Military Figure. He was a Chinese military leader of the Qing Dynasty, who also known as General Tso. Born in Xiangyin County, Hunan Province, China, Zuo attended private school and mastered the teachings of Confucius. He attended the Imperial Academy at the age of 20. He failed his Imperial exams a total of seven times. Despite that, Zongtang spent his free time studying military strategy, geology and agriculture, becoming a well-versed man in the process. By 1851, he joined the Qing military and spent the decade fighting in the campaign against the Taiping Rebellion. He served as Provincial Governor of Zhejiang from 1861 to 1862, being promoted to Viceroy of Min-Zhe after commanding Qing troops to fight Taipan with the backing & support of Britain and France. He served as Viceroy of Min-Zhe from 1863 until 1866. He captured Hangzhou from Taipang in 1864 which led to his ranking as a first class count. In 1866, he became the Viceroy of Shaan-Gan which he remained until 1880. When the Qing Dynasty began their reforms via the Self-Strengthening Movement, Zongtang was in charge of overseeing the building of the Fuzhou Arsenal and Fuzhou Naval Academy. In 1867, he became the Imperial Commissioner of Gansu, helping defeat the Nian Rebellion and led the crushing military response against the Dungan Revolt. As Imperial Commissioner, he recaptured Xinjiang Province from rebels. The Guangxu Emperor awarded him the jinshi degree in 1875 for his military contributions and subsequently made him the Head of Hanlin Academy. By 1878, he became a second class marquis and was appointed Viceroy of Liangjiang in 1881. He was named a Grand Councilor in both 1881 and 1884. Outside of his military and political accomplishments, he made pivotal contributions to Chinese agriculture, encouraging the growth of cotton as a replacement for opium in the cash crop market and opened printing presses in both Gansu and Shaanxi that published Confucius teachings and educational books on agricultural science. He died in Fuzhou, China at the age of 72 and his tomb was completed in 1886. General Tso's Chicken, a very popular dish in American cuisine, was named in his honor.