Qiu Miaojin

Chiu Miao-Chin (Qiu Miaojin) (Chinese: 邱妙津; May 29, 1969 – June 25, 1995) was a Taiwanese novelist. Her unapologetically lesbian sensibility has had a profound and lasting influence on LGBT literature in Taiwan. 2Biography Originally from Changhua County in western Taiwan, she attended the prestigious Taipei First Girls' High School and National Taiwan University, where she graduated with a major in psychology. She worked as a counselor and later as a reporter at the weekly magazine The Journalist. In 1994 she moved to Paris, where she pursued graduate studies in clinical psychology and feminism at University of Paris VIII, studying with philosopher Hélène Cixous. Her death was a suicide,reflecting the internal struggle she was going through as a result of the intolerable outside world. Although there has been a great deal of speculation as to the exact cause of death, most accounts suggest that she stabbed herself with a kitchen knife. 2Work Qiu's writing is influenced by the non-narrative structures of avant-garde and experimental film. Her novels contain camera angles and ekphrasis in response to European art cinema, including allusions to directors such as Andrei Tarkovsky, Theo Angelopoulos, Derek Jarman, and Jean-Luc Godard. During her time in Paris, Qiu directed a short film titled Ghost Carniva