Shi Kefa

Shi Kefa (1601—April 14, 1645), style names Xianzhi (simplified Chinese: 宪之; traditional Chinese: 憲之; pinyin: Xiànzhī) and Daolin (simplified Chinese: 道邻; traditional Chinese: 道鄰; pinyin: Dàolín), was a government official and calligrapher of the late Ming Dynasty period of Chinese history. Shi Kefa was born in Xiangfu (祥符; present-day Kaifeng, Henan) and claimed ancestry from Daxing County, Shuntianfu (順天府大興縣; in present-day Beijing). He was mentored by Zuo Guangdou (左光斗). Shi Kefa served as Grand Secretary in the Ministry of War in Nanjing during the early part of his career. He is best remembered for his defense of Yangzhou from invading armies of the Manchu-ruled Qing Dynasty. Shi Kefa was killed when Yangzhou fell to Qing forces in April 1645. The Southern Ming government granted him a posthumous name of "Zhongjing" (忠靖; means "loyal and peaceful"). Nearly a century later, the Qing Dynasty's Qianlong Emperor granted Shi Kefa another posthumous name of "Zhongzheng" (忠正; means "loyal and upright".) His descendants collected his works and compiled them into a book titled Lord Shi Zhongzheng's Collections (史忠正公集).