Zheng Jing, Prince of Yanping (; 25 October 1642 – 17 March 1681), courtesy names Xianzhi () and Yuanzhi (),

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

Shitian (), was initially a

Southern Ming The Southern Ming (), also known in historiography as the Later Ming (), officially the Great Ming (), was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and a series of rump states of the Ming dynasty that came into existence following the ...

military general who later became the second ruler of the Tungning Kingdom of

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

by succeeding his father

Koxinga Zheng Chenggong (; 27 August 1624 – 23 June 1662), born Zheng Sen () and better known internationally by his honorific title Koxinga (, from Taiwanese: ''kok sèⁿ iâ''), was a Southern Ming general who resisted the Qing conquest of Chin ...

's hereditary title of "Prince of Yanping", reigned as a dynastic monarch of the kingdom from 1662 to 1681.

Biography

Born on 25 October 1642, he was the eldest son of

(Zheng Chenggong) and a grandson of the pirate-merchant

Zheng Zhilong Zheng Zhilong, Marquis of Tong'an (; April 16, 1604 – November 24, 1661), baptismal name Nicholas Iquan Gaspard, was a Fujianese (Hokkien) admiral, merchant, translator, military general, politician, and pirate leader of the late Ming dyna ...

. After the conquest of Fort Zeelandia in 1662 by his father, Zheng Jing controlled the military forces in

Amoy Xiamen,), also known as Amoy ( ; from the Zhangzhou Hokkien pronunciation, zh, c=, s=, t=, p=, poj=Ē͘-mûi, historically romanized as Amoy, is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Stra ...

and

Quemoy Kinmen, alternatively known as Quemoy, is a group of islands governed as a county by the Republic of China (Taiwan), only east from the city of Xiamen in Fujian, located at the southeastern coast of the People's Republic of China, from which ...

on his father's behalf, but the friction between him and his father was later provoked by a domestic dispute, as he secretly had an incestuous relationship with his brother's

wet nurse A wet nurse is a woman who breastfeeding, breastfeeds and cares for another's child. Wet nurses are employed if the mother dies, if she is unable to nurse the child herself sufficiently or chooses not to do so. Wet-nursed children may be known a ...

, with whom he had a newborn son ( Zheng Kezang), despite having been married. Koxinga was ashamed and resentful by his son's behaviour and ordered Jing's execution, but his order was never implemented due to the opposition by Amoy's forces, and Koxinga's sudden death of

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

in June 1662. Upon the death of his father six months later, Zheng Jing contested throne as the King of Tungning with his uncle, Zheng Shixi. The civil war was end in Zheng Jing's victory after he successfully quelled the hostile forces of his uncle in Taiwan and captured Fort Zeelandia. This was followed by Zheng Shixi withdrawing his claim and his surrender to the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

next year. With both the vast armed merchant fleet and the throne of Tungning, he intended to continue his father's former plan to invade

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

which was under Spanish rule; however, he was forced to abandon this venture when faced the immediate threat of a Manchu-Dutch alliance. His defeat of a combined Qing-Dutch fleet commanded by Han Banner General Ma Degong in 1664 resulted in ending the brief alliance. Ma Degong was killed in the battle by Zheng's fleet, but the islands of Amoy and Quemoy fell to the Qing forces, forcing him to withdraw all his troops and resources to Taiwan. The Dutch looted relics and killed monks after attacking a Buddhist complex at Putuoshan on the Zhoushan islands in 1665 during their war against Zheng Jing’s fleet. Zheng Jing's navy executed thirty four Dutch sailors and drowned eight Dutch sailors after looting, ambushing and sinking the Dutch fluyt ship Cuylenburg in 1672 on northeastern Taiwan. Only twenty one Dutch sailors escaped to Japan. The ship was going from Nagasaki to Batavia on a trade mission. During his 19-year reign, he tried to provide sufficiently for the local inhabitants and reorganizing their military forces in Taiwan. He frequently exchanged ambassadors with the

Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 165420 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, personal name Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign of 61 ...

from the mainland. Although he continued to fight for the cause his father died for, he had largely abandoned any pretense of restoring the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

by the time he invaded

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

in 1676. Zheng's forces land in Siming at the behest of

Geng Jingzhong Geng Jingzhong (; died 1682) was a powerful military commander of the early Qing dynasty. He inherited the title of "King/Prince of Jingnan" (靖南王) from his father Geng Jimao, who had inherited it from Jingzhong's grandfather Geng Zhongming ...

, who had joined the

Revolt of the Three Feudatories The Revolt of the Three Feudatories, () also known as the Rebellion of Wu Sangui, was a rebellion lasting from 1673 to 1681 in the early Qing dynasty of China, during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor (r. 1661–1722). The revolt was led by Wu San ...

, following the lead of

Wu Sangui Wu Sangui (; 8 June 1612 – 2 October 1678), courtesy name Changbai () or Changbo (), was a Chinese military leader who played a key role in the fall of the Ming dynasty and the founding of the Qing dynasty. In Chinese folklore, Wu Sangui is r ...

.The Brilliant Reign of the Kangxi Emperor: China's Qing Dynasty He occupied key cities in the province for a year before losing them back to the Manchus by the end of 1677. Invading Fujian once more, he led a force of 30,000 men to capture Haicheng as well as taking the provincial commander prisoner. In 1680, Zheng Jing was forced to abandon

and Tang-soaⁿ after losing a major naval battle to Chinese

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

admiral

Shi Lang Shi Lang (1621–1696), Marquis Jinghai, also known as Secoe or Sego, was a Chinese admiral who served under the Ming dynasty, Ming and Qing dynasty, Qing dynasties in the 17th century. He was the commander-in-chief of the Qing fleets which dest ...

. Driven off

China proper China proper, also called Inner China, are terms used primarily in the West in reference to the traditional "core" regions of China centered in the southeast. The term was first used by Westerners during the Manchu people, Manchu-led Qing dyn ...

by the Manchus, he retreated to modern-day Tainan where he died on 17 March 1681. Zheng named as his successor his oldest son, Zheng Kezang; however, Zheng Kezang was quickly toppled in favor of Zheng Keshuang.

Family

Ming Dynasty Zheng family Parents * Father: Zheng Chenggong, Prince of Yanping * Mother: Dong You, Queen of Tungning Consorts and issues * Princess Wen of Chao, of the Tang clan (潮文王妃唐氏) * Lady Chen, of the Chen clan (陳氏;1626－1662), personal name Zhaoniang (昭娘) ** Zheng Kezang (鄭克𡒉;1662–1681), Crown Prince of Yanping (延平王世子), first son * Lady Lin, of the Lin clan (林氏) * Lady Li, of the Li clan (李氏) * Lady Lai, of the Lai clan (賴氏) * Lady Huang, of the Huang clan (黃氏), personal name Heniang (和娘) ** Zheng Keshuang, Prince of Yanping (鄭克塽; 13 August 1670 – 22 September 1707), second son * Unknown: ** Zhang Kebo (鄭克壆), third son ** 5 sons and 6 daughters

References

Bibliography

* Carioti, Patrizia. “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'”. ''Ming Qing Yanjiu'' (1996): 29–67. * Chang Hsiu-jung, Anthony Farrington, Huang Fu-san, Ts'ao Yung-ho, Wu Mi-tsa, Cheng Hsi-fu, and Ang Ka-in. ''The English Factory in Taiwan, 1670–1685''. Taipei: National Taiwan University, 1995. * Clements, Jonathan
''Coxinga and the Fall of the Ming Dynasty.''
Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 2004. * * Keene, Donald Keene
''The Battles of Coxinga: Chikamatsu’s Puppet Play, Its Background and Importance''
London: Taylor's Foreign Press, 1950. * Manthorpe, Jonathan
''Forbidden Nation: a History of Taiwan''
New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2002. * Shen Yu. ''Cheng-shih shih-mo''. 1836. * Wills, Jr., John E
''Pepper, Guns and Parleys: The Dutch East India Company and China 1622–1681''
Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1974. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zheng, Jing

Zheng Jing Zheng Jing, Prince of Yanping (; 25 October 1642 – 17 March 1681), courtesy names Xianzhi () and Yuanzhi (), Art name, pseudonym Shitian (), was initially a Southern Ming military general who later became the second ruler of the Tungning King ...

1660s in Taiwan 1670s in Taiwan 1680s in Taiwan 17th-century monarchs in Asia Chinese monarchs Chinese pirates Chinese politicians of Japanese descent Generals from Fujian House of Koxinga Kingdom of Tungning Ming dynasty generals Politicians from Fujian Taiwanese people of the Kingdom of Tungning Taiwanese politicians of Japanese descent

Biography

Family

See also

References

Bibliography