"The long history of the barnyard has been immortalized, but every case in the history has been unjust." Yi Wang Shi Dakai is one of the most legendary figures in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. He was "called out of the mountain" at the age of sixteen. He commanded thousands of troops at the age of nineteen. He was crowned king at the age of twenty. He was only thirty-two when he died heroically. He was an elusive soldier during his lifetime. After his death, he still made his enemies fearful. Even he In the decades after his death, people continued to engage in anti-Qing activities and revolutionary movements in his name. The Revolutionary Party of 1911 used poetry, novels, paintings and other media to publicize his deeds to "inspire people, call on people with lofty ideals, and advocate revolution." ". Folklore about him spreads throughout most of China where he fought during his lifetime, showing that he was deeply loved by people everywhere.
The senior generals of the Taiping Army highly praised Shi Dakai's courage. For example, when Li Xiucheng talked about the strengths and weaknesses of the kings, "all are in the clouds, but he only obeyed King Shi, saying that his strategy was profound." Chen Yucheng believed that the generals of the Taiping Army "are not generals, only Feng Yunshan and Shi Da are good at making mistakes." As for the Qing Dynasty, Zeng Guofan said, "Stones are the most powerful in checking thieves' canals. They deceive and incite the people and make great noise, and stones are also the most cunning." Zuo Zongtang said that he was "cunning and cunning, and he has always won the hearts of thieves." "His intelligence is above all thieves, and looking at what he does, he is quite interested in winning people's hearts. He is eager to seek talents. He is not very attached to the cult slang. He is the leader of thieves and I am afraid of him." Luo Bingzhang said that he "can use cunning to He can control people's hearts and control them with his ferocity." He is "the most cunning and good at fighting among the chief villains." Not only that, he also won the respect of many people who were hostile to him. For example, the landlord scholar Zhou Xun called him a "wonderful man" in "Shuhai Congtan". A tribute student in the Qing Dynasty publicly said that he was a "wonderful man" at a military banquet of the Hunan Army. Wang Songlin and Xu Liangru, who were his enemies on the banks of the Dadu River, admired his heroism and benevolence. Until nearly 40 years after his death, the book "Jiang Biao Zhong Lue" written by the landlord literati of the Qing Dynasty still has this description: "To this day, the Jianghuai people still say that...Shi Dakaiwei's instruments are unreachable."
Among the various comments about Shi Dakai, the most famous one is undoubtedly a passage in the correspondence of American missionary McGowan - "This young leader, as the current backbone of the Taiping Army, has various Reports described him as a hero - fearless, upright and above reproach. He could be said to be the Peyard (a famous French general and national hero) in the Taiping Army. He had a kind-hearted nature and won the love of everyone. This was also acknowledged by the unfriendly author of "Jinling Shutan", who deliberately disparaged his courage in order to offset the favorable impression created by the above praise, as other Qing officials and foreign sailors who gave us oral accounts of his adventures claimed. , the prestige of King Yi in the Taiping Army refutes this deliberately derogatory statement. There is no doubt that his meaningful title of "King of Wings" expresses his military talent and his character. An educated person, a person who dares to do something."
(The above introduction is from "Yiwangping-Shidakai Memorial Hall")