Feng Zicai

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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 bandit in Guangxi, China who later became a general in the Imperial Army during the Qing dynasty. In 1867 he established his base of command in Nanning where he worked to fight bandits, rebels, the Hmong, and other groups threataning the Qing Empire in south China and northern Vietnam. When the Sino-French War broke out in 1884, he was placed in command of a chiefly Zhuang armed force in South China. He was responsible for the defense of, and counterattack at, Zhennanguan Pass in Guangxi province, during a French incursion over the border in March 1885. He commanded over 50,000 local peasants, building a wall across the pass, and positioning several batteries along the ridges over looking the pass. The original attack by the French was strong and they managed to capture several batteries and push back the Chinese defenses. The next day, Feng Zicai and his sons led a counter-attack in which they engaged they French in hand-to-hand combat. Feng followed up this victory with an attempted assault on the French position at Ky Lua, in front of Lang Son citadel on the Tonkinese side of the border; although the attack was repulsed, the acting French commander ordered a retreat. Soon after, the French signed a peace treaty with China.