Peipei Qiu

Peipei Qiu is a Professor and Chair of Chinese and Japanese at Vassar College, holding the Louise Boyd Dale and Alfred Lichtenstein Chair. She has been affiliated with Vassar since 1994. Her academic journey includes a BA and MA from Peking University (北京大学), and M.Phil and PhD from Columbia University.

Research interests span Japanese and Chinese literature, Daoist philosophy, and women’s studies in East Asian contexts. She is renowned for her groundbreaking work on Chinese “comfort women,” particularly her co-authored book Chinese Comfort Women: Testimonies from Imperial Japan’s Sex Slaves.

Key articles include analyses of Japanese poetry’s Daoist influences and studies on survivor testimonies of wartime atrocities. Her work bridges literary studies with historical memory, emphasizing transnational perspectives on gender and trauma.

Professor Qiu has collaborated with scholars like Su Zhiliang and Chen Lifei, and her research has been featured in media such as Wall Street Journal and BBC. She advocates for historical accountability and the preservation of marginalized voices.