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Qi Jiguang and Hu Zongxian’s Anti-wokou Campaign

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Abstract

Qi Jiguang (1528–88) is perhaps best known as the anti-wokou hero who fought many battles against the so-called Japanese marauders along China’s southeastern coast in the mid-16th century. Beginning with his appointment to the Zhejiang Regional Military Commission in 1555, he worked under the command of Hu Zongxian, the then supreme commander of Nan Zhili, Zhejiang and Fujian. It was under Hu’s command that Qi was able to implement his plan of recruiting miners and farmers from Yiwu and training them to become the genesis of his well-known Qi Family Army. This paper seeks to explore the relationship between Hu and Qi and to assess the impact of Hu on this formative period of Qi’s career.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Zhu Guozhen, Yongzhuang xiaopin [Trifles from the erectable study, hereafter YZXP], Tianqi (1622) edition, reprinted in Siku quanshu cunmu congshu, vol. 106 (Jinan, Qilu shushe; Tainan, Zhuangyan wenshu shiye, 1995), 30.29a.

  2. 2.

    Hu Zongxian’s family was known as the Hu of Longchuan, and they traced their history in Jixi to the Eastern Jin period when their first ancestor settled down in the town of Huayang in Jixi county, Anhui. The lineage supposedly produced a number of illustrious officials over the generations, but their local prestige peaked in the Ming dynasty with Hu Fu (1445–1522), Hu Zongxian’s great grand-uncle, who held the position of Minister of Revenue in Nanjing. See Bian Li, Hu Zongxian zhuan [Biography of Hu Zongxian] (Hefei: Anhui daxue chubanshe, 2013), pp. 2–5.

  3. 3.

    Hu Zongxian was granted the rank of Minister of War (bingbu shangshu), concurrently right censor-in-chief (you duyushi) in the Censorate with the prestige title of Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent (taizi taibao) for his achievements in pacifying the wokou crisis in the southeast. Qi Jiguang was promoted to the rank of left commissioner-in-chief (zuo dudu) and granted the hereditary rank of battalion commander in the Embroidered-Uniform Guards (jinyiwei qianhui) and the prestige title of Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent (taizi shaobao).

  4. 4.

    Hu Zongxian was targeted by Grand Secretary Xu Jie as someone deemed to be supported by Grand Secretary Yan Song and was, by one account, a victim of court factional politics. Qi Jiguang, on the other hand, was closely allied with Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng who dominated the Wanli court (1573–1620) and was thus implicated when Zhang fell from power. For more information on Xu Jie, see John Dardess, A political life: A Grand Secretary and his times (Lanham MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2013). For information on Zhang Juzheng and his domination of the Wanli court, see Fan Shuzhi, Zhang Juzheng yu Wanli huangdi [Zhang Juzheng and the Wanli Emperor] (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2008).

  5. 5.

    Yuan Shikai, the first president of the Republic of China, had in fact placed Qi Jiguang high on his list of military heroes. See J.F. Millinger and Chaoying Fang, “Ch’i Chi-kuang”, in L. Carrington Goodrich and Chaoying Fang eds., Dictionary of Ming biography, 1368–1644 (hereafter DMB), vol. 1 (New York: Columbia University Press, 1976), p. 223.

  6. 6.

    For instance, the work Mingdai wokou shilue [A brief history of the wokou in the Ming dynasty] by Fan Zhongyi and Tong Xigang was published by the Zhonghua shuju in 2004 as part of the book series entitled Qi Jiguang yanjiu congshu [Collected works on the research of Qi Jiguang].

  7. 7.

    Only the works of So Kwan-wai, Charles Hucker and Merrilyn Fitzpatrick have so far examined certain aspects of Hu Zongxian and his work in Zhejiang and Fujian. See Merrilyn Fitzpatrick, “Local interests and the anti-pirate administration in China’s south-east, 1555–56”, Ch’ing-shih wen-t’i vol. 4, no. 2 (December 1979): 1–50; Charles Hucker, “Hu Tsung-hsien’s campaign against Hsu Hai, 1556”, in Charles O. Hucker, Two studies on Ming history, Michigan papers in Chinese studies no. 12 (Ann Arbor: Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan, 1971), 1–40; and So Kwan-wai, Japanese piracy in Ming China during the sixteenth century (East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 1975). See also Ivy Maria Lim, Lineage society on the southeastern coast of China: The impact of Japanese piracy in the 16th century (New York: Cambria Press, 2010), chapter 3.

  8. 8.

    James Geiss, “The Chia-ching reign, 1522–66”, in Frederick W. Mote and Denis Twitchett eds., The Cambridge History of China vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty 1368–1644, part I (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), p. 465.

  9. 9.

    Geiss, “The Chia-ching reign”, p. 450.

  10. 10.

    Such was the opinion expressed by Xu Xuemo in his remarks about Hu Zongxian and how he needed the support of Yan Song in order to ensure smooth operations of his anti-wokou campaign. See Xu Xuemo, Shimiao shiyu lu [Supplementary records from the Shimiao (Jiajing) reign, hereafter SMSYL], Ming edition, reprint in Xuxiu siku quanshu, vol. 433 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1996), 25.6a.

  11. 11.

    For a fuller discussion of Zhu Wan and his attempts to deal with the smuggler-traders and wokou along the coasts of Zhejiang and Fujian in the 1540s, see Roland Higgins, “Pirates in gowns and caps: Gentry law-breaking in the mid-Ming”, Ming Studies, vol. 10 (Spring 1980), pp. 30–37.

  12. 12.

    This image of Yan Song, Yan Shifan and Zhao Wenhua has endured partly because the Ming shilu formed part of the corpus of documents that the Qing dynasty compilers of the Mingshi relied on for information. There have been recent attempts to redress these opinions of both men by scholars. See So, Japanese piracy; Yin Xuanbo, “Yan Song, Xu Jie bijiao yanjiu” [A comparative study of Yan Song and Xu Jie], Zhongguo renmin daxue xuebao [Journal of Renmin University of China], vol. 6 (1996), pp. 90–96, 127; and Liu Cunren, “Xia Yan, Yan Song and Xu Jie”, Lingnan xuebao [Lingnan Journal of Chinese Studies], vol. 1 (Oct. 1999), pp. 345–74.

  13. 13.

    Mingshi [Standard History of the Ming, hereafter MS], comp. Zhang Tingyu et al., reprinted in Jingying wenyuange siku quanshu vols. 297–302 (Taipei: Taiwan shangwu, 1983), 205.15b. For the full biography of Hu Zongxian, see 205.9b–17a.

  14. 14.

    Tan Lun worked closely with Qi Jiguang over a long period in the 1550s and 1560s in his capacities as the Grand Coordinator of Fujian, the supreme commander of the Liangguang region and the supreme commander of the Ji-Liao region. See MS, 222.1b–7a for his biography.

  15. 15.

    MS, 81.27a–29b.

  16. 16.

    For a fuller discussion of the origins of the wokou crisis and the range of opinions expressed, see Ivy Maria Lim, “From haijin to kaihai: The Jiajing court’s search for a modus operandi”, Journal of the British Association for Chinese Studies, vol. 2 (2013), pp. 1–26.

  17. 17.

    See, for instance, Zhu, Yongzhuang xiaopin, 30.20b and Zheng Xiao, Jinyan [Contemporary words], Jiajing (1566) ed., reprinted in Yuan Ming shiliao biji congkan (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1997), p. 136.

  18. 18.

    See So, Japanese piracy and Higgins, “Pirates in gowns and caps”.

  19. 19.

    Examples of such works include Chen Maoheng, Mingdai wokou kaolue [An analysis of the wokou during the Ming dynasty], reprint (Beijing: Renmin chubanshe, 1957), and Wu Zhonghan, Mingdai wokou fanhua shilue [A brief history of the wokou invasions of China during the Ming dynasty] (Changsha: Shangwu yinshuguan, 1939).

  20. 20.

    Qi Jiguang has been immortalised in various physical memorials such as the dedicated memorial halls in Penglai, Shandong and Taizhou, Zhejiang; the Qi Jiguang Memorial Wall at the Great Wall, Beijing; the Qi Jiguang Park in Gutian, Fujian; and the Jiguang Street in Lishui, Zhejiang. In addition, the Republic of China named one of its frigates after him (the Chi Kuang), and he was a key character in the 2008 television drama series Shaolin Warriors released on CCTV-8 that dramatised his efforts in getting Shaolin monks to join his anti-wokou campaigns.

  21. 21.

    For instance, see Chen Wenshi, “Ming Jiajing nianjian zhefu yanhai kouluan yu sifan maoyi de guanxi” [The relationship between private trade and the coastal piracy crisis in Zhejiang during the Jiajing reign of the Ming dynasty], Shiyusuo jikan, vol. 36, part 1 (December 1965), and his later work, Ming Hongwu Jiajing jian de haijin zhengce [The maritime prohibition from the Hongwu to the Jiajing reigns of the Ming Dynasty] (Taipei: Guoli Taiwan daxue wenxueyuan, 1966). The participation of Chinese people in the wokou bands was already noted in the Ming records.

  22. 22.

    See Dai Yixuan, Mingdai jialong jian de wokou haidao yu zhongguo ziben zhuyi de mengya [The wokou piracy and the sprouting of Chinese capitalism during the Jiajing and Longqing reigns of the Ming dynasty] (Beijing: Zhongguo shehui kexue chubanshe, 1982), and Lin Renchuan, Mingmo qingchu siren haishang maoyi [Private maritime trade in the late Ming and early Qing periods] (Shanghai: Huadong shifan daxue chubanshe, 1987), among other works.

  23. 23.

    See, for instance, Wan Ming, Zhongguo rongru shijie de bulü: Ming yu Qing qianqi haiwai zhengce bijiao yanjiu [The steps by which China integrated into the world: A comparative study of the foreign policies of the Ming and the early Qing] (Beijing: Shehui kexue wenxian chubanshe, 2000).

  24. 24.

    The tomb dedicated to Wang Zhi was supposedly erected in 2000, along with a stele, using donations raised by a group of Japanese from Nagasaki. The tomb and stele entered the national limelight in 2005 when it was smashed and defaced by Guo Quan, a faculty member of the Nanjing Normal University, and Wu Weimin, a teacher from Lishui in Zhejiang, and was subsequently swiftly destroyed by the provincial authorities for violating regulations governing tombs. See “Liang jiaoshi yeza Wang Zhi mu” [Two teachers smash the tomb of Wang Zhi at night], 2 Feb. 2005, http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2005-02/02/content_2537083.htm, and “Jianzei Wang Zhi mu zaici beiza, Anhui minzhengting cheng jian gaimu weifa” [Tomb of traitor Wang Zhi smashed again, Anhui authorities claim tomb was constructed illegally], 6 Feb. 2005, http://www.china.com.cn/chinese/law/780573.htm.

  25. 25.

    Apart from Lai Shufang’s study of Hu Zongxian, Bian Li’s monograph on Hu Zongxian seems to be the only major biography of note on him in recent years. See Lai Shufang, “Jiajing nengchen Hu Zongxian zhi yanjiu” [A study of Hu Zongxian, a capable official of the Jiajing reign], MA dissertation, National Central University (2011), and Bian Li, Hu Zongxian. While the smashing of Wang Zhi’s tomb may have been the catalyst to increased public awareness, part of this renewed interest could have also stemmed from the sympathetic portrayal of Hu Zongxian as an upright and patriotic official in the 2006 television drama series Da Ming wangchao 1566 [The Ming Dynasty 1566]. Perhaps more significant was the Chinese government’s 2012 rebuttal of Japanese claims to the Diaoyu islands on the basis of historical documents, including the Chouhai tubian [An illustrated compendium on maritime security] that was ostensibly compiled by Hu Zongxian. See “Diaoyu Islands cannot be bought”, 14 Sep. 2012, http://english.cntv.cn/20120914/102637_2.shtml (accessed 25 August 2015).

  26. 26.

    See Cai Jiude, Wobian shilue [A brief account of the wo rebellion, hereafter WBSL], in Yanyi zhilin [Collection of writings from Haiyan], vol. 29, compiled by Fan Weicheng (Shanghai: Hanfenlou, 1937) and Wang Shiqi, Huangming yuwo lu [A record of repelling the wo in the Imperial Ming, hereafter HMYWL], reprint in Siku quanshu cunmu congshu, vol. 53 (Jinan: Qilu shushe; Tainan: Zhuangyan wenhua shiye youxian gongsi, 1996).

  27. 27.

    The compilation of the Zhejiang tongzhi was first began by Xu Jie and later refined and completed by Xue Yingqi, the magistrate of Cixi county, with support from Hu Zongxian in his capacity as the supreme commander. His authorship of Chouhai tubian, on the other hand, had been disputed by scholars who pointed to the deliberate erasure of Zheng Ruozeng from the Ming reprints of the work by Hu Zongxian’s descendants. See Song Kefu and Shao Jinjin, “Lun Hu Zongxian zai ‘Chouhai tubian’ bianzuan zhong de zhongyao zuoyong” [An analysis of Hu Zongxian’s role in the compilation of the Chouhai tubian], Zhongnan daxue xuebao (shehui kexue ban), vol. 17, issue 6 (December 2011), pp. 161–65.

  28. 28.

    Hu Guiqi apparently served in his father’s anti-wokou administration and was privy to many of the meetings that took place during the campaign. See Hu Guiqi, Hugong xingshi [An accurate account of the acts of Master Hu, hereafter HGXS], Wanli edition, reprinted in Siku quanshu cunmu congshu shibu, vol. 83 (Jinan: Qilu shushe; Tainan: Zhuangyan wenhua shiye youxian gongsi, 1996).

  29. 29.

    While it is not clear when exactly the Hugong xingshi was composed, part of Hu Zongxian’s rehabilitation could have possibly been linked to the debate in the Wanli court over China’s response to Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s invasions of Korea (1592–98), where proponents of war revived the history of Hu’s successful campaign against the wokou. See HMYWL, xu.4a. For a discussion of the Sino-Japanese war during the Wanli reign, see Kenneth M. Swope, “Deceit, disguise and dependence: China, Japan and the future of the tributary system, 1592–96”, The International History Review, vol. 24, issue 4(2002), pp. 757–82.

  30. 30.

    HGXS, 435–36.

  31. 31.

    HGXS, 436; 438. Today, the mid-level of the Shenggui Mountain is known as the Master Hu Cliff where an image of Hu Zongxian that was carved into the mountain by the natives in commemoration still stands.

  32. 32.

    HGXS, 438–41; MS 205.10a.

  33. 33.

    WBSL, 4.3a; HGXS, 444; 448–49.

  34. 34.

    HGXS, 436–38. Interestingly, all three men mentioned by Hu Guiqi were natives of Zhejiang. Zeng Xian, a vice minister in the Ministry of War, was a native of Huangyan county, while both Zhang Shiche, the Nanjing Minister of War, and Tu Qiao (js. 1511) who served as the left censor-in-chief in the Censorate and who died circa. 1555, were from Ningbo prefecture.

  35. 35.

    According to Hu Guiqi, Hu Zongxian put on his armour and helmet to prove to his guests that he took part in the repulsion of the Mongolian invaders at Datong personally, again a gesture indicative of his competitive nature. The helmet and armour would have weighed approximately 3.5kg and 20kg, respectively. See HGXS, 448.

  36. 36.

    HGXS, 442–43; WBSL, 4.3a.

  37. 37.

    HGXS, 444 and WBSL, 3.6b.

  38. 38.

    See Fang Chaoying, “Hu Tsung-hsien”, in DMB vol. 1, pp. 634–35.

  39. 39.

    HGXS, 462 and 471. For a summary of Hu Zongxian’s campaigns against the wokou, see Lim, Lineage Society, chapter 3.

  40. 40.

    Fan Zhongyi, Qi Jiguang zhuan [A biography of Qi Jiguang] (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2003), p. 15. See also Millinger and Fang, “Ch’i Chi-kuang”, DMB vol. 1, p. 220 and MS, 212.13b–22b.

  41. 41.

    Fan, Qi Jiguang zhuan, pp. 54–59.

  42. 42.

    Qi Zuoguo, Qi Shaobao nianpu qibian [A sixty-year chronicle of Junior Guardian Qi (Jiguang), hereafter QSBNP], Daoguang (1847) edition, reprint in Xuxiu siku quanshu, vol. 553 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1995), 1.17b.

  43. 43.

    Fan, Qi Jiguang zhuan, p. 82.

  44. 44.

    SMSYL, 20.2a. Hu Zongxian was not spared, and he was jointly impeached by Wang Ben’gu, the regional inspector of Zhejiang, and Li Hu, the censor of Nanjing, for falsely reporting defeats of the imperial forces in Wenzhou and Taizhou as victories, for tolerating the wokou on Cen’gang and for withholding military funds and generally being debaucherous. It is interesting to note as well that Xu Xuemo expressed the opinion that the attack on Hu was politically motivated because he had antagonised the powerful official in court with his meritorious service for capturing Wang Zhi [viz. Xu Jie], and this was recognised by the Jiajing Emperor who rejected the accusations of Hu being a member of Yan Song’s clique and personally decided to retain him in his post.

  45. 45.

    Hu Zongxian was said to have predicted that the yuanyang zhen [Mandarin duck formation] would cement the reputation of the men from Yiwu as fearsome fighters when it was presented to him. See Xu Kairen comp., Ming mingchen yanxinglu [A record of the words and acts of famous officials from the Ming dynasty], reprint of 1681 edition, in Mingdai zhuanji congkan [Collected reprints of biographies from the Ming Dynasty], vol. 50–54 (Taipei: Mingwen shuju, 1991), 59.33b.

  46. 46.

    Fan, Qi Jiguang zhuan, appendix, pp. 587–91.

  47. 47.

    See Qi Jiguang, Jixiao xinshu [A new treatise on disciplined service, hereafter JXXS], reprint in Jingyin wenyuange siku quanshu, volume 728 (Taipei: Taiwan shangwu, 1983). See also the Lianbing shiji [A practical account for troop training] in the same volume and the Zhizhitang ji [Collection from the Zhizhi Hall], Guangxu (1888) edition, reprinted in Siku quanshu cunmu congshu, vol. 146 (Jinan: Qilu shushe; Tainan: Zhuangyan wenshu shiye, 1997).

  48. 48.

    Fan, Qi Jiguang zhuan, pp. 82–83.

  49. 49.

    QSBNP, 1.18a. For more information on how the new coastal defence positions came about, see HGXS, 465.

  50. 50.

    The list of positions in the military defence establishment in Zhejiang as listed in the Chouhai tubian suggests that there were at least two to three layers of personnel between the supreme commander and the assistant regional commander. Given that Hu Zongxian would have spent most of his time in Hangzhou or in the western part of Zhejiang while Qi Jiguang’s area of command was on the other side of the Qiantang river, contact between the two would have been indirect at best. See Zheng Ruozeng, Chouhai tubian [An illustrated compendium on maritime security], reprint in Jingyin wenyuange siku quanshu, vol. 584 (Taipei: Taiwan Shangwu, 1983), 5.9a–10a.

  51. 51.

    Ming Shizong shilu [Veritable records of the Shizong reign], annotated by Zhongyang yanjiuyuan lishi yuyan yanjiusuo (Taipei: Zhongyang yanjiuyuan lishi yuyan yanjiusuo, 1962–66), juan 61, 21 March 1526, p. 1432.

  52. 52.

    For details, see So, Japanese piracy, pp. 60–61.

  53. 53.

    Fan, Qi Jiguang zhuan, p.105.

  54. 54.

    JXXS, juanshou.2b.

  55. 55.

    Lin Xiyuan, Tong’an Lin Ciya xiansheng wenji [The collected writings of Mr. Lin Ciya of Tong’an], Qianlong (1753) edition, reprinted in Siku quanshu cunmu congshu jibu, vol. 75 (Jinan: Qilu shushe; Tainan: Zhuangyan wenshu shiye, 1997), 6.28b.

  56. 56.

    JXXS, juanshou.2b–3a.

  57. 57.

    JXXS, juanshou.3b–4a.

  58. 58.

    JXXS, juanshou.4a–4b.

  59. 59.

    See Lim, Lineage Society, pp. 96–105.

  60. 60.

    QSBNP, 1.20a.

  61. 61.

    There is no mention of this episode in HGXS, and the first mention of Qi Jiguang was in relation to a campaign in Eastern Zhejiang, after the pacification of Xu Hai in 1556, led by Zhao Wenhua and Ruan E. See HGXZ, 458.

  62. 62.

    Ruan E (1509–67) was a native of Tongcheng county in Anhui province. He obtained his jinshi degree in 1544 and held posts in the Nanjing Ministry of Justice and was the Educational Intendent of Zhejiang. He played an active part in Hu Zongxian’s anti-wokou campaign. See MS, 205.17a–b.

  63. 63.

    QSBNP, 1.20b. Hu Zongxian’s reaction was not mentioned in the Jixiao xinshu which alluded to the lack of funds in the Shaoxing prefectural treasury that could be set aside to support the proposed training of troops. See JXXS, juanshou.4b–5b.

  64. 64.

    This episode was not mentioned in the QSBNP which listed two campaigns in Taizhou and Wenzhou immediately after the proposal of training the soldiers.

  65. 65.

    HGXS, 468–69.

  66. 66.

    HGXS, 463. The Ningbo campaign was the first mention in the Hugong xingshi of Hu Zongxian and Qi Jiguang fighting in the same battle.

  67. 67.

    HGXS, 469.

  68. 68.

    This story is also retold in Xu, Ming mingchen yanxinglu, 59.33b. By the Kangxi reign in the Qing dynasty (1661–1722), it appeared that Hu Zongxian’s earlier prediction that the reputation of the Yiwu soldiers as strong fighters would spread with the use of the yuanyang formation had been fulfilled as the Yiwu soldiers were then known as the ‘southern soldiers’ and they were often mobilised in times of need.

  69. 69.

    QSBNP, 1.35b.

  70. 70.

    See QSBNP, 1.36a–37a.

  71. 71.

    For instance, Hu Guiqi notes how, in 1561 when Lu Tang was fighting bandits in Ninghai county in Ningbo, when the bandits caught wind of news that Qi Jiguang was on the way with his Yiwu reinforcements, they turned tail and escaped in their boats. See HGXS, 479.

  72. 72.

    Qi Jiguang, Zhizhitang ji, Hengshuogao zhong, 13a.

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    Ivy Maria Lim

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    Y.H. Teddy Sim

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Lim, I.M. (2017). Qi Jiguang and Hu Zongxian’s Anti-wokou Campaign. In: Sim, Y. (eds) The Maritime Defence of China. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4163-1_2

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