Qi Jiguang

Qi Jiguang (November 12, 1528 – January 5, 1588) was a Chinese military general and national hero during the Ming Dynasty. He was best remembered for his courage and leadership in the fight against Japanese pirates along the east coast of China, as well as his reinforcement work on the Great Wall of China.

Life

Early life

Qi Jiguang was born in the town of Luqiao (鲁桥) in Shandong province to a family with a long military tradition. His forefather served as a military leader under Zhu Yuanzhang and died in battle. When Zhu Yuanzhang later became the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he bestowed upon the Qi family the hereditary post of commander-in-chief of Dengzhou Garrison (登州卫), a district of the present day Penglai.

Related Topics:
Luqiao - Shandong - Zhu Yuanzhang - Ming Dynasty - Dengzhou - Penglai

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Qi Jiguang's father, Qi Jingtong (戚景通), was an honest and upright man. He cultivated in his son a yearning for knowledge as well as a firm set of morals. When his father died, Qi Jiguang took over the commandership of Dengzhou Garrison at the age of seventeen. As his siblings were still young, he married Wang and left domestic affairs to her. Besides building up naval defense at the garrison, he also had to lead his troops to help in the defense of Jizhou (蓟州), southwest of present day Beijing) against East Mongolian raiders during spring time from 1548 to 1552.

Related Topics:
Jizhou - Beijing - Mongol

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At twenty-two, Qi Jiguang headed for Beijing to take part in the martial arts section of the imperial examination. During this time, East Mongolian troops led by Altan Khan broke through the northern defense and laid siege on Beijing. Candidates participating in the martial arts exam were also mobilized to defend the capital. Qi Jiguang displayed extraordinary valor and military ingenuity during the battle, which eventually saw the defeat of the invaders.

Related Topics:
Imperial examination - Altan Khan

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Battles against Japanese pirates

In 1553, Qi Jiguang was promoted to Assistant Regional Military Commissioner (都指挥佥事) of Shandong's defense force against Japanese pirates. He disciplined his troops and reinforced the defense works well so that the pirates, seeing strong resistance in Shandong, had to move southwards to seek more vulnerable targets.

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In the fall of 1555, Qi Jiguang was sent to Zhejiang, where the Japanese pirates colluded with their Chinese counterparts and expanded their forces. Together with two other renowned generals of his time, Yu Dayou (俞大猷) and Tan Lun (谭纶), Qi Jiguang led the Ming soldiers to a decisive victory at Cengang (岑港) in 1558. Henceafter, his troops continued to deal fatal blows to the pirates at Taozhu (桃渚), Haimen Garrison (海门卫) and Taizhou.

Related Topics:
Zhejiang - Yu Dayou - Tan Lun - Cengang - Taozhu - Haimen - Taizhou

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With the situation in Zhejiang under control, Qi Jiguang began to concentrate on training a disciplined and effective army. He drafted mainly miners and farmers from the county of Yiwu because he believed these people to be honest and hardworking. He also oversaw the construction of forty-four naval vessels of various sizes to be used against pirates at sea.

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The first trial for Qi Jiguang's new army came in 1559. After a month-long battle with Japanese pirates in the Taizhou Prefecture, with the pirates suffering over five thousand casualties, Qi Jiguang's army established a name for itself among both the people of Zhejiang and its enemies.

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Partly as a result of Qi Jiguang's military success in Zhejiang, pirate activities surged in the province of Fujian. More than ten thousand pirates had established strongholds along the coast from Fu'an (福安) in the north to Zhangzhou in the south. In July 1562, Qi Jiguang led six thousand elite troops south into Fujian. Within two months, his army eradicated three major lairs of Japanese pirates at Hengyu (横屿), Niutian (牛田) and Lindun (林墩).

Related Topics:
Fujian - Fu'an - Zhangzhou - Hengyu - Niutian - Lindun

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However, his own army also suffered significant losses to fighting and diseases. Seeing the pirate infestation in Fujian subdued, Qi Jiguang then returned to Zhejiang to regroup his force. The Japanese pirates took the opportunity to invade Fujian again, this time succeeding in conquering Xinghua (兴化) (present day Putian). In April 1563, Qi Jiguang led ten thousand troops into Fujian and regained Xinghua. Over the next year, a series of victories by Qi Jiguang's army finally saw the pirate problem in Fujian fully resolved.

Related Topics:
Xinghua - Putian

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A final major battle against Japanese pirates was fought on the island of Nan'ao (南澳), which lies near the boundary between the provinces of Fujian and Guangdong, in September 1565. There Qi Jiguang joined arms with his old comrade Yu Dayou again to defeat the remnant of the combined Japanese and Chinese pirate force.

Related Topics:
Nan'ao - Guangdong

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Years on the northern frontier

With the pirate situation along the coast under control, Qi Jiguang was called to Beijing in late 1567 to take charge of training troops for the imperial guards. In the next year, he was given command of the troops in Jizhou to defend against the Mongols. Qi Jiguang soon began the repair work on the segment of the Great Wall between Shanhai Pass and Juyong Pass (居庸关). Meanwhile, he also directed the construction of watchtowers along the wall. After two years of hard work, more than a thousand watchtowers were completed, giving the defensive capability in the north a great boost.

Related Topics:
Great Wall - Shanhai Pass - Juyong Pass

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Qi Jiguang also conducted a month-long military exercise involving more than 100,000 troops in winter 1572. From the experience of the maneuver he wrote Records of Military Training (练兵实纪), which became an invaluable reference for military leaders after him. Over the sixteen years when Qi Jiguang was in Jizhou, not a single Mongolian raider crossed to the south of the Great Wall.

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In early 1583, Qi Jiguang was relieved of his duty on the northern frontier and assigned an idle post in Guangdong. His already ill health worsened in the next two years, forcing him to retire to his hometown. He finally passed away in 1588, days before the Lunar New Year. His life was probably best summarized by his own poem:

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:For three hundred sixty days a year, I hold my weapon ready atop my steed.

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