Feng Xifan ( 17th century) was a Chinese official who initially served in the

Kingdom of Tungning The Kingdom of Tungning, also known as Tywan, was a dynastic maritime state that ruled part of southwestern Taiwan and the Penghu islands between 1661 and 1683. It is the first predominantly ethnic Han state in Taiwanese history. At its z ...

in Taiwan before he surrendered 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 ...

Life

Feng Xifan was born in Jinjiang County, Quanzhou Prefecture,

Fujian Province Fujian is a province in 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 prefecture city by population is Qua ...

, but his

ancestral home An ancestral home is the place of origin of one's extended family, particularly the home owned and preserved by the same family for several generations. The term can refer to an individual house or estate, or to a broader geographic area such as a ...

was in Longxi County, Zhangzhou Prefecture. His father, Feng Chengshi (), served as an official under Zheng Chenggong, the Prince of Yanping, who was a loyalist of the fallen

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 ...

. During the transition from the Ming dynasty to the

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic peoples, Tungusic East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized Ethnic minorities in China, ethnic minority in China and the people from wh ...

-led

, Feng Xifan and his father joined Zheng Chenggong in resisting the Qing forces in Fujian Province before they established their base of operations in Taiwan, where the

was founded. After Zheng Chenggong died in 1662, a power struggle broke out between his eldest son

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 ...

and fifth son Zheng Xi (). A group of officials headed by Huang Zhao () and Xiao Gongchen () opposed Zheng Jing's claim to the throne of Tungning, so they supported Zheng Xi and proclaimed him "Regent of Yanping". At the time, Zheng Jing was in

Xiamen 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 his legitimacy was recognised by Zheng Chenggong's former followers based in the coastal regions of Fujian Province, so he gathered them and led them to attack Zheng Xi in Taiwan. Zheng Jing regarded Feng Xifan highly and appointed him as a personal bodyguard. The forces of Zheng Jing and Zheng Xi clashed off the coast of Chikan (present-day

Tainan Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in southern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and commonly called the "Taiwan Prefecture, ...

), where Huang Zhao was killed during the battle. After the battle, those who initially supported Zheng Xi surrendered to Zheng Jing, who became the new ruler of Tungning. With support from officials such as Chen Yonghua, Zheng Jing implemented policies to pacify the people of Taiwan and, as a gesture of kindness, spared Zheng Xi's life but had his brother placed under house arrest in Xiamen. In 1679, Zheng Jing appointed his eldest son Zheng Kezang as regent and delegated some state affairs to him. Besides, Zheng Kezang had married the daughter of Chen Yonghua, who also served as his tutor. Known for being decisive and strong-willed, Zheng Kezang enforced the law strictly and did not hesitate to punish members of the Zheng family when they broke the law. As a result, he incurred resentment from the nobles and aristocrats, including Feng Xifan. After Zheng Jing died in 1680, Feng Xifan, Liu Guoxuan and others launched a coup against Zheng Kezang and killed him. With approval from Queen Dowager Dong, they installed Zheng Jing's second son Zheng Keshuang on the throne. In 1683, after Tungning forces were defeated by Qing forces at the Battle of Penghu, Feng Xifan and others convinced Zheng Keshuang to surrender to the Qing dynasty. Following the surrender, the Qing government awarded Feng Xifan the nobility title "Count Zhongcheng" ().

In fiction

Feng Xifan appears as a minor antagonist in the

wuxia ( , literally "martial arts and chivalry") is a genre of Chinese literature, Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fantasy literature, its popularity ha ...

novel '' The Deer and the Cauldron'' by

Jin Yong Louis Cha Leung-yung (; 10 March 1924 – 30 October 2018), better known by his pen name Jin Yong (), was a Hong Kong wuxia novelist and co-founder of '' Ming Pao.'' Cha authored 15 novels between 1955 and 1972 and became one of the most pop ...

. In the novel, he is a formidable swordsman from the Kunlun Sect serving as Zheng Keshuang's martial arts master.

References

* ''

Draft History of Qing The ''Draft History of Qing'' () is a draft of the official history of the Qing dynasty compiled and written by a team of over 100 historians led by Zhao Erxun who were hired by the Beiyang government of the Republic of China. The draft was publ ...

'', Volume 170. {{DEFAULTSORT:Feng, Xifan Hokkien people People from Zhangzhou Kingdom of Tungning Chinese nobility Taiwanese people from Fujian