Shi Dakai
Shi Dakai (1 March 1831 – 25 June 1863), born in Guigang, Guangxi, also known as Wing King lit. 'Lord of Five Thousand Years') or phonetically translated as Yi-Wang, was one of the most highly acclaimed leaders in the Taiping Rebellion and a poet.
In January 1851, Hong Xiuquan and the five key leaders of the rebellion (among whom Shi was the youngest) formally established the Kingdom of Heavenly Peace in Jintian, Guangxi, with about twenty thousand followers. In May, the Taiping army moved into Guangxi, followed by the Qing army, who launched a fierce attack. At Renyi's watergate, Shi used stealth strategy to win a decisive victory with three hundred men against the enemies' five thousand. In August, after the Taiping conquered the city Yongan, Shi won wide admiration from the populace for his gentle rule and fair administration, people attracted by his reputation coming to join the rebellion in flocks. In October, Hong Xiuquan made the twenty-year-old Shi E-Wang, "Lord of the Holy Lighting". Shi later spearheaded the series of battles that won the city Nanjing for the Taiping, where they established their capital, to be known as Tianjing, or Heavenly Capital. Now legendary and avowed among the Qing army, Shi was also the only Taiping commander who fought through those battles without a single defeat. Both friend and foe noted his kindness in treating civilians, and folk songs that commemorated his victories became popular in the lands the Taiping moved through.