Shi Kefa

Shi Kefa
Shi Kefa
史可法
	Portrait of Shi Kefa
Senior Grand Secretary
	In office; 1644
Monarch	Zhu Yousong
Preceded by	Li Jiantai (acting)
Succeeded by	Gao Hongtu
Minister of War
	In office; 1644
Monarch	Zhu Yousong
Preceded by	Zhang Jinyan
Succeeded by	Ma Shiying
Minister of War, Southern Capital
	In office; 1643–1644
Monarch	Chongzhen Emperor
Preceded by	Xiong Mingyu
Succeeded by	Ma Shiying
Minister of Personnel, Southern Capital (acting)
	In office; 1643–1644
Monarch	Chongzhen Emperor
Preceded by	Li Yuzhi
Succeeded by	Zhang Shenyan
Personal details
Born	4 February 1601; Kaifeng, Henan, Ming dynasty, China
Died	20 May 1645 (aged 44); Yangzhou, Jiangsu, Qing dynasty, China
Occupation	Official, calligrapher

Shi Kefa (4 February 1601 – 20 May 1645), courtesy names Xianzhi and Daolin, was a government official and calligrapher who lived in the late Ming dynasty. He was born in Xiangfu (祥符; present-day Kaifeng, Henan) and claimed ancestry from Daxing County, Shuntian Prefecture (順天府大興縣; in present-day Beijing). He was mentored by Zuo Guangdou (左光斗). He served as the Minister of War in Nanjing during the early part of his career. He is best remembered for his defence of Yangzhou from the Qing dynasty and was killed when Yangzhou fell to Qing forces in April 1645. After his death, the Southern Ming granted him the posthumous name "Zhongjing" (忠靖; means "loyal and peaceful"). Nearly a century later, the Qianlong Emperor of Qing granted Shi Kefa another posthumous name, "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).