Koxinga

Zheng Chenggong 鄭成功
Born	August 1624 (1624-08) Hirado, Japan
Died	June 23, 1662 (1662-06-24) (aged 37) Tainan, Taiwan
Other names	Fukumatsu, Teiseiko, Zheng Sen (鄭森), Koxinga, Coxinga, Cocksinja
Occupation	Military leader
Title	Guoxingye (國姓爺), Prince of Yanping (延平)
Successor	Zheng Jing (鄭經)
Spouse	Dong Cuiying
Children	Zheng Jing, Zheng Xi
Parents	Zheng Zhilong (Father), Tagawa (Mother)
Relatives	Tagawa Shichizaemon (Half-Brother), Zheng Cai (鄭彩) (Cousin), Zheng Hongkui (鄭鴻逵) (Uncle), Zheng Keshuang (鄭克塽) (Grandson), Zheng Kezang (鄭克臧) (Grandson)

Koxinga (simplified Chinese: 国姓爷; traditional Chinese: 國姓爺; pinyin: Guóxìngyé; Wade–Giles: Kuo-hsing-yeh; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Kok-sèng-iâ/Kok-sìⁿ-iâ; literally "Lord with the Imperial Surname") is the customary Western spelling of the popular appellation of Zheng Chenggong (simplified Chinese: 郑成功; traditional Chinese: 鄭成功; pinyin: Zhèng Chénggōng; Wade–Giles: Cheng Ch'eng-kung; Pe̍h-oē-jī: Tēⁿ Sêng-kong; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Tshàng Sṳ̀n-Kûng; Foochow Romanized: Dâng Sìng-gŭng), a military leader who was born in 1624 in Hirado, Japan to Zheng Zhilong, a Chinese merchant/pirate, and his Japanese wife and died in 1662 on the island of Formosa (Taiwan).

A Ming loyalist and the arch commander of the Ming troops on the maritime front for the later monarchs of the withering dynasty, Koxinga devoted the last 16 years of his life to resisting the conquest of China by the Manchus of Qing Dynasty. Upon defeating the forces of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) on Formosa in his last campaign in 1661–1662, Koxinga took over the island in order to support his grand campaign against the Manchu-ruled Qing Dynasty. After Koxinga's death, however, his son and successor, Zheng Jing (鄭經), gradually became the ruler of an independent Kingdom of Tungning, the first Chinese state to rule the island.

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. 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.

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. Manchu 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 Manchu armies led by Dodo advanced south and conquered Yangzhou and Nanjing while the Ming leader defending 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. 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) in Shaoxing and established his own court there. Although Prince Lu and Longwu's regimes stemmed from the same dynasty, both of them pursued different goals.

It was due to the natural defences of Fujian and the military resources of the Zheng family, that the emperor was able to remain safe for some time. 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 (a.k.a. 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.

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. 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.

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, Lady Tagawa, had come from Japan in 1645 to join her family in Fujian (Koxinga's younger brother, Tagawa Shichizaemon, remained in Japan). 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.

Resisting the Qing Dynasty

Zheng Chenggong statue in Xiamen, Fujian, China

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 at the time. 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. The fight carried out massacre in Zhangzhou. 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.

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. Koxinga had sent one of his naval commanders to capture Zhoushan island prior to Jidu's attack, 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 on Taiwan

Image in Koxinga Temple in Tainan

Extent of territory held by Koxinga

In 1661, Koxinga led his troops on a landing at Lu'ermen to attack the Dutch colonists in Taiwan. On 1 February 1662, the Dutch Governor of Taiwan, Frederik Coyett, surrendered Fort Zeelandia to Koxinga. During the siege, Koxinga's life was saved by a certain Hans Jurgen Radis of Stockaert, a Dutch defector who strongly advised him against visiting the overrun ramparts, which he knew would be blown up by the retreating Dutch forces. In the peace treaty, Koxinga was styled "Lord Teibingh Tsiante Teysiancon Koxin" [4]. 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 on the Philippines

In 1662, Koxinga's forces raided several towns on the Philippines and demanded tribute from the Spanish colonial government, threatening to attack Manila if his demands were not met. The Spanish refused to pay the tribute and reinforced the garrisons around Manila, but the planned attack never took place due to Koxnga's sudden death in that year after expelling the Dutch on Taiwan.

Koxinga's threat to invade the Philippines and expel the Spanish resulted in the Spanish failure to conquer the Islamic Moro people in Mindanao. The threat of Chinese invasion forced the Spanish to stop their conquest of the Moros and withdraw their garrisons to Manila. Koxinga's death resulted in the invasion being cancelled. The Spanish retreated occured in 1663. Zamboanga and Mindanao became devoid of Spanish soldiers after the Chinese threat against Manila. The Chinese threat effectively destroyed the Spanish plan to conquer and colonize the Moros in Zamboanga. Governor Bobadilla was the one who conducted the evacuation. Mindanao was just about to be colonized by Christians before Koxinga's planned conquest of the Phillines destroyed the entire Spanish plan to conquer Mindanao. Iligan and Zamboanga were given up by the Spanish.

Througouht 1656, 1657, 1660, and 1662, the Moros attacked and pillaged towns on Spanish controlled islands, sailing around the area in order to raid. THey defeated Spanish attempts to take the fort of Sultan Kudarat. The Spanish had been on the verge of victory over the Moros, before Koxinga's threat and the subsequent Chinese rebellion against the Spanish resulted in the Spanish forces fleeing from the battle with the Moros to defend Manila against the Chinese. The Spanish Governor General Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera had defeated the Moro Sultan Kudarat and built forts in Moro territory in Zamboanga, reversing previous Moro successes. The people of Manila were celebrating the victories of the Spanish. Koxinga's threat to the Spanish led to Spanish troops in Moro land being withdrawn by Governor Sebastian Manrique de Lara. After this, the Moros essentially had a free rein to attack the Spanish. Zamboanga became devoid of Spanish as they fled to Luzon to defend against the threatened invasion.

The Spanish and the Moros had signed the Jolo treaty to stop hostilities decades before renewed Spanish Moro hostilities during Koxinga's planned invasion.

Despite the Jolo treaty, the Jolo dato, Salicala. and a dato from Borneo ravaged the Visayan coast. The force of the latter was defeated by Monforte near Masbate, and Salicala returned to Jolo. Monforte destroyed several towns and 300 boats in Borneo. In 1655 trouble again broke out between Corralat and the Spanish forces, the Moros sacking numerous towns in the Calamianes and one town near Zamboanga. In 1656 a fleet dispatched by De Sara, the new captaingeneral, burned Corralat's town and some Moro towns in Sibuguey Bay, destroying also a Dutch fleet allied with the Moros. The Moros at the same time were ravaging the coasts of Mindoro and Marinduque, and succeeded also in repulsing the attack on the fort at Corralat, forcing the Spaniards to return to Sabonilla and Zamboanga. In 1657 Salicala scoured the Philippine seas, capturing over 1,000 native prisoners, entering the Bay of Manila during the raid. In 1660 Moros from Jolo and Tawi-Tawi, taking advantage of an insurrection in Luzon, raided the costs of Bohol, Leyte, and Mindoro.

In 1662 a Chinese rebellion embarrassed the Spaniards, and at this time several datos from the Jolo and Tawi-Tawi islands sacked and burned a great many towns in the Visayas. Following these inroads, Bobadilla, governor of Zamboanga, was ordered to evacuate that station, which was done in January, 1663.

For the next half century Moro raids on the Mindanao and Visayan settlements marked each year, and many fights were chronicled between the fleets of praus and the Spanish fleet known as the "Armada de los Pintados," The Jesuits had endeavored in 1666 and 1672 to have the fort of Zamboanga rebuilt, but it was not until 1712 that the Spanish King ordered its reestablishment, and even then the project was not realized until 1718,

The Moros declared a Jihad against the Spanish and Filipino Christians, to defend themselves against the Spanish invaders who tried to take over Moro territory. The Moros retaliated with major pillaging campaigns and enslaved Filipino Christians after totally razing their villages. Several Moro Sultans led these Jihads. They defeated Spanish attempts to conquer Mindanao. The Spanish had use their massive numbers to force the Moros to withdraw.

The Spanish built a fort called Real Fuerza de San Jose in Zamboanga under Captain Juan de Chavez in 1635 who led a Christian Spanish Filipino army. Construction started on June 23 of that year.

While Governor-General Lara was in office another Chinese invasion threatened. A Mongol chieftain named Koxinga, who had been driven forth from his own country by the Tartars, was the leader of it. When the Tartars overran China, about the middle of the seventeenth century, Koxinga and many of his followers refused to submit. They went to Formosa, drove out the Dutch people, and settled there. Later Koxinga laid a plan to take the Philippine Islands and set up his kingdom there.

Koxinga's chief adviser was an Italian friar named Riccio. This friar he had appointed a high mandarin, or nobleman. He now sent him to Manila, dressed in the garb of his office, to demand tribute from the Philippine government.

Naturally this demand caused amaze and alarm in Manila. The Spaniards were aghast at the idea of a Catholic priest demanding tribute from a Catholic country, in the name of a heathen ruler. Later the authorities at Rome called the friar to account for his conduct. At this time, however, the Spanish were at a loss how to act. They did not dare send the priestmandarin away, nor could they give him any answer. They therefore kept him waiting in Manila while they made up their minds what to do.

As was usual, when trouble arose, the government thought that the Chinese in Manila were plotting to take the city. They felt sure that these men would be ready to help Koxinga when he came, so everything was made ready for another attack upon the Chinese in Luzon.

All government troops, both Spanish and native, were collected at Manila. So great was the fear, that three important forts were torn down, and the soldiers stationed there were brought to Luzon. Only the fort at Caraga, Mindanao, was left standing. This one they did not dare to give up; the soldiers there were all that kept the Moros from destroying the settlements on that coast.

A massacre of the Chinese by the Spanish and Filipinos followed during the rebellion. About 5,000 Chinese remained in Manila after the rebellion and massacre.

After peace was made, Riccio was allowed to go back to Formosa, to tell Koxinga what had been done. He found the chieftain getting ready to come to Manila with an army to take the country, and Riccio told him what had happened.

Koxinga's rage was great when he heard his mandarin's story. He planned to go at once to the islands to punish this wicked cruelty to his countrymen. He fell ill, however, and died of fever before he could start. Thus Manila escaped the fate that must almost surely have fallen upon the city if the Chinese chief and his great army had reached the bay.

The foolish attack upon the Chinese took so many Spanish soldiers from the southern islands that the Moros now had free swing along the coasts of Mindanao and the Visayas.

Exalted by his success against European arms, Koxinga resolved upon the conquest of the Philippines. He summoned to his service the Italian Dominican missionary, Ricci, who had been living in the province of Fukien, and in the spring of 1662 dispatched him as an ambassador to the governor of the Philippines to demand the submission of the archipelago.

Manila was thrown into a terrible panic by this demand, and indeed no such danger had threatened the Spanish in the Philippines since the invasion of Limahong. The Chinese conqueror had an innumerable army, and his armament, stores, and navy had been greatly augmented by the surrender of the Dutch.

After Koxinga's ultimatum, the Spanish proceeded to order all Chinese to leave the Philippines. The Chinese suspected that the Spanish planned to massacre them, so the Chinese rebelled and assaulted Manila to fight the Spanish and Filipinos. The Chinese either died in battle or escaping by frail boats, joined the Chinese colonists on Formosa. The Spanish razed their own Churches and convents in Manila to prevent Chinese from taking shelter in them.

"During this period the raids of the Moros continued. These pirates did much damage. This led to efforts on the part of Spain to conquer these warlike people, which resulted in the conquest of Jolo and the establishment of a stronghold at Zamboanga. In 1662 Koxinga, a Chinese pirate, demanded the surrender of Manila. This danger was so great that the Spaniards concentrated all their efforts to resist the threatened invasions and abandoned some of their strongholds in the south. The Chinese in Manila were suspected of feeing in the plot. They assaulted Manila but many were slain and the remainder left the city. The threatened invasion never was carried out for Koxinga died. The effects of the events cited above left Spanish prestige at a low ebb. Manila was no longer the principal commercial centre of the East and never again recovered that position. The century that followed from 1663-1762 has been described as one of obscurity for the Philippines."

"Another event of importance during the seventeenth century resulted from the overthrow of the Ming Dynasty in China by the Manchus. During the change of power and consequent disorders there, a Chinese adventurer, Koxinga, raised a pirate army in south China and drove the Dutch out of Formosa. He then sent an ambassador to Manila demanding the surrender of the Islands to him. The colony was weak and unprepared for defense, and consequently terrified. There were twenty-five thousand Chinese living in Pari-an, north of the Pasig River, in Manila. Fearful lest these Chinese cooperate in the designs of Koxinga, they were all ordered to leave the Islands. Unable to do so at once, and fearful of massacre, they arose in rebellion and assaulted the city of Manila. The result was a terrible massacre, which cost the lives of twenty-two thousand of the Chinese; the remaining three thousand built frail boats and fled to Formosa. The death of Koxinga occurred before his expedition reached the Philippines."

Koxinga's threat to Spain effectively destroyed the Spanish plan to colonize and conquer Molo territory in Mindanao. It was only in 1718 when they came back to the fort which they evacuated. Mindanao was all Moro after the Spanish left. The Sulu Sultanate was also saved due to Koxinga, the Span ish had left La Caldera Fort.

In 1662 a Chinese rebellion embarrassed the Spaniards, and at this time several datos from the Jolo and Tawi-Tawi islands sacked and burned a great many towns in the Visayas. Following these iuroads, Bobadilla, governor of Zamboanga, was ordered to evacuate that station, which was done in January, 1663.

For three centuries, intermittent attempts were made by the Spaniards to destroy the homes of tihe Moro pirates, who. almost without exception, raided the Spanish colonies throughout the Philippine Islands, south of Luzon, and even occasionally on that island. Many reverses and some successes were met with by the Spanish expeditions against the JoJo ami Mindanao Moros. The names of some of the Spanish Captains-General who figured in these conflicts, and of the Moro chiefs, would convey no significance to those English-speaking people who have not, during the last six or seven years, participated in Moro campaigns. In 1637 Corcuero inaugurated a new conquest of Jolo and of Mindanao. His force consisted of 76b Europeans. He made a landing at Jolo. The following year, he landed at Zamboanga and oroceeded past Cattobats up the Rio Grande against the Datto Corralat and the Da*tos of Buhayen and Basilan. The following year, Corcuero and Almonte built a fort at Sabonflla, now called Malabang, on Plana Bay. Purine 1639, Spanish soldiers and priests, under the warlike Recoleto friar, Augustin de San Pedro, led a party of 560 against the Lanao Moros, where Camps Vicars and Keithley now stand. In 1642. Generals Corcuero and Almonte made peace with Corralat, but piratical depredations by the Moros continued; Chinese rebellions embarrassed the Spaniards, who evacuated manv places, and many fights were chronicled between the Moro fleets of Praus and the Spanish fleets.

Riccio

Securely established in his stronghold, he invited the Chinese to take refuge in his island and oppose the Tartar's rule. Therefore the Emperor ordered that no man should inhabit China within four leagues of the coast, except in those provinces which were undoubtedly loyal to the new Government. The coast was consequently laid bare; vessels, houses, plantations, and everything useful to man, were destroyed in order to cut off effectually all communications with lands beyond the Tartar Empire. The Chinese from the coast, who for generations had earned a living by fishing, etc., crowded into the interior, and their misery was indescribable.

Koxinga, unable to communicate with the mainland of the Empire, turned his attention to the conquest of Formosa Island, at the time in the possession of the Dutch. According to Dutch accounts the European settlers numbered about 600, with a garrison of 2,200. The Dutch artillery, stores, and merchandise were valued at P.8,000,000, and the Chinese, who attacked them under Koxinga, were about 100,000 strong. The settlement surrendered to the invaders' superior numbers, and Koxinga established himself as King of the Island. Koxinga had become acquainted with an Italian Dominican missionary named Vittorio Riccio, whom he created a Mandarin, and sent him as Ambassador to the Governor of the Philippines. Riccio therefore arrived in Manila in 1662, the bearer of Koxinga's despatches calling upon the Governor to pay tribute, under threat of the Colony being attacked by Koxinga if his demand were refused.

The position of Riccio as a European friar and Ambassador of a Mongol adventurer was as awkward as it was novel. He was received with great honour in Manila, where he disembarked, and rode to the Government House in the full uniform of a Chinese envoy, through lines of troops drawn up to salute him as he passed. At the same time, letters from Formosa had also been received by the Chinese in Manila, and the Government at once accused them of conniving at rebellion. All available forces were concentrated in the capital; and to increase the garrison the Governor published a decree, dated May 6, 1662, ordering the demolition of the forts of Zamboanga, Yligan (Mindanao Is.), Calamianes and Ternate1 (Moluccas).

The only provincial fort preserved was that of Surigao (then called Caraga), consequently in the south the Mahometans became complete masters on land and at sea for half a year.

The troops in Manila numbered 100 cavalry and 8,000 infantry. Fortifications were raised, and redoubts were constructed in which to secrete the Treasury funds. When all the armament was in readiness, the Spaniards incited the Chinese to rebel, in order to afford a pretext for their massacre.

Two junk masters were seized, and the Chinese population was menaced; therefore they prepared for their own defence, and then opened the affray, for which the Government was secretly longing, by killing a Spaniard in the market-place. Suddenly artillery fire was opened on the Parian, and many of the peaceful Chinese traders, in their terror, hanged themselves; many were drowned in the attempt to reach the canoes in which to get away to sea; some few did safely arrive in Formosa Island and joined Koxinga's camp, whilst others took to the mountains. Some 8,000 to 9,000 Chinese remained quiet, but ready for any event, when they were suddenly attacked by Spaniards and natives. The confusion was general, and the Chinese seemed to be gaining ground; therefore the Governor sent the Ambassador Riccio and a certain Fray Joseph de Madrid to parley with them. The Chinese accepted the terms offered by Riccio, who returned to the Governor, leaving Fray Joseph with the rebels; but when Riccio went back with a general pardon and a promise to restore the two junk masters, he found that they had beheaded the priest. A general carnage of the Mongols followed, and Juan de la Concepcion says2 that the original intention of the Spaniards was to kill every Chinaman, but that they desisted in new of the inconvenience which would have ensued from the want of tradesmen and mechanics. Therefore they made a virtue of a necessity,

1 From this date the Molucca Islands were definitely evacuated and abandoned by the Spaniards, although as many men and as much material and money had been employed in garrisons and conveyance of subsidies there as in the whole Philippine Colony up to that period.

'"Hist. Gen. de Philipinas," by Juan de la Concepcion, Vol. VII., p. 48, published at Manila, 1788.

and graciously pardoned in the name of His Catholic Majesty all who laid down their arms.

Riccio returned to Formosa Island, and found Koxinga preparing for warfare against the Philippines, but before he could carry out his intentions he died of fever. The chiefs successor, of a less bellicose spirit, sent Riccio a second time to Manila, and a treaty was agreed to, re-establishing commercial relations with the Chinese. Shortly after Koxinga's decease a rebellion was raised in Formosa; and the Island, falling at length into the hands of a Tartar party, became annexed to China under the new dynasty. Then Riccio was called upon to relate the part he had taken in Koxinga's affairs, and he was heard in council. Some present were in favour of invading the Philippines in great force because of the cruel and unwarranted general massacre of the Chinese in cold blood; but Riccio took pains to show how powerful Spain was, and how justified was the action of the Spaniards, as a measure of precaution, in view of the threatened invasion of Koxinga. The Chinese party was appeased, but had the Tartars cared to take up the cause of their conquered subjects, the fate of the Philippines would have been doubtful.

Koxinga's son did not take up the task of invading the Philippines after Koxinga's death.

Death

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 his wet nurse and conceived a child with her. Zheng Jing succeeded his father as the King of Tungning.

Family Relationships

Koxinga’s short but eventful career was characterised by family tension and conflicting loyalties. The title of 國姓爺 guoxingye (‘Lord of the Imperial Surname’) was one that Koxinga himself used during his lifetime to emphasise his status as an adopted son of the deposed imperial house, and hence it was also a declaration of ongoing support to the Ming dynasty. Despite his deliberate self-identification as the noble, loyal vassal of a vanquished master, however, Koxinga’s actual relationship with his adoptive father, the Longwu Emperor, lasted only twelve months or so, beginning from September 1645 and ending in the death of the Longwu Emperor in the following year. Although many secondary sources claim that the two men shared a ‘close bond of affection’, there is an absence of any reliable contemporary evidence regarding Koxinga’s relationship with the Longwu Emperor.

In contrast, Koxinga’s father, Zheng Zhilong, left his Japanese wife not long after the birth of his son; Koxinga would be a boy of seven when he finally joined his father on the Chinese coast. It seems that Zheng Zhilong recognised his son’s talent and encouraged him in his studies and the pursuit of a career as a scholar-official, which would legitimise the power that the Zheng family had acquired using sometimes questionable means. Zheng Zhilong’s defection to the Qing must have seemed opportunistic and in stark contrast to Koxinga’s continued loyalty to the Ming. But it is difficult to deny that in refusing to submit to the Qing, Koxinga was risking the life of his father, and that the subsequent death of Zheng Zhilong could only be justified by claiming loyalty to the Ming. It has even been suggested that Koxinga’s fury at the incestuous relationship between his son, Zheng Jing, and a younger son’s wet nurse was due to the fact that strict Confucian morality had played such a crucial role in justifying his lack of filial behaviour.

The one possible exception to this may have been his relationship with his mother, which has generally been described as being extremely affectionate, particularly in Chinese and Japanese sources. Their time together, however, was apparently very short - despite frequent entreaties from Zheng Zhilong for her to join him in China, Koxinga’s mother would only be reunited with her son sometime in 1645, and a year later she would be killed when the Qing took Xiamen.

Concubine

During the Siege of Fort Zeelandia Koxinga took the Dutch missionary Antonius Hambroek's teenage daughter as a concubine, after having him executed and Dutch women were sold to Chinese soldiers to become their wives, the daily journal of the Dutch fort recorded that "the best were preserved for the use of the commanders, and then sold to the common soldiers. Happy was she that fell to the lot of an unmarried man, being thereby freed from vexations by the Chinese women, who are very jealous of their husbands." In 1684 some of these Dutch wives were still captives of the Chinese.

"The daughter of the Rev. A. Hambroek, a very sweet and pleasing maiden, Koxinga took to be one of his concubines, and she had, consequently, been placed in his harem. All the remaining Dutch women were kept under guard in Castle Provintia."

"Contemporary records unite in singling out the case of Rev. Antonius Hambroek, who was sent by Koxinga into the castle, under a flag of truce, to propose terms of surrender, and told to back these up with threats of most terrible vengeance. Mr. Hambroek was forced to leave his wife and two children (one of them described as a sweet and comely maiden of eighteen) in the invader's camp as pledges, which sufficiently proved that any failure of his undertaking would be a most ominous signal for those poor defenceless ones...Koxinga received his answer sternly, and without further delay issued an order for the massacre of all Dutch captives, and of every native who persisted in the profession of Christianity; Hambroek himself was put to death by decapitation, and the before-mentioned daughter compelled to become a member of his murderer's harem."

"But nothing more is needed to settle the question under discussion than a reference to what took place between this chieftain and the Rev. Mr. Hambroek. The latter was sent into Castle Zeelandia to advise his countrymen against a continuance of the struggle, but he rather exhorted them to hold on, and then took his life in his hand with the message to Koxinga that the besieged would on no account allow the subject of surrender to be mentioned, although they were quite prepared to make every honourable attempt to meet the wishes of His Highness; which reply so enraged Koxinga that he soon after ordered Hambroek to be beheaded. Meanwhile the daughter of this brave Christian martyr, who is described as having been a very sweet and pleasing maiden, was chosen by Koxinga himself and made a member of his harem."

"Many of these wretched people, including the dauntless Hambroek and some of the women and children, were beheaded. Some, more unhappy still, were crucified. One of Mr. Hambroek 's daughters Koxinga took into his own harem, while the remainder of the women were divided amongst his officers."

Descendants

The cutlass of Koxinga, the pirate king who conquered Formosa, was sold by one of his descendants in 1879 and brought $1,500.

Modern day legacy and influences

Statue of Koxinga in Fort Zeelandia, Anping, Tainan, Taiwan

Koxinga is worshipped as a god in coastal China especially Fujian and Taiwan and by overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia. There is a temple dedicated to Koxinga and his mother in Tainan City, Taiwan. The National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, one of the most prestigious universities in Taiwan, is named after him. Koxinga is still revered for expelling the Dutch from Taiwan.

Koxinga's army also brought the Qinxi fraternal brotherhood into Taiwan, of which some of his army were members of the organization. In the present day, the Qinxi currently exists in Taiwan. The Hongmen are associated with them.

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 titled The Sino-Dutch War 1661 (鄭成功 1661) starred Vincent Zhao as Koxinga. 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

Koxinga is considered a pirate in the Philippines because of his banditry and raids on Philippine soil.

During the Japanese control of Taiwan, Koxinga was honored as a bridge between Taiwan and Japan for his maternal linkage to Japan.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.

In modern times, Koxinga is regarded as a hero in the People's Republic of China, Taiwan, and Japan for various reasons.

Memorial institutions

• National Cheng Kung University (Koxinga University)
• Cheng Kung Senior High School
• Cheng Kung class frigate
• Chenggong, Taitung

See also

• Koxinga Ancestral Shrine
• Kingdom of Tungning
• History of Taiwan
• Anti-Qing sentiment
• Great Clearance (1661–1669)

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.
• Meij, Philip. Daghregister van Philip Meij: Het naervolgende sijnde 't geene per memorie onthouden van 't gepasseerde in 't geweldigh overvallen des Chinesen mandorijns Cocxinja op Formosa en geduijrende ons gevanckenis, beginnende 30 April 1661 en eijndigende 4 Februarij 1662. Dutch National Archive, VOC 1238: 848–914.
• Paske-Smith, M. Western Barbarians in Japan and Formosa in Tokugawa Days, 1603–1868. New York: Paragon Book Reprint Corp., 1968.
• Wang Chong: Interpreting Zheng Chenggong: The Politics of Dramatizing a Historical Figure in Japan, China, and Taiwan (1700–1963). VDM Verlag Dr. Müller, 2008, ISBN 978-3639092660. 
• Wills, Jr., John E. Pepper, Guns and Parleys: The Dutch East India Company and China 1622–1681. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1974.