Qiu Ju

"An elegant set of rules. But they lack the power necessary to enforce their Creed. They speak of acting for the sake of the people. For freedom. And yet, they are powerless to protect such things."

―Qiu Ju talking about the Assassins' Creed, 1526.

Qiu Ju (丘聚; died 1530), also known as The Demon, was one of the Eight Tigers, a group of powerful Templar eunuchs that controlled the Ming imperial court during the reign of the Zhengde Emperor. Famous for his cruelty and fighting skills, Qiu Ju played a role in the purge of the Chinese Brotherhood of Assassins after the ascendance of the Jiajing Emperor in 1521.

Biography

Early career

In 1510, under the orders of the Tiger leader Zhang Yong, Qiu Ju annihilated entire Shaanxi villages in retaliation for the Prince of Anhua uprising, wherein he gained his nickname. Later, following the death of the Zhengde Emperor in 1521, the Tigers placed his cousin Zhu Houcong, a Templar puppet, on the throne and launched the Great Rites Controversy, a purge that saw the near-extermination of the Chinese Assassins.

Decline of the Tigers

"The Assassins claim they protect the innocents. Let us show them that their actions have consequences. Arrest everyone, burn all the ships to ashes and find me the Assassin."

―Qiu Ju ordering Macau's port burned, 1526.

In 1526, Qiu Ju met with his fellow Tiger Gao Feng, who had been appointed the warden of a prison in the Maijishan Grottoes, formerly an Assassin stronghold. As there were rumors that Gao Feng had captured an Assassin, Qiu Ju came to verify this claim and Gao Feng confirmed the rumors, revealing his prisoner to be Shao Jun, a former concubine in the court of the Zhengde Emperor.

Gao Feng dismissed Shao Jun as no threat to the Templars' plans and revealed that he had acquired a Precursor box which the Assassin had in her possession. However, Shao Jun refused to disclose how it functioned, so Gao Feng planned to hand her over to Ma Yongcheng, who would torture the Assassin to make her talk. Believing that Gao Feng had the situation under control, Qiu Ju left to return to Beijing.

Qiu Ju finding Yu Dayong's body

However, shortly after Qiu Ju's departure, Shao Jun escaped her imprisonment and killed Gao Feng, while her Mentor Wang Yangming assassinated Ma Yongcheng. When the Tiger Gu Dayong, who had been entrusted the Precursor box, was also found dead in Macau some time later, Qiu Ju decided to retaliate against the Assassins. He ordered his men to arrest innocents and set the city's port ablaze, thus showing Shao Jun the consequences of her actions.

In January 1529, Qiu Ju accompanied Zhang Yong to Nan'an to eliminate Wang Yangming, who had travelled to the city to meet a contact for information on the Precursor box. Ambushing the Mentor during the meeting, the Templars managed to overwhelm and mortally wound him, with Zhang Yong delivering the fatal blow and reclaiming the box for the Order. When Shao Jun arrived moments later, she began to battle Qiu Ju and his soldiers, until the fight was broken up by a monk from a nearby Buddhist temple.

Qiu Ju told the monk that it was not his battle and tried to attack him, but was easily overpowered. The monk then stated that, despite their dislike of violence, he and his fellow monks would not hesitate to defend their temple, prompting Qiu Ju to respect his wishes and order a retreat. As he left, the Templar mocked Shao Jun for being "the last Assassin" and claimed that he looked forward to seeing what she could accomplish without her Mentor's guidance.

Death

"Your master, your allies... all dead. But all alone, you still intend to sully our nation?!"

―Qiu Ju to Shao Jun during their fight, 1530.

Qiu Ju and Zhang Yong using Empress Zhang

In 1530, Qiu Ju and Zhang Yong discovered Shao Jun's friendship with Empress Zhang and used this information to set a trap for her. They forced the Empress to lure Shao Jun to the Forbidden City, where the Templars ambushed her.

Although Zhang Yong claimed that the Empress had betrayed Shao Jun, the Assassin saw through his lie and forgave her friend, understanding that her own life had been at stake. Qiu Ju then asked Zhang Yong to let him deal with the Assassin and the latter complied, leaving Qiu Ju alone with Shao Jun and the Empress.

As Shao Jun dueled Qiu Ju, she dropped several lanterns on him, setting him on fire. Despite his injuries, the Templar insisted on continuing the fight and slowly made his way towards the Assassin, causing the entire room to catch fire. As Shao Jun decided to escape alongside Empress Zhang, Qiu Ju grabbed her, but was killed moments later when a pillar fell on him and crushed him.

Behind the scenes

Qiu Ju is a historical character introduced in the 2015 video game Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China, where he was voiced by Robert Vernon, who also voiced Zhang Yong.

In Chinese, Qiū Jù's name is 丘聚. The surname Qiū (丘) means "hill" or "mound" while the personal name Jù (聚) means "gather", "assemble", " congregate", or "amass". His name is misspelled as "Qui Ju" in the title of his database entry.

In Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun, the 2019 manga adaptation of Chronicles: China, Qiu Ju is given a bigger role in the story. He is shown meeting with Gao Feng following the latter's capture of Shao Jun, and is later present for Zhang Yong's ambush of Wang Yangming, where he is the one to deliver the fatal blow to the Chinese Mentor, due to Zhang Yong leaving the ambush early on. Additionally, in this version, Qiu Ju's fight with Shao Jun takes place at the Inner Palace Flower Garden Villa rather than the Imperial Palace, and the Templar is killed by a falling pillar instead of being personally slain by Shao Jun.

Gallery

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  Development concept
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  Concept sketches
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  Qiu Ju in the Helix database
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  Close-up of Qiu Ju
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  Qiu Ju dueling Shao Jun inside the burning palace
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  Qiu Ju in Blade of Shao Jun
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  Qiu Ju with his fellow Tigers
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  A burnt Qiu Ju during his fight with Shao Jun

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun
• Assassin's Creed: The Ming Storm (non-canon)
• Assassin's Creed: Turbulence in the Ming Dynasty (non-canon)