Qiu Ju

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 villages in retaliation for the Prince of Anhua uprising, wherein he gained his nickname.Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China – Database: Qiu Ju 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.Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China – Database: The Jiajing Emperor
===Decline of the Tigers===
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.Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun – Homecoming
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.
However, shortly after Qiu Ju's departure, Shao Jun escaped her imprisonment and killed Gao Feng,Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China – The Escape while her Mentor Wang Yangming assassinated Ma Yongcheng.Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China – The Return 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.Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China – Consequences
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,Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun – Reunion the Templars managed to overwhelm and mortally wound him,Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun – Trap with Zhang Yong delivering the fatal blow and reclaiming the box for the Order.Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China – Hunted 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.Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun – Funeral Pyre
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===
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.Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China – An Old Friend
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,Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China – Demon Fire leaving Qiu Ju alone with Shao Jun and the Empress.Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun – To Each Her Own Arena
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==
ACC China Qiu Ju Development.jpg|Development concept
ACC China Qiu Ju Concept Sketches.jpg|Concept sketches
ACC China DB Qui Ju.png|Qiu Ju in the Helix database
Demon Fire China (6).jpg|Close-up of Qiu Ju
Chronicles-China 3.jpg|Qiu Ju dueling Shao Jun inside the burning palace
==Appearances==
*Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China 
*Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun
*Assassin's Creed: The Ming Storm 
*Assassin's Creed: Turbulence in the Ming Dynasty 
==References==
de:Qiu Ju
es:Qiu Ju
fr:Qiu Ju
it:Qiu Ju
ru:Цю Цзюй
zh:丘聚
Category:1530 deaths
Category:Individuals
Category:Ming people
Category:Han Chinese
Category:Eunuchs
Category:Templars
Category:Chinese Templars
Category:Qiu (丘) lineage