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26.   Headstone of Madame Qizi
Yuan dynasty (1272—1368)
Quanzhou Maritime Museum
Ricci 26  KP 079 Z9

Madame Qizi’s inscription is in Phags-pa and Chinese. A Maltese cross is set over a cloud design and the inscription.

It is intriguing that several of the Christian tombstones in this exhibition mark the graves of women. Feminine support for and involvement in the spread of Christianity has been strong from the days of the Apostles onward. The Franciscan bishop of Quanzhou, Andreas of Perugia (see stone 29), reported back to his brethren in Italy that a wealthy Armenian woman had donated the funds to build his cathedral. The stones of  Madame Qizi and Mrs. Yap, along with the Yangzhou tombstone of Katerina Vilionis, reinforce this perception of active female involvement in the church and the foreign merchant community as well.