Koxinga

Koxinga (; Pe̍h-oē-jī: Kok-sèng-iâ/Kok-sìⁿ-iâ; Lord with the Imperial Surname) is the traditional Western spelling Koxinga's Shrine of the popular appellation of Zheng Chenggong (; Pe̍h-oē-jī: Tēⁿ Sêng-kong) (1624 - 1662). He was a Ming loyalist and military leader during the Southern Ming Dynasty who opposed the Manchu-ruled Qing Dynasty. Zheng led a military campaign on Taiwan and became the leader of the first ethnically Chinese state to rule the island after defeating its previous European rulers, the Dutch, in 1662. Zheng's Taiwan was meant to serve as a military base of operations for subsequent campaigns against the Manchus after the Southern Ming forces were forced to retreat from southern Fujian.

Early years

In 1624, Koxinga, whose name at birth was Zheng Sen, was born in Hirado, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan to Zheng Zhilong, a Chinese merchant and pirate, and a Japanese woman whose surname was Tagawa, and whose given name has been lost to posterity.Ralph Croizier, Koxinga and Chinese Nationalism: History, Myth, and the Hero (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1977), 11, and Donald Keene, The Battles of Coxinga: Chikamatsu's Puppet Play, Its Background and Importance, (London: Taylor's Foreign Press, 1950), 45. Tonio Andrade writes her name as "Tagawa Matsu" (田川松), but he provides no source for this. Tonio Andrade, How Taiwan Became Chinese: Dutch, Spanish, and Han Colonization in the Seventeenth Century (New York: Columbia University Press, 2007), Chapter 10, paragraph 7. link He was raised there until the age of seven and then moved to Nan'an county in Quanzhou in Fujian province of China. In 1638, Koxinga became a Xiucai (a successful candidate) in the imperial examination and became one of the twelve Linshansheng (廩膳生) of Nan'an. In 1641, Koxinga married the niece of Dong Yangxian, an official who was a Jinshi from Hui'an. In 1644, Koxinga studied at the Imperial Nanking University, where he met and became a student of the scholar Qian Qianyi.Croizier, Koxinga and Chinese Nationalism: History, Myth, and the Hero, p. 12, and Carioti, "The Zhengs' Maritime Power in the International Context of the 17th Century Far East Seas: The Rise of a 'Centralised Piratical Organisation' and Its Gradual Development into an Informal 'State'", p. 41, n. 29. In 1644, Beijing fell to rebels led by Li Zicheng and the Chongzhen Emperor hanged himself on a tree at modern-day Jingshan Park in Beijing. Manchurian armies aided by Wu Sangui's forces defeated the rebels and took the city. The Ming remnant forces retreated to Nanjing where the Prince Fu ascended to the throne as the Hongguang Emperor. The next year, the Manchurian armies led by Prince Yu advanced south and conquered Yangzhou and Nanjing while the Ming defending leader of Yangzhou, Shi Kefa, was killed. The Hongguang Emperor was captured and executed.

Longwu Emperor's reign

In 1645, Prince Tang was installed on the throne as the Longwu Emperor with support from Zheng Zhilong and his family. Frederick Mote & Denis Twitchett, editors, The Cambridge History of China, Volume 7, The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Part 1 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988), 658-660. The Longwu Emperor established his court in Fuzhou, which was controlled by the Zhengs. In the later part of the year, another Ming Prince Lu proclaimed himself as Regent (監國) It was due to the natural defences of Fujian and the provision of military resources by the Zheng family, that the emperor was able to remain safe for some time. Lynn A. Struve, The Southern Ming 1644 – 1662 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1984), 87-88. The Longwu Emperor granted Zheng Zhilong's son, Zheng Sen, a new personal name, "Chenggong" (success), and the title of Guoxingye ("Lord of the Imperial Surname"; Koxinga). In 1646, Koxinga first led the Ming armies to resist the Manchurian invaders and won the favour of the Longwu Emperor. The Longwu Emperor's reign in Fuzhou was brief, as Zheng Zhilong refused to support his plans for a counter-offensive against the rapidly-expanding forces of the newly-established Qing Dynasty by the Manchus. Zheng Zhilong ordered the defending general of Xianxia Pass (仙霞關), Shi Fu (aka Shi Tianfu, a relative of Shi Lang), to retreat to Fuzhou even when Qing armies approached Fujian. As such, the Qing army faced little resistance when it conquered the north of the pass. In September 1646, Qing armies broke through inadequately defended mountain passes and entered Fujian. Zheng Zhilong retreated to his coastal fortress and the Longwu Emperor faced the Qing armies alone. Longwu's forces were destroyed and he was captured and died shortly afterwards. Frederick Mote & Denis Twitchett, editors, The Cambridge History of China, Volume 7, The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Part 1 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988), 675-676.

Zheng Zhilong's surrender and the death of Tagawa

The Qing forces sent envoys to meet Zheng Zhilong secretly and they offered to appoint him as the governor of both Fujian and Guangdong provinces if he would surrender to Qing. Zheng Zhilong agreed and ignored the objections of his family, surrendering himself to the Qing forces in Fuzhou on 21 November 1646. Lynn A. Struve, The Southern Ming 1644 – 1662 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1984), 98. Koxinga and his uncles were left as the successors to the leadership of Zheng Zhilong's military forces. Koxinga operated outside Xiamen and recruited many to join his cause in a few months. He used the superiority of his naval forces to launch amphibious raids on Manchu-occupied territory in Fujian and he managed to take Tong'an in Quanzhou prefecture in early 1647. However, Koxinga's forces lacked the ability to defend the newly-occupied territory.Tonio Andrade, How Taiwan Became Chinese: Dutch, Spanish, and Han Colonization in the Seventeenth Century (New York: Columbia University Press, 2007), Chapter 10, paragraph 12. link Following the fall of Tong'an to Zheng, the Manchus launched a counterattack in the spring of 1647, during which they stormed the Zheng family's hometown of Anping. Koxinga's mother, Tagawa, had come from Japan in 1645 to join her family in Fujian (Koxinga's younger half-brother, Tagawa Shichizaemon, remained in Japan).Donald Keene, The Battles of Coxinga: Chikamatsu's Puppet Play, Its Background and Importance, (London: Taylor's Foreign Press, 1950), 46. She did not follow her husband to surrender to the Qing Dynasty. She was caught by Manchu forces in Anping and committed suicide after refusal to submit to the enemy, according to traditional accounts.Lynn A. Struve, The Southern Ming 1644 – 1662 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1984), 116.

Resisting the Qing Dynasty

By 1650, Koxinga was strong enough to establish himself as the head of the Zheng family. He pledged allegiance to the only remaining claimant to the throne of the Ming Dynasty, the Yongli Emperor. The Yongli Emperor was fleeing from the Manchus in south-western China with a motley court and hastily assembled army then. Despite one fruitless attempt, Koxinga was unable to do anything to aid the last Ming emperor. Instead, he decided to concentrate on securing his own position on the southeast coast. Koxinga enjoyed a series of military successes in 1651 and 1652 that increased the Qing government's anxiety over the threat he posed.Lynn A. Struve, The Southern Ming 1644 – 1662 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1984), 159. Zheng Zhilong wrote a letter to his son from Beijing, presumably at the request of the Shunzhi Emperor and the Qing government, urging his son to negotiate with the Manchurians. The long series of negotiations between Koxinga and the Qing Dynasty lasted until November 1654. The Qing government appointed Prince Jidu (son of Jirgalang) to lead an attack on Koxinga's territory after the failed negotiations.Lynn A. Struve, The Southern Ming 1644 – 1662 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1984), 160-166. On 9 May 1656, Jidu's armies attacked Jinmen, an island near Xiamen that Koxinga had been using to train his troops. Partly as a result of a major storm, the Manchus were defeated and they lost most of their fleet in the battle.Lynn A. Struve, The Southern Ming 1644 – 1662 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1984), 181. Koxinga had sent one of his naval commanders to capture Zhoushan island prior to Jidu's attack,Lynn A. Struve, The Southern Ming 1644 – 1662 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1984), 182. and now that the Manchus were temporarily without an effective naval force in the Fujian area, Koxinga was free to send a huge army to Zhoushan, which he intended to use as a base to capture Nanjing.

Koxinga's landing

In 1661, Koxinga led his troops on a landing at Lu'ermen to attack the Dutch colonists at Taiwan. On 1 February 1662, the Dutch Governor of Taiwan, Frederik Coyett, surrendered Fort Zeelandia to Koxinga. In the peace treaty, Koxinga was styled "Lord Teibingh Tsiante Teysiancon Koxin" link. This effectively ended 38 years of Dutch rule on Taiwan. Koxinga then devoted himself to transforming Taiwan into a military base for loyalists who wanted to restore the Ming Dynasty. Koxinga died of malaria at the age of 37. There were speculations that he died in a sudden fit of madness when his officers refused to carry out his orders to execute his son Zheng Jing. Zheng Jing had an affair with a nurse and conceived a child with her. Zheng Jing succeeded his father as the King of Tungning.

Popular culture

Koxinga is worshipped as a god in coastal China (especially Fujian), Taiwan and by overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia. There is a temple dedicated to Koxinga and his mother in Tainan City, Taiwan. The play The Battles of Coxinga (Kokusen'ya Kassen, 国姓爺合戦; formerly 國姓爺合戰) was written by Chikamatsu Monzaemon in Japan in the 18th century, first performed in Kyoto. A 2001 film entitled Zheng Chenggong 1661 (鄭成功 1661) starred Vincent Zhao as Koxinga. Its English title was Sino-Dutch War 1661. link The film was renamed Kokusenya Kassen (国姓爺合戦) after the aforementioned play and released in Japan in 2002. In politics, Koxinga is an interesting figure because several opposing political forces have invoked him as a hero. For this reason, historical narratives regarding Koxinga frequently differ in explaining his motives and affiliation. Koxinga is considered a national hero in Mainland China because he drove the Dutch away from Taiwan and established ethnically Chinese rule over the island. During the Japanese control of Taiwan, Koxinga was honored as a bridge between Taiwan and Japan for his maternal linkage to Japan. The Chinese Nationalist Party regarded Koxinga as a patriot who retreated to Taiwan and used it as a base to launch counterattacks against the Qing Dynasty of mainland China. As such, the Nationalists have frequently compared Koxinga to their leader Chiang Kai-shek. Supporters of Taiwan independence have held mixed feelings toward Koxinga. Recent Taiwanese independence supporters have presented him in a positive light, portraying him as a native Taiwanese hero seeking to keep Taiwan independent from a mainland Chinese government. Koxinga is one of the 32 historical figures who appear as special characters in the video game Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI by Koei. He is addressed as "Zheng Chenggong" in the game.

References and notes

Bibliography & Further Reading

Clements, Jonathan. Coxinga and the Fall of the Ming Dynasty. Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 2004.
Croizier, Ralph C. Koxinga and Chinese Nationalism History, Myth, and the Hero. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1977.
Keene, Donald Keene. The Battles of Coxinga: Chikamatsu’s Puppet Play, Its Background and Importance. London: Taylor’s Foreign Press, 1950.
Paske-Smith, M. Western Barbarians in Japan and Formosa in Tokugawa Days, 1603 - 1868. New York: Paragon Book Reprint Corp., 1968.
Wills, Jr., John E. Pepper, Guns and Parleys: The Dutch East India Company and China 1622-1681. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1974.

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