(10 November 1812 - 5 September 1885), sometimes referred to as General Tso, was a Chinese statesman and military leader of the late Qing dynasty While Zuo is best known outside China for his military exploits, he also made contributions to Chinese agricultural science and education. In particular, he promoted cotton cultivation to north-western China as a replacement for cash crop opium and established a large-scale modern press in Shaanxi and Gansu provinces which published Confucian classics and newer works on agricultural science.