Feng Zicai
Feng Zicai (traditional Chinese: 馮子才; simplified Chinese: 冯子才; pinyin: Féng Zǐcaī; Wade–Giles: Feng Tzu-ts'ai) (1818–1903) was a general in the Imperial Army during the Qing dynasty. He was originally a bandit from Qinzhou, Guangxi, China.
The Taiping Rebellion
In 1856, Feng, a
In 1867, he established his base of command in Nanning where he worked to fight bandits, rebels, the Hmong and other groups threatening the Qing Empire in south China and northern Vietnam.
Sino-French War
During the Sino-French War (August 1884 to April 1885) Feng was placed in command of a chiefly Zhuang armed force in South China, composed mainly of local peasantry and some of Feng's retired imperial troops. On 23 February 1885 the misdeployment of Feng's troops too far from the battlefield was a major factor in the defeat of China's Kwangsi Army in the
Feng Zicai's troops, stationed on the Chinese right wing around the village of Bang Bo, played an important role in the battle, defeating an assault by the French 111th Line Battalion on a position known as 'the long trench'. Feng is said to have encouraged his troops with the words 'You should die rather than bear to see a French army invading Chinese soil!' (寧死不忍見法軍侵入中國境內). He is also said to have personally led the Chinese counterattack against the 111th Battalion. The Chinese had been beaten with ease by the French during the
Feng's defiant words to his troops at Bang Bo are sculpted on a giant stone on Wuzhi Mountain, the highest mountain in Hainan.
Film portrayal
The story of Feng Zicai and the victory of the Chinese troops was made into the 2017 film The War of Loong.