Kingdom of Tungning

Infobox Former Country
native_name = 東寧
"Dōng Níng"
conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Tungning
common_name = Kingdom of Zheng|
continent = moved from Category:Asia to East Asia
region = East Asia
country = Taiwan
status =
status_text =
empire =
government_type = Monarchy|
year_start = 1662
year_end = 1683
event_start = Siege of Fort Zeelandia
date_start = February 1, 1662
event_end = Battle of Penghu
date_end = 1683
p1 = Taiwan under European rule
flag_p1 = Flag of the Dutch East India Company.svg
s1 = Taiwan under Qing Dynasty rule
flag_s1 = China Qing Dynasty Flag 1889.svg

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image_map_caption = Kingdom of Tungning on Taiwan
national_motto = "反清復明"
"Oppose the Qing, restore the Ming"
capital = Tungtu
common_languages = Hoklo
government_type = Monarchy
title_leader = King of Tungning
leader1 = Zheng Jing
year_leader1 = 1662 - 1682
leader2 = Zheng Ke-Shuang
year_leader2 = 1682 - 1683
era = Qing Dynasty
stat_year1 = 1664
stat_pop1 = 140,000
stat_year2 = 1683
stat_pop2 = 200,000
currency = Copper Coin and Silver tael issued by the kingdom

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, 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 mainland China for the Ming Dynasty.

Names

The Kingdom of Tungning (zh-tsp |t=東寧王國 |s=东宁王国 |p=Dōngníng Wángguó) is also sometimes called the Kingdom of Zheng (Cheng) (zh-tsp |t=鄭氏王朝 |s=郑氏王朝 |p=Zhèngshì Wángcháo) 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, [Kerr, George H. (1945) "Formosa: Island Frontier" "Far Eastern Survey" 14(7): pp. 80-85, p. 81] and the period of rule is sometimes referred to as the Koxinga dynasty. [ [http://www.wufi.org.tw/eng/intlstat.htm "Historical and Legal Aspects of the International Status of Taiwan (Formosa)" WUFI] ]

History

In 1661, Koxinga forced a landing at Luerhmen (zh-tsp |t=鹿耳門 |s=鹿耳门 |p=Lù'ěrmén), Taiwan. In less than a year, he captured Fort Zeelandia and negotiated a treaty [ [http://cns.miis.edu/straittalk/Appendix%201.htm "Koxinga-Dutch Treaty (1662)" Appendix 1 to Bullard, Monte R. (unpub.) "Strait Talk: Avoiding a Nuclear War Between the U.s. and China over Taiwan" Monterey Institute of International Studies] ] 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 had 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 (e.g. 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 is 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, i.e. 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.

Notes

See also

* Koxinga
* Taiwan under Dutch rule
* History of Taiwan
* Qing Dynasty