Everything about The Kingdom Of Tungning totally explained
The
Kingdom of Tungning was the first
Han Chinese government to rule
Taiwan, between
1661 and
1683. It was a pro-
Ming Dynasty kingdom, and was founded by
Koxinga (Zheng Chenggong), after the destruction of
Ming power by the
Manchu. Koxinga was son of a former pirate who styled himself as a
Ming Dynasty loyalist; he hoped to marshal his troops on Taiwan and use it as a base to regain
China for the Ming Dynasty.
Names
The
Kingdom of Tungning is also sometimes called the
Kingdom of Zheng (Cheng) or the
Kingdom of Yanping (延平王國). Admiral Koxinga called Taiwan
Tungtu/
Dongdu. It has been called in western histories the
Kingdom of Taiwan, and the period of rule is sometimes referred to as the
Koxinga dynasty.
History
In 1661, Koxinga forced a landing at Luerhmen, Taiwan. In less than a year, he captured
Fort Zeelandia and negotiated a treaty with
Frederick Coyett, the
Dutch governor, where the Dutch surrendered the fortress and left all the goods and property of the
Dutch East India Company behind. In return, all Dutch officials, soldiers and civilians left with their
personal belongings and supplies back to
Batavia, ending the 38 years of Dutch colonial rule on Taiwan. Koxinga proceeded to devote himself to building Taiwan into an effective base for anti-Qing Dynasty sympathizers who wanted to restore the Ming Dynasty to power.
In 1662, at the age of 39, Koxinga died of
malaria, although speculations said that he died in a sudden fit of madness upon hearing the death of his father under the
Qing. His son,
Zheng Jing, succeeded him as the ruler of Taiwan, with the inherited title of
Prince of Yanping.
For the next 19 years, Zheng Jing tried to provide sufficiently for the local inhabitants and reorganize their military forces in Taiwan. Contact with the
Kangxi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty from the China through ambassadors was frequent. Under Qing pressure, Zheng Jing struggled to defend
Xiamen,
Quemoy and the
Pescadores islands, which he'd eventually lost over the years, mainly due to his minuscule forces which were insufficient to defend from the Qing. During
Revolt of the Three Feudatories, Zheng Jing launched an offensive in the
Fujian area. With the end of the revolt, Zheng suffered a serious defeat. After the defeat, Zheng returned to Taiwan where he indulged in wine and women, soon after dying of illness. His son,
Zheng Keshuang, succeeded him.
In
1683, after the
Battle of Penghu, Taiwan fell to Qing forces and was incorporated into the
Qing Dynasty until
1895.
Legacy
The Kingdom of Tungning existed for just over 20 years, but due to its parallels to the current
political status of Taiwan, it continues to hold great symbolic value.
After its defeat in the
Chinese Civil War in
1949, the
Republic of China (ROC), led by the
Kuomintang, retreated to Taiwan, leaving Mainland China to the
Communist Party who later established
People's Republic of China (PRC). For the next several decades, the ROC was devoted to regaining the mainland, by maintaining island bases in proximity to the mainland (for example
Quemoy), just as Koxinga and his descendents had done. Although the ROC has since democratized and is no longer singularly devoted to reconquering the mainland, the political and territorial arrangement has remained unchanged. In this respect, there's a striking parallel between the Qing/Koxinga situation and the current PRC/ROC situation.
The
Kuomintang of the ROC have, unsurprisingly, focused on the goals of Koxinga, for example to use Taiwan as a base for restoring their government to Mainland China, parallel to how they view themselves as the defenders of the ROC, and Taiwan as a base from which the ROC will regain the mainland. The PRC has generally focused on the fact that Koxinga liberated Taiwan from Dutch colonialism for the sake of the motherland, while downplay the fact that Koxinga was in fact devoted to overthrowing the mainland government at the time to restore a previous dynasty.
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