Here is the World Journal newspaper’s coverage of our screening at the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum last Saturday. Reporter Daming Lee wrote about our first major public event at La Jolla Country Day School in May 2009.

秋瑾紀錄片放映滿百場
記者李大明聖地牙哥報導

正值辛亥革命成功、中華民國誕生100周年之際，旅美華裔曹健鏗、張蕊夫婦拍攝的傳記紀錄片「秋瑾」也在美加各地放映整整100場。這一富有意義的巧合，顯示海外華人新一代重拾歷史使命的心願，更標誌文化傳承有更堅實基礎。

上世紀70年代出生的曹健鏗與張蕊，分別是香港、台灣移民的後代。曹健鏗畢業於史丹福大學，張蕊則是柏克萊加大高材生，兩人在拍攝傳記紀錄片「秋瑾」之前，對百年中國近代史所知有限，對電影製作更是一竅不通。一個偶然機會，他們看到了一本介紹「鑑湖女俠」秋瑾（1875-1907）生平的書，深為這位女傑立志推翻封建王朝、追求婦女解放、最終為理想獻身的事蹟所感動，決心拍攝一部影片，讓海外華人下一代瞭解這些可歌可泣的往事。

兩位年輕人不顧資金匱乏、經驗不足，說幹就幹。他們走遍秋瑾故里浙江紹興，請教研究秋瑾的中外學者，終於在2009年完成這部長達一小時的傳記紀錄片，並在聖地牙哥的私立中學「La Jolla Country Day School」首映，受到許多好評。

此後兩年，曹健鏗與張蕊帶著自己的這部處女作，馬不停蹄地奔走於美國東西兩岸放映，漸漸引起了媒體與公眾的注意。上周末，兩人回到當初起步的聖地牙哥，在當地「中華歷史博物館」為華洋朋友作了第100場放映，作為對辛亥革命百周年的獻禮，並告慰秋瑾烈士。

近百名華洋朋友應邀在聖地牙哥中華歷史博物館觀賞了這部電影，曹健鏗、張蕊還即席回答了觀眾的提問。歷史博物館館長莊紹文代表社區，向兩人頒贈了感謝狀。

I was alerted to an article in the New York Times recently about female genital mutilation (also known as female circumcision) in Africa. Young girls are taken to a “cutter” who carves out their clitoris and labia with a razor, then stitches the flesh back together, leaving a small opening for urination and menstruation. The purpose is for ensuring chastity and “lowering the sex drive of our daughters,” according to one practitioner.

The reporter notes that this is “a form of oppression that women themselves embrace and perpetuate.” I’m reminded of the similarities with footbinding. Women were the ones who carried out the process within the family (usually the mother or grandmother), and they were often the most resistant to change when the practice began to fall out of favor. In fact, even after it was officially banned in 1912, it would continue for over 30 years afterwards, perpetuated by women themselves.

While female genital mutilation is currently illegal in several African and Middle Eastern countries, it is still practiced widely and has even found its way to the U.S. Let’s hope it will be eradicated soon, and, like footbinding, seen as the inhumane violence against women that it is.

In addition to Jackie Chan’s film 1911, Taiwan is producing an animated feature on Sun Yat-sen and his comrades to commemorate the 1911 Revolution centenary. I grabbed a couple screenshots from the trailer featuring Qiu Jin:

She looks a bit like Li Jing (maybe it’s the similar poses).

Here’s a portrait of Qiu Jin as played by Ning Jing in the Jackie Chan film. I like the androgynous quality of her face set against the traditional feminine dress.

Both films are set to be released later this year. It’ll be interesting to see how our heroine is depicted in these versions!

The Hoover Institution Archives at Stanford University is celebrating the 100 years anniversary of the 1911 Revolution with a new exhibit featuring archival materials and audiovisual media from its collection, as well as a few props from AUTUMN GEM in its section on “Reformers and Revolutionaries.” Adam and I attended the reception and were impressed with the scope of the exhibit, covering the momentous changes during this critical period in Chinese history.

We were treated to a special viewing of the original diaries of Chiang Kai-shek, on display for one day only during the reception. The diaries were loaned to the Hoover Archives in 2005 by members of the Chiang family for preservation purposes and are rarely shown in public.

Also on display was a section about the Rape of Nanking and the work of Iris Chang. We had the pleasure of meeting her parents there, whom we found out had ties to both our families. They were good friends of my aunt and uncle in Illinois, as well as Adam’s uncle in New Jersey. Small world! Ying-Ying Chang, Iris’ mother, recently wrote a memoir of her daughter, “The Woman Who Could Not Forget.” She’ll be giving a book reading in the Bay Area in mid-May, which we’re looking forward to.

The Hoover exhibit will be on display through March 2012. It’s a fascinating look into China’s emergence as a modern nation and is worth checking out.

“A Century of Change: China 1911-2011”
Herbert Hoover Memorial Exhibit Pavilion
(adjacent to Hoover Tower)
Stanford University
Open Tuesday – Saturday
11:00am – 4:00pm
Free admission

http://www.hoover.org/library-and-archives/exhibits/71296

“What’s the current status of women in China today?” This question comes up often in our Q-and-A sessions. Interestingly, we were recently alerted to an incident which sheds some light on this topic.

Li Yinhe slams NPC representative Zhang Xiaomei’s proposal to send women back into the kitchen

At the recently concluded “Two Sessions”, a female National People’s Congress representative by the name of Zhang Xiaomei made the shocking proposal for women to leave the workforce and return home. Notable feminist-sociologist Li Yinhe took to her blog to explain why Zhang’s proposal is a bad idea, and to lament the overall lack of the awareness of gender equality among female NPC delegates.

“This would not only be a huge setback to the great strides we have made in women’s rights, but also a huge letdown to the many great feminists (like Qiu Jin) who have fought the tough battle for gender equality for over a hundred years.”

At one of our recent screenings an audience member remarked that, for many feminist movements around the world, the greatest resistance came not from men but from other women. Perhaps they felt they had the most to lose. Although if Representative Zhang Xiaomei actually followed her own proposal, I guess that means she’ll have to give up her official position. I’d like to see a modern day Qiu Jin take her place.

Thanks to I.H. for the article!