Ding Shujing
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Ding Shujing | |
|---|---|
丁淑静 | |
 Ding Shujing, General Secretary, at YWCA national headquarters in Shanghai | |
| Born | February 1890 Linqing, Shandong Province, China |
| Died | 27 July 1936 (aged 46) Shanghai, China |
| Occupation | Teacher |
| Known for | Head of Chinese YWCA |
Ding Shujing (Chinese: 丁淑静, February 1890 – 27 July 1936) was the first Chinese leader of the Chinese YWCA, holding office from 1925 to 1936.
Ding Shujing was born in Linqing, Shandong Province, in February 1890. Her family converted from Buddhism to Christianity when Ding was ten or twelve. She attended mission schools in Dezhou and Tongzhou. She enrolled in North China Union College in Beijing in 1907 and graduated in 1911. For a short period she was a teacher.[1]
In 1914 Ding joined the Beijing YWCA.[1] She felt that Christianity gave people wholeness of life and thus let them develop their potential as humans and search for higher spiritual ideals.[2] She thought the church should recognize the equal participation of women and men in the Body of Christ.[3] She wrote, "If the position of men and women is not equal in the church, the original mission of the church will not be fulfilled, and the development of church ministry will also be hampered."[4]
In late 1922 Ding was appointed executive secretary for the Chinese YWCA's first national convention committee.[5] A few months later she accepted a position as associate general secretary. When Rosalee Venable went on furlough Ding was appointed acting national general secretary. She was given a scholarship to the YWCA National Training School in New York.[6]