Dí Qīng 狄青 (1008–1057), zì Hànchén 漢臣, was a Northern Sòng military commander from Fēnzhōu 汾州 (modern Shānxī). CBDB (id 8127) gives his dates as 1008–1057. He rose from a common soldier — reportedly sent to the army as a punishment — to become Shūmì fùshǐ 樞密副使 (Vice Commissioner of Military Affairs), the highest military post regularly held in the Sòng. He is celebrated in historical sources for his battlefield valor: he reportedly wore a bronze demon mask in combat to inspire awe in his troops, a detail that became central to his popular legend. He conducted successful campaigns against the Western Xia 西夏 and most famously suppressed the Nóng Zhìgāo 儂智高 rebellion in Guǎngxī (1053) with a decisive nighttime cavalry raid. His career was cut short when civil officials, alarmed by his popular prestige, orchestrated his demotion and forced retirement; he died in 1057, shortly after leaving office. His biography is in Sòngshǐ 290.
He is the subject of the Qīng vernacular novel Dí Qīng Yǎnyì 狄青演義 KR4k0093, which fictionalizes his career in the standard yanyi mode, embedding him among Judge Bāo Zhèng’s 包拯 circle and adding romantic and supernatural elements.