Qi Jiguang
Formed the Qi Family Army and created the Mandarin Duck formation, won nine victories in nine battles at Taizhou, and pacified the wokou in the southeast.
Life
Hereditary military officer
Qi Jiguang was a native of Dengzhou who inherited the post of assistant commander of the Dengzhou Guard. In 1555 he was transferred to Zhejiang to fight the wokou pirates. Seeing how weak the garrison troops were in battle, he went to Yiwu to recruit miners and farmers, forming the strictly disciplined "Qi Family Army."
Qi Family Army and Mandarin Duck formation
Because the wokou excelled with short weapons and the Jiangnan region was full of paddy fields and narrow paths, he devised the "Mandarin Duck formation," which combined long and short weapons. In 1561, when the wokou launched a major invasion of Taizhou, he won nine victories in nine battles. He then fought on in Fujian and Guangdong, largely ending the wokou raids on the southeast coast.
Defended the Jizhou garrison
In 1568 he was transferred to be regional commander of Jizhou, guarding the north for sixteen years and building hollow watchtowers, bringing peace to the northern frontier. After Zhang Juzheng's death he was transferred away, and he died in poverty and illness in 1588. He wrote the Jixiao Xinshu and the Lianbing Shiji (Record of Military Training).
Legacy
Qi Jiguang is the most famous hero of fighting the wokou pirates in Chinese history, and his Jixiao Xinshu (New Treatise on Military Efficiency) is one of the most important military treatises of ancient China.
Major works & achievements
- Pacified the wokou in the southeast
- Jixiao Xinshu (New Treatise on Military Efficiency)
- Built hollow watchtowers at the Jizhou garrison
Did you know? "A noble title is not my aim; I only wish for calm seas" is a line of verse he wrote in his youth.
Key dates
- 1555Transferred to Zhejiang to fight the wokou pirates
- 1559Recruited Yiwu troops and formed the Qi Family Army
- 1561Nine victories in nine battles at Taizhou
- 1568Defended the Jizhou garrison
- 1588Died