Qi Jiguang
Qi Jiguang (November 12, 1528 – January 17, 1588),courtesy name Yuanjing, art names Nantang and Mengzhu, posthumous name Wuyi, was a Chinese military general of the Ming dynasty. He is best known for leading Ming forces to defend China's east coastal regions from raids by the wokou in the 16th century and is widely regarded as a national hero in Chinese culture.
Life
Early life
Qi Jiguang was born in the town of Luqiao (鲁橋) 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 (登州衛), a district of the present day Penglai.
When his father Qi Jingtong (戚景通) 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 (薊州, east of present-day Beijing) against East Mongolian raiders during spring time from 1548 to 1552.