1853, her father led another revolt and, with the help of other societies, occupied the county seat. Xiuying fought valiantly. The Qing government sent more troops and outnumbered the rebels. Zhou Lichun and Zhou Feixia were killed in the ensuing fight. Xiuying retreated with a part of the army to Shanghai county where she allied with the Shanghai Small sword society. She kept distinguishing herself in battle and became a renowned female general. Xiuying encouraged the women of Shanghai to fight in the defense. Some of them answered her call and, each leading fifty men, went out of the city to engage and destroy the enemy forces. In 1854, Xiuying had iron barbs placed on the city’s walls. The enemy was lured into her trap and she led 200 rebels in a surprise attack.Since the French had a concession in Shanghai and sent troops to support the Qing army,  Xiuying and her female soldiers fought against the foreigners. Eyewitnesses said that she “kept a thousand soldiers at bay”. Foreign journalists wrote about those female fighters that they were “truly comparable to the Amazons of ancient Greece in their valor and resolution”.When the rebel army experienced a food shortage, Xiuying and her women resolved to die rather than surrender. They collected grassroots, the bark of trees and captured mice and birds. On February 17,1855 the rebels ran out of food and retreated. The enemy followed them and a battle ensued. Xiuying fought on horseback, but her mount stumbled and she was killed.Bibliography:Ma Honglin, “Zhou Xiuying”, in: Lee Lily Xiao Hong, Lau Clara, Stefanowska A. D. (dir.),  Biographical dictionary of Chinese women: The Qing Period, 1644-1911 -- source link

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