Ruan Wengzhong
Ruan Wengzhong was a historical person during the Qin dynasty, who was recorded to have fought against the Xiongnu on the Great Wall at the border city of Lintao. He was allegedly a 3 meters tall giant. His story was first mentioned by the 3rd century CE writer Gao You in his commentary of the Huainanzi, and later developed in the 6th century Commentary on the Water Classic:
Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China, built a giant bronze statue of his likeness, in addition to his more famous Twelve Metal Colossi, by melting the bronze weapons captured in his victory over the Six Kingdoms. The statue was placed outside the Epang Palace at Xianyang, in modern-day Shaanxi Province.
"Wengzhong" has become a generic term for large scale statues of bronze and stone, and for jade statuettes placed within the coffin of the dead.