Qi Jiguang

Qi Jiguang (1528–1588), a renowned Ming Dynasty general famed for repelling Japanese pirates, was born in Dengzhou, Shandong (modern-day Penglai). He recruited soldiers from Yiwu to form the elite 'Qi Family Army', deploying the innovative Mandarin Duck Formation to decisively defeat pirate forces in Zhejiang and Fujian provinces and eradicate the long-standing pirate menace along the southeast coast. Later, he served as regional commander in Jizhou in northern China, overseeing the reinforcement and renovation of sections of the Great Wall. His military treatises—the New Treatise on Effective Military Training and the Practical Record of Military Training—remain foundational texts in Chinese military history. In gratitude for his achievements in expelling pirates and securing civilian life, coastal communities in Zhejiang and Fujian erected temples in his honour—known as 'Qi Gong Temples'—and preserved the tradition of baking 'Guang Bing' (‘Qi’s Biscuits’), said to have been originally devised as portable rations for his troops. His ancestral residence and the Qi Jiguang Ancestral Temple in Penglai remain well-preserved, while the Qi Gong Temple on Yushan Mountain in Fuzhou continues to draw steady pilgrims. Along the coast, people revere him as the Divine Protector of the Maritime Frontier, invoking his power to repel external threats and ensure peace and stability.