Candida Xu or Candida Su ( zh, t=許徐甘弟大, w=Hsü3-Hsü2 Kan1-ti4-ta4, p=Xǔ-Xú Gāndìdà; ; September 4, 1607 – July 24, 1680), was a Chinese Catholic who lived in late Ming and early

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

China. She has been called "arguably the most influential Chinese Christian woman of the seventeenth century." She is also, according to records, likely the first Chinese woman who learned

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

Biography

Born on the feast day of Saint Candida the Elder, in whose honor she was named, Xu was the granddaughter of

Xu Guangqi Xu Guangqi or Hsü Kuang-ch'i (April 24, 1562– November 8, 1633), also known by his baptismal name Paul or Paul Siu, was a Chinese agronomist, astronomer, mathematician, scholar-bureaucrat, politician, and writer during the late Ming dynasty ...

, who had converted to Christianity four years previously. From childhood, she was profoundly devout. Widowed at 46, she redirected her focus towards serving the church. Despite the limitations imposed on her due to her upper-class status, she worked to spread the word of Christianity. She exercised the influence of her father and son to gain good will for many

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

missionaries among local officials. Among Chinese Christians she promoted her spiritual associations; she also acted as a leader for Christian women around

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

. She had a private income, from which she donated generously to finance living arrangements for missionaries; she also funded the building of close to forty churches and chapels, and facilitated publication of many religious works in the

Chinese language Chinese ( or ) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and List of ethnic groups in China, many minority ethnic groups in China, as well as by various communities of the Chinese diaspora. Approximately 1.39& ...

. She also led weaving efforts within the female community, which included her daughters. The cloth and embroideries that they wove helped them make an equivalent of several thousand French crowns, which she also donated to support missionary work. She helped the Catholic Church in Sichuan search for surviving converts after the devastation wrought by

Zhang Xianzhong Zhang Xianzhong (張獻忠 or Chang Hsien-chung; 18 September 1606 – 2 January 1647), courtesy name Bingwu (秉吾), art name Jingxuan (敬軒), was a Chinese peasant leader who led a peasant rebellion from Yan'an wei, Shaanxi (today Yulin, ...

. She was referred to as the Apostle of China by many. Her story gained currency in Europe through a biography by

Philippe Couplet Philippe Couplet, SJ (1623–1693), known in China as Bai Yingli, was a Flemish people, Flemish Jesuits, Jesuit Jesuit China missions, missionary to the Qing Empire. He worked with his fellow missionaries to compile the influential ''Confucius, P ...

, her confessor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xu, Candida 1607 births 1680 deaths Chinese Roman Catholics Chinese women philanthropists Chinese philanthropists 17th-century philanthropists 17th-century Chinese women 17th-century Chinese people 17th-century women philanthropists