Qi Family Army Memorial Hall

Qi Family Army Memorial Hall

Located in Qiaoting, Chian Town, the Qi Family Army Memorial Hall is built in a low, flat valley across from the village, where the surrounding hills are gently rounded and undulating. Majestic two-eaved gate towers stand firmly, flanked by “Great Walls” made of blue flagstones that wind along the terrain up to the northern and southern mountains.

As you approach the gate tower, the words “Triumphal Arch” shine golden. The nine large characters “Yiwu City Qi Family Army Memorial Hall,” inscribed by General Hong Xuezhi, a member of the - Committee, are engraved above the arched gate. Looking at this “Great Wall,” the gate tower, and the beacon towers, one cannot help but feel immense reverence and pride for the patriotic spirit of loyalty and bravery demonstrated by the ancestors.

Because the Qi Family Army is the pride of the people of Yiwu. Back then, Qi Jiguang fought against Japanese pirates in eastern Zhejiang and recruited 3,000 soldiers from Yiwu in the Chian area of southern Yiwu. These soldiers swept away the coastal pirate threat and guarded the northern frontiers. They were known for their bravery and endurance and were called the “model soldiers.”

In the Ming Dynasty alone,

228 military officers were granted titles such as Pingzhang Marshal, General, Vice General, Regimental Commander, Battalion Commander, Company Commander, and Thousand-Household Commander for their military achievements.

The overall construction of the Qi Family Army Memorial Hall is not yet fully completed. Follow-up projects will include a Ming Dynasty Weapons Museum, a military drill hall, and a warship training lake. When completed, the grand stage where the Qi Family Army achieved its military glories will be impressively presented on this heroic land that nurtured the “model soldiers.”

Qi Jiguang, styled Yuanjing and also known as Nantang, was from Dengzhou, Shandong. He was born in 1528 during the Ming Dynasty’s Jiajing era (1528). His father, Jingtong, served as a regional military commander and once acted as the acting head of the Daning Regional Military Commission. Qi Jiguang studied literature and martial arts from an early age. After his father passed away when he was 17, he inherited his position as Assistant Commander of the Dengzhou Guard in Shandong. At the time, Japanese pirates frequently harassed the southeastern coastal areas. Qi Jiguang once expressed his aspiration in a poem: “I do not seek a noble title, but only wish for calm seas.” In 1553, the 32nd year of the Jiajing reign, he was promoted to Acting Commander of the Imperial Guard and reorganized the 3 battalions and 25 guards under his command, strengthening their training and solidifying the maritime defenses of Shandong, which deterred the pirates from easily launching attacks. … More details about Qi Jiguang ++