Zheng Chenggong

Zheng Chenggong
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Name	Zheng Chenggong
Native name	鄭成功
Other names	Koxinga, Guoxingye
Birth date	27 August 1624
Birth place	Hirado, Japan
Death date	23 June 1662 (aged 37)
Death place	Fort Provintia, Dutch Formosa
Allegiance	Southern Ming
Rank	General
Battles	Transition from Ming to Qing, Siege of Fort Zeelandia
Relations	Zheng Zhilong (father), Tagawa Matsu (mother)

Zheng Chenggong. Known in the West as Koxinga, he was a Southern Ming loyalist, military leader, and privateer who expelled the Dutch East India Company (VOC) from Formosa in 1662. His victory ended nearly four decades of Dutch colonial rule on the island and established a Chinese administration that laid the foundations for subsequent Sinicization and integration into the Chinese sphere of influence. Zheng's campaigns directly challenged European hegemony in the South China Sea and reshaped the geopolitical landscape of East Asia.

Early life and rise to power

Zheng Chenggong was born in 1624 in Hirado, Japan, to a Chinese merchant-pirate father, Zheng Zhilong, and a Japanese mother, Tagawa Matsu. He was sent to Quanzhou in Fujian province for his education in the Confucian classics. As the Ming dynasty collapsed under peasant rebellions and Manchu invasion, his father initially defected to the Qing. Zheng Chenggong, however, remained fiercely loyal to the Southern Ming court, which granted him the imperial surname Zhu and the title Guoxingye (Lord of the Imperial Surname), from which the Hokkien pronunciation "Koxinga" derives. From his base in Amoy and Quemoy, he built a formidable naval and military force, funded by an extensive maritime trade network and privateering operations that spanned the East China Sea and South China Sea. His power directly threatened both the new Qing authorities on the mainland and European trading interests in the region, particularly those of the Dutch East India Company.

Conflict with the Dutch in Formosa

The conflict between Zheng Chenggong and the Dutch East India Company (VOC) was rooted in competing commercial ambitions. The VOC had established Fort Zeelandia on Taiwan (then known as Formosa) in 1624 as a key hub in its intra-Asian trade network, dealing in silk, porcelain, and deer skin. Zheng's father, Zheng Zhilong, had previously cooperated with the Dutch, but Zheng Chenggong viewed the VOC as both a commercial rival and an obstacle to his plans. His forces frequently intercepted Dutch shipping and imposed blockades. Tensions escalated in the 1650s following a trade dispute, leading to a brief naval engagement. The Dutch, under Governor-General Frederick Coyett, grew increasingly concerned about Zheng's power and his potential to invade Formosa, a fear that materialized as the Qing forces began to pressure Zheng's mainland strongholds in Fujian, forcing him to seek a new, secure base of operations.

Siege of Fort Zeelandia and Dutch surrender

In April 1661, Zheng Chenggong launched his invasion of Formosa with a fleet of hundreds of junks and approximately 25,000 soldiers. He bypassed the main Dutch fortress, Fort Zeelandia, and landed at Luerhmen, quickly capturing the smaller Fort Provintia in present-day Tainan. The subsequent Siege of Fort Zeelandia lasted nine months. The Dutch defenders, numbering around 2,000, were isolated as Zheng's fleet blockaded the harbor and his army constructed siegeworks. A crucial naval battle in the Bay of Taiwan in October 1661 destroyed a Dutch relief fleet from Java, sealing the fortress's fate. After a relentless artillery bombardment and with supplies exhausted, Governor Frederick Coyett surrendered on 1 February 1662. The Cape-born Coyett signed a treaty that allowed the Dutch to depart with their personal possessions, ending 38 years of VOC rule on the island.

Administration of Taiwan and Sinicization policies

Following the Dutch surrender, Zheng Chenggong established the Kingdom of Tungning, the first Han Chinese polity to govern Taiwan. He renamed Fort Zeelandia to Anping and made it his headquarters. His administration focused on transforming Taiwan into a self-sufficient base for the Ming loyalist cause. He implemented aggressive Sinicization policies, promoting Han Chinese agricultural practices, land reclamation, and Confucian education. Large-scale military agricultural colonies (tuntian) were established to feed his army, often dispossessing the lands of the indigenous Austronesian tribes. While he maintained the lucrative international trade routes, his rule marked a decisive shift from the Dutch colonial economy, which had been based on the VOC's monopoly on the international trade of deer hide and sugar, toward a more agrarian, Chinese-style society. His son and successor, Zheng Jing, continued these policies, consolidating Chinese settlement.

Legacy and historical significance

Zheng Chenggong's legacy is multifaceted. In Chinese historiography, particularly in the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China, he is celebrated as a national hero for "recovering" Taiwan. His expulsion of the Dutch is seen as a pivotal act of anti-colonial resistance that asserted Chinese sovereignty. In Taiwan, he is a complex figure, revered by some as a founding father and criticized by others for his role in the marginalization of indigenous peoples. His victory at Fort Zeelandia was a significant blow to the prestige and power of the Dutch East India Company in East Asia, demonstrating the vulnerability of European colonial outposts to determined local powers. The Kingdom of Tungning paved the way for the later annexation of Taiwan by the Qing dynasty in 1683, ensuring the island's enduring political and cultural ties to the Chinese mainland.