Founding Zheng Zhilong was originally the most powerful pirate in the
East China Sea and
South China Sea. In September 1628, during the first year of the
Chongzhen Emperor’s reign in the
Ming Dynasty (27 September–26 October 1628), he was recruited by the imperial court and appointed as a coastal defense guerrilla. After gaining official recognition, his maritime trade business flourished, and he became the dominant naval power from the East China Sea to the South China Sea. At its peak, the trade network of the Ming-Zheng forces extended across a vast region, including Dadi, Fenni, Champa,
Luzon,
Jingang,
Beigang,
Dayuan,
Hirado,
Nagasaki,
Mumbai,
Banten,
Old Port,
Batavia,
Malacca,
Cambodia, and
Siam. Zheng Zhilong's influence was so great that he was able to control trade between China and the
Dutch East India Company, a major European power. However, local trade relations were less stable. Unwilling to submit to Zheng’s dominance, the Dutch allied with Chinese pirates to attack him, but they were decisively defeated at the
Battle of Liaoluo Bay. Zheng Chenggong then joined the resistance, formally severing ties with his father, and retreated with his followers to Kinmen. Zheng Zhilong had hoped that surrendering to the Qing would protect his family's wealth and status. However, the Qing general
Boluo violated their agreement, arresting Zheng Zhilong and his followers and sending them to Yanjing (modern-day Beijing). Qing forces also attacked the Zheng family’s hometown. Zheng Chenggong’s mother, Tagawa Matsu, had recently arrived from Japan to reunite with her family in Fujian but was caught in the chaos. Facing the destruction of her home, she committed suicide. Upon learning of his mother’s death, Zheng Chenggong became even more determined to resist the Qing. In August 1646, Emperor
Longwu was captured by the Qing army. Following the collapse of the Longwu regime, Zheng Chenggong fled to
Kinmen, where he began recruiting soldiers from various coastal regions, including former subordinates of Zheng Zhilong. He even raised thousands of troops in Nanao. In December 1646 (January 1647 in the Gregorian calendar), Zheng Chenggong formally declared his resistance against the Qing in Xiaokinmen (modern-day
Lieyu Township,
Kinmen County). In September 1652 (the sixth year of Yongli, corresponding to the ninth year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty), Qing general Gushan Ezhen, together with Jinli, led an army of 10,000 troops into Fujian, entering
Quanzhou Prefecture. In April 1653 (the seventh year of Yongli, corresponding to the tenth year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty), Jinli invaded Haicheng, prompting a fierce confrontation with Zheng Chenggong’s forces. Both sides deployed guns and cannons as their primary armaments. Under a relentless barrage from Qing artillery, Zheng’s troops suffered heavy losses, and several of his generals were killed. In an effort to raise morale, Zheng Chenggong personally moved to the front line, narrowly avoiding enemy shellfire. On 2 June 1653 (recorded as the fifth watch on the seventh day of May in the lunar calendar), Jinli ordered his forces to use air artillery cover and deployed the Green Battalion at the vanguard, followed by his flag-bearing soldiers. Although he attempted to storm the city in one decisive move, Zheng’s forces resisted the assault. After dawn, upon assessing the situation, Zheng Chenggong discovered that the Qing army was suffering from shortages of gunpowder, funds, and provisions. Seizing this opportunity, he lured the Qing forces into a decisive engagement. While the Qing army was in the process of crossing the river, Zheng launched a fire attack that defeated Jinli, thereby securing victory at the Battle of Haicheng and ensuring the safety of Haicheng. Subsequently, Jinli was recalled to the capital by the Qing court, and the conflict reached a stalemate. and promised to grant
Quanzhou Prefecture as a garrison for Zheng Chenggong's troops. In August, the Qing Dynasty dispatched envoys for a final round of peace negotiations, but Zheng Chenggong refused to negotiate. In October, he sent Lin Cha and Zhou Rui to oversee his army's westward march, provisioning them with ten months’ worth of rations. In November, Liu Guoxuan, the deputy defender of Zhangzhou under the Qing administration, surrendered to Zheng Chenggong and led his forces into Zhangzhou's capital, Zhang Shiyao, which also capitulated to Zheng's army. Additionally, Zheng Chenggong renamed Xiamen (then known as Zhongzuo Prefecture) to Siming Prefecture. After Li Dingguo conquered Zhaoqing, his forces were defeated outside Guangzhou, and he retreated into Guangxi due to the lack of reinforcements. In May, when Lin Cha and others reported that they had not received sufficient support, Zheng Chenggong became incensed and proposed another encirclement of Guangdong; however, this plan ultimately failed. In July, Zheng Chenggong appointed Hong Xu as the governor of the naval division and Gan Hui as the governor of the land division, providing them with 10,000 taels of silver to lead the Northern Expedition. The expedition was noted for its strict discipline; for example, when marching to Meizhou North Town, a soldier was executed for the minor offense of picking up a chicken. In a similar instance, Gan Hui pleaded guilty to an infraction and requested punishment—he was disciplined with ten strokes. In the tenth year of Yongli (1656, corresponding to the thirteenth year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty), the Zheng army established its bases in Xiamen and Jin, frequently engaging the Qing forces in South China. In June, in response to Dutch and Spanish forces that had attacked Zheng's merchant ships and killed Chinese people, Zheng Chenggong ordered a blockade of the
Taiwan Strait. This measure prevented the Dutch from conducting entrepot trade, resulting in a sharp decline in their income. In October, Zheng Chenggong dispatched Huang Ting to attack Ou Ting, a territory under Chaozhou's jurisdiction. According to the
Chaozhou Chronicles, Xu Long's headquarters in Nanyang Village suffered a devastating blow during the assault. During the winter, Zheng Chenggong launched a large-scale Northern Expedition and secured a victory at the Battle of Huguoling in December. During this campaign, his forces looted
Fu'an, as documented by the missionary
Victorio Riccio (1621–1685).
Northern expedition In July of the eleventh year of Yongli (1658, corresponding to the fifteenth year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty), Zheng Chenggong led his army on a northern expedition and issued strict military orders prior to the march. In the thirteenth year of Yongli (1659, the sixteenth year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty),
Zheng Chenggong once again spearheaded a northern expedition. His forces successfully navigated the Yangtze River and joined troops under Zhang Huangyan, conquering
Dinghai,
Guazhou,
Zhenjiang and other localities. In one notable engagement, Zheng’s army—deploying only four Tiger Guard generals and four sentries to retake Jiangpu—forced 200 Qing soldiers to flee, an encounter that became known in history as Zheng Chenggong's Battle of the Yangtze River. In June of the same year, Zheng Chenggong led his troops in an attempt to encircle Nanjing. The campaign ended in failure, with his army suffering losses of more than 20,000 soldiers. Although the Battle of Nanjing was initially regarded as one of his most promising endeavors, the operation ultimately culminated in a decisive defeat that dealt a major setback to his anti-Qing efforts. Additionally, the
Shaanxi History Museum preserves a cannon cast by Zheng Zheng in the 33rd year of the Yongli reign (1679). The cannon bears three lines of inscriptions—in both official and seal script—on its back, attesting that Zheng Jing is the crown prince of Zheng Chenggong.
Western expedition Zheng Jing used Taiwan as his base to resist the Qing Dynasty for 20 years. During this period, he sent troops to southern Fujian in an effort to regain lost territory from 1673 to 1680. Beginning in the 1680s, the Qing army successively eliminated key adversaries, including
Shang Zhixin of
Guangdong and
Geng Jingzhong of
Fujian, while
Wu Sangui of
Yunnan also died. As a result, the power of the Zheng family in the Ming loyalist regime retreated, leaving them with control only over Xiamen. In 1680, General Wan Zhengse of the Qing Dynasty dispatched envoys to persuade Zhu Tiangui (formerly General Geng Jingzhong), the deputy governor of the Zheng Army's Navy, to surrender with a fleet of 300 ships and more than 20,000 soldiers. Facing mounting pressure, Zheng Jing abandoned Xiamen and led the remaining forces back to Taiwan. At that point, the Zheng family's influence in southern Fujian effectively disappeared.
Demise After Zheng Jing's death,
Zheng Keshuang succeeded to the throne of Yanping and continued to be known as "the crown prince of the great general."
Territorial transformations During the Ming Dynasty, the Zheng family controlled territories in Taiwan and also employed military force to expand their holdings on the mainland. Between 1673 and 1680, they occupied
Zhangzhou,
Quanzhou, and
Xinghua in southern Fujian, as well as
Chaozhou and
Huizhou in Guangdong. Over time, however, parts of these territories were gradually lost. == References ==