Shi Kefa
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Shi Kefa ("史可法", born 1601 - died 1645) was a Ming general, who in the last days of the Ming dynasty gave his life resisting the advancing Qing armies. The victorious Qing subsequently raised a memorial to him in recognition of his courage.
Shi Kefa was 44 years old when he was put in charge of the doomed city of Yangchow (揚州城). At the time, the Ming Empire was already beginning to collapse and the Ming soldiers had lost their will to fight. However, Shi Kefa was still able to convince his men that a defense of the city was possible. The Manchurians under Prince Dodo (多鐸) tried to lay siege to the walls of Yangchow repeatedly, but with little success. Shi Kefa had trained his men to use European rifles (designed by the Jesuits), and dealt heavy blows on the Manchurians. It was said that the casualties were so high that the corpses of the fallen Manchu army reached the height of the city's wall. In fact, this was supposedly how the Manchurians finally breached the wall of the city, by climbing over the dead corpses of their comrades. As the Manchurians scaled the city wall, the weakened Ming troops, low on morale, made no effort to fight or run. Shi Kefa, much saddened by the weakness of his countrymen, ordered his officers to behead him. However, they could not bring themselves to kill such a hero. He was soon captured by the Manchurians and brought to trial before the Manchu commander, Prince Dodo.
Prince Dodo, much impressed by Shi Kefa's loyalty as a general and his brilliant strategies fending off the Manchurians with a doomed army, stated "You have done your duty, general; now I will glady grant you a post." (前以書謁請，而先生不從。今忠義既成，當畀重任，為我收拾江南。) However, Shi Kefa refused to abandon the great Ming dynasty, wishing rather to commit suicide and vanish along with it. Dodo continued trying to persuade Shi Kefa to join his side for several weeks, but was not successful. Thus, Shi Kefa was granted his wish to die along with his beloved dynasty.
The Shi Kefa Memorial, a temple devoted to the memory of the local hero, is located in Yangzhou.
