Who is zheng chenggong

It is square kilometers in area. It was the base when Zheng Chenggong aimed to fall Qing and revive Ming. The Zheng Chenggong Festival is held on his birthday, July 14th.

Maso is worshiped as a guardian god of sailing and fishing. The Maso Festival is held every year to pray for safety of family, a huge harvest and nature. Zheng Chenggong Memorial Museum. The Dutch ship called at Hirado. A trading house for the Dutch was established in Hirado and the trade with the Netherlands began.

An English fleet called at Hirado. A trading house for the English was established in Hirado and the trade with England began. People called him Koxinga. When Qing attacked Ming and Quanzhou Castle fell, his mother Tagawa committed a suicide inside the castle. Asked Japan to send reinforcements to the Ming Dynasty. Totally 4 times including , and There, however, mistaken strategy and failure to heed his field commanders' advice led to a disastrous defeat.

Forced back to his original base at Xiamen, Zheng was still unbeatable at sea. In these circumstances he hit upon the plan of taking Taiwan from the Dutch as a secure rear base area. In he landed on Taiwan near the main Dutch stronghold at Anping near present-day Tainan with a force of more than 25, men. After an eight-month siege, the Dutch garrison capitulated. However, a year after this success, Zheng died.

He was commemorated on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. They in turn sold the goods at the Japanese and Southeast Asian markets respectively. Each company and fleet received its capital from the treasury. All incomes were delivered back to the treasury after the goods were sold. The operation of the whole structure was kept in check by an independent monitoring officer lucha. Besides, the companies and treasury lent money to independent merchants in lack of capital.

The activities of these merchants were coordinated by the minister of finance. Nan ; Yang The structure and operation of the whole organization are illustrated below. Figure 1 about here.

A centralized and vertically integrated commercial organization was instituted as the revenue generating apparatus of the Zheng regime. Major items of trade controlled by the Zheng enterprise included silk textiles, ceramics and gold from China , copper, silver and sulphur from Japan , and spices from Southeast Asia.

More than 80 percent of the Chinese junks trading in Nagasaki and Southeast Asia belonged to the Zhengs. In return, the Zhengs protected them from any danger at sea, which was mainly the attack of the Dutch. The Zhengs also provided shipping services to the merchants who did not bother travelling abroad to sell their goods Lin ; Nan ; Li ; Han ; Zhang During the Zheng Chenggong era, the Dutch continued to be a humble player in the East Asian trade as they continued to rely on Zheng for supply of Chinese goods.

The Taiwan Period. All residents in the Xiamen area had to be moved 10 miles away from the seashore. It was then extended to the whole Fujian province in , to Guangdong in and part of Zhejiang in All coastal villages and towns were burnt down.

Castles were built along the evacuation line. The effect of the measure faded, nevertheless, when illicit trade across the Strait resumed. Nan ; Ju ; Lin ; Li ; Shepherd 96 In addition, the deerskin resources and sugar cane plantation in Taiwan generated additional profits for the Zhengs Ju ; Wong ; Shepherd Ironically, the evacuation policy backfired as it let the Zhengs further monopolize the supply of Chinese products in the international market.

It is observed by a Qing officer that,. After our court imposed a strict ban on sea trade, not a single junk is able to go into the sea.

However, some merchants, who monopolize the supply of products, bribe the officials and soldiers guarding the coast, and trade with the Zheng family secretly. Consequently, the profits on the sea are manipulated solely by the Zhengs, and their wealth and supplies become more and more abundant.

Taiwan was then turned from an insignificant island into the most important entrepot in East Asia :. Copper and gold were then re-exported to the ports of India. Thus, brisk trade was carried on with the neighboring areas, … the Cheng was benefiting from the advantageous position of Taiwan , and could still hold their dominant position as an important intermediary of the international trade in East Asia.

Under Zheng Chenggong and Zheng Jing, the Zhengs commercial empire transcended the phase of personal endeavor as characterized by the trade networks of Zheng Zhilong. In terms of economic size, the Zheng enterprise was well comparable to the VOC and even the Qing continental empire at large. Territorial Ambition of Zheng Chenggong. Witnessing the unexpected reconsolidation and strengthening of the Zheng family under Zheng Chenggong, the Qing government offered a generous proposal to seek his cooperation in They also promised to grant the Zheng family a jurisdiction of four prefectures.

In an edict to Zheng, the Emperor wrote:. Why should I choose somebody else to take up the duty? You will be able to share the merit of founding the Empire, and your whole family will be honored… I will allow you to decide how to defend against or get rid of the pirates in the Fujian area. I will also allow you to manage, check and tax all seafaring ships.

You can keep all of your original officials and followers… If you accept my grace and trust, you should be responsible for repaying me by serving me wholeheartedly. The negotiation lasted for two years. The coastal area has long been our possession. The profits from the Eastern and Western trade are well enough for our own survival and expansion.

We have much room to maneuver. Why should I not enjoy this autonomy and subjugate myself to others? The road in-between is so difficult that most of the soldiers and horses sent to here would definitely be exhausted, sick and dead… CZSL: Yongli 7.

Zheng was actually not just concerned about securing his control over the coastal area. During the temporarily peaceful environment in the early s, Zheng was preparing for a military campaign to expand his sphere of dominance to the Yangzi Delta. A formidable political-military apparatus was built by using the handsome trade revenue. Zheng Chenggong established his own shipbuilding and military industry in Xiamen. The rich lacquer and oak resources in Fujian were mobilized to build warships after European model.

A large amount of military supply, such as cannons, metal for making weapons , and saltpeter for making gunpowder was imported from Japan Struve ; Huang ; Han ; Li Struve Politically, Zheng declared his allegiance to the faraway and fragile Yongli court established in Southwest China by a Ming prince fled from Beijing in In this way he could establish his legitimacy and summoned support from the Ming loyalists in the coastal area without actual subjugation to any Ming monarch and bureaucracy Wills ; Struve A Ming-style government was established, comprising the ministry of secretary, finance, ceremony, military, justice and public works.

Ex-Ming officials alleged to him were appointed to govern the villages and cities he captured. At its apogee, the Zhengs controlled eighteen prefectures in Fujian , four prefectures in Guangdong and two prefectures in Zhejiang. Regular taxation was imposed upon the population within his jurisdiction. The Qing government realized that any longing for peace would be unrealistic, and launched an assault on Xiamen in The Qing troops were repelled and decimated swiftly.

After the repulsion of the Qing assault, Zheng initiated the long-prepared campaigns aimed at taking control of the Yangzi Delta. Realizing that expanding his territory in mainland China was out of question, and cognizant of the news that the Yongli court collapsed after the Yongli Emperor was arrested by the Manchus in Burma, Zheng changed his strategy by leaving the mainland, taking Taiwan and turning it into his new base Struve ; ; CZSL: Yongli State-Building in Taiwan.

In the spring of , Zheng summoned most of his warships and crossed the Taiwan Strait. The Dutch were outnumbered and surrendered on February 1, Zheng Chenggong recentered his regime at Taiwan immediately. The foundation of our enterprise cannot be uprooted for tens of thousands of generations.

Institutions such as Confucian academies, prisons and salt plants were founded in Taiwan. Population and land census were carried out. The Dutch system of tax farming was inherited.

More advanced agricultural methods were introduced to the residents. Zheng also encouraged his officials to take uncultivated land and turn it into their own estates, with an obligation of fulfilling the tax quota imposed.

Soldiers were sent with seed and plows to reclaim the remaining land. The provision problem was solved and a fiscal system with an agrarian-bureaucratic outlook took shape CZSL: Yongli After his retreat to Taiwan , he began to present himself as the political leader of the overseas Chinese. In fact, one of the stated reasons for his expedition to Taiwan was to liberate the Chinese migrants and aborigines from the Dutch tyranny HJJY: Yongli Later, Zheng threatened to punish the Spanish harassment of Chinese in the Philippines by conquering the archipelago Foccardi The political project of the Zhengs was ever changing.

It seems that Zheng, and more notably his successors, were downplaying their ambition of conquering mainland China , and were more occupied with strengthening their independent power in the maritime zone of East Asia. It can be reflected by the position of the Zhengs during their intermittent negotiation with the Qing government between and Between and , the Qing government repeatedly sought the surrender of the Zhengs by presenting the offer of semi-autonomous status as it was promised to Zheng Chenggong in Every time the Zhengs returned with a counterproposal.

The Zheng family suffered from a familial feud again following the death of Zheng Chenggong — probably out of malaria which was a common epidemics in Taiwan — in the summer of Foccardi ; HSJWL: Yongli With the naval support of the Dutch, the Manchus took the opportunity of the succession crisis and seized Xiamen in the autumn of MHJY: Yongli Then they launched a series of expeditions to Taiwan with Admiral Shi Lang — who was a defector from Zheng and excellent in naval warfare — as the commander.

Bad weather and ill coordination of the warships were always the reported reasons for the failures. With those ungraceful results, and the great financial burden brought by the expeditions, the Qing government gave up any risky military action against Taiwan in , and Shi Lang was called back to Beijing HSJWL: Yongli After the Qing quitted its attempt to conquer Taiwan , Taiwan was no longer regarded as an important issue in the Qing government.

The troops stationed in Fujian were reduced. This was well described by a Qing writer that:. Zheng Jing ousted his opponents and became the heir of the throne. With the peaceful environment after , and being successful in breaking the embargo through smuggling, the Zhengs were able to recover from the losses of the early s and further expand their maritime empire.

We have food storage enough for several decades, and the barbarians from all directions are complying with us. All goods are circulating smoothly, and our people live and are educated well. We are able to live strongly and healthily on our own. Why should we adore the title of dukedom? Why should we want the lands in mainland?

If the Qing court really cares about the livelihood of the coastal residents, it should treat us with the rites of dealing with a foreign countries [ yi waiguo zi li jiandai ], opening trade with us, withdrawing the troops and letting the people rest, then I will definitely follow.

By then, nobody in the world, including the Qing court, would expect the sudden collapse of the Zheng Empire and a quick resolution of the Taiwan question. But it did happen. Zheng saw it as an opportunity to fight back to China and decided to join the Rebellion promptly.

An anti-Manchus alliance between Zheng and Wu was formed, and a Geng-Zheng united operation to capture the Lower Yangzi region was seriously considered. HJJY: Yongli In , Zheng Jing recaptured a number of coastal cities in Fujian including Xiamen.

Most residents evacuated from the coastal area moved back. In , his forces reached the vicinity of Guangzhou. Subsequently, Xiamen reopened for free trade and became a lucrative city again. In the middle of the s, the Zhengs regained its glory in coastal China. However, their ambition soon backfired, as the unfruitful campaign triggered a subsistence crisis in Taiwan.

The Zheng family had been facing the difficulty of feeding their army ever since the s. The first method was not reliable so far as the soldiers were frequently mobilized for the endless military campaigns.

The second method became the most crucial one. It is estimated that between and , Zheng at least launched 24 military actions with the primary objective of seizing food. To a certain extent, the conquest of Taiwan was a conscious attempt to find an ultimate solution for the problem.

Zheng Chenggong persuaded his generals to support the expedition to oust the Dutch and take Taiwan by emphasizing that the Island was full of virgin, fertile land CZSL: Yongli Preventing their alienation from the local population, the Zhengs disciplined their soldiers strictly and kept them from looting the Chinese and aborigine villagers.

Staples were purchased from the residents at high prices. The expected food supply from Xiamen was delayed many times. Rice was rationed. With the aggressive policies of increasing agricultural productivity, clearing tax delinquency, and turning all soldiers into colonizer-farmers, the food shortage was alleviated in the following year. Temporary rice supply was raised by the duty fee policy that encouraged rice imports from Southeast Asia.

These efforts ended up in the great harvest of , which marked the beginning of the golden age of the Taiwan kingdom. The new round of coastal warfare threw the Zheng Empire into the most serious provision crisis it ever confronted. In , all of the soldier colonists in Taiwan — numbered to around 18, — were called to leave their fields and head for Fujian. As these soldiers constituted one-third of the total Chinese population of Taiwan and was the core productive force on the island, [11] their sudden departure led to an immediate downturn of agricultural output.

Worse, a substantial portion of the already discounted food supply in Taiwan was shipped to Fujian to support the military campaign. When Zheng Jing found that the Taiwan supply was insufficient, he issued an order allowing the extraction of cash and grain taxes from the mainland residents who just resettled in the his occupied territories after Zheng revoked the evacuation policy there.

As long as Zheng was expanding his territory in the mainland between and , especially after they entered the heartland of Guangdong in the spring of , the problem of food supply was contained. However, following the surrender of Geng Jingzhong at the end of and the surrender of Shang Zhixin in spring , Zheng was isolated and kept losing grounds to the Manchus.

The morale of the army eroded with the diminishing of provisions, and a vicious circle ensued. In , with all major coastal cities lost, a majority of Zheng troops retreated to Xiamen with hunger.

Every Xiamen adult citizen was forced to submit one dou of rice to the army every month. Tax evasion was widespread.

But after a month or so he rejected the proposal and insisted on staying. When the seesawing between Zheng and Qing went on, the tax quota was tripled, and an additional cash tax was levied in Though Zheng managed to regain some grounds in Fujian in and , his military structure fell apart.

The shipment of grain from Taiwan was frequently interrupted. Hungry generals and soldiers surrendered one after the other, given the Qing promise of amnesty and rewards. Qing took the city without any resistance.

The Xiamen residents had suffered so much that they welcomed the Qing troops with joy. In , Zheng Jing realized that the day of his kingdom was numbered. He lost his will to rule and handed the actual leadership to his son, Zheng Kezang, who was then 16 years old.

HJJY: The return of the exhausted and hungry soldiers in exacerbated the food crisis and ungovernability of the island. The situation in was much tougher than that in This time, the Zhengs had no Dutch granaries to seize. The rice storage of the island was already almost exhausted, and the treasury of the government had been dried up because of the expedition. The Zhengs tried to mitigate the crisis by extending and intensifying tax extraction.

A large number of villagers reacted by burning down their houses, fleeing to the mountain and evading the tax. Some of the soldiers revolted for payment, in resonance with a series of aborigines rebellions. Grain price skyrocketed and a famine broke out in the winter of The crisis was aggravated by a fire that wiped out 1, houses in Tainan , the capital city of the Zheng regime.

In the spring of the next year, a massive famine broke out. Disregarding the hesitation or opposition of most officials, the Kangxi Emperor decided to grasp the chance and take the risk of attacking Taiwan in The Emperor had not shut the door of peace, however. Accompanying the preparation for the campaign, the same offer of a semi-autonomous status was presented to the Zhengs in and one more time in The negotiations broke down again as the Zhengs were still insisting on a status of tribute vassal.

They might still believe that the Manchus would not have the courage and capability to cross the Taiwan Strait. In spite of the widespread chaos, Taiwan was still well defended. After an initial setback, the Qing troops landed on the strategic Panghu Islands West of Tainan amid an unexpectedly favorable weather in July On the Islands , a fierce battle endured for seven days.

In addition to tremendous losses in soldiers and warships, many high rank commanders were killed. Even the commander in chief was seriously injured. The Qing force was apparently not able to recoup and push forward immediately. The plan was abandoned at last when the morale continued to fall and pessimism grew. At last, the Zhengs surrendered unconditionally in August. Zheng Keshuang was granted the title of dukedom though without actual power and resettled ashore. The loyal generals of Zheng were treated well and placed into high positions in the Qing land forces.

After a brief confusion in the Qing court, Taiwan was at last incorporated into the Empire in The island was colonized after it was strongly fortified. In , all restrictions on seafaring activities were lifted by the Qing government.

Chinese merchant groups were active in the coastal area again. However, to preempt the possibility of any trouble from those private traders, the authorities watched the shipbuilding industry closely.