Changes

*''Other Names'': 国性爺 ''(Coxinga/Koxinga, C: Guóxìngyé, J: Kokusen'ya)'', 和唐内 ''(J: Watounai)''

*''Other Names'': 国姓爺 ''(Coxinga/Koxinga, C: Guóxìngyé, J: Kokusen'ya)'',<ref>Though granted the title "Guóxìngyé" 国姓爺 (roughly, "Lord bearing the National [i.e. Imperial] Surname") historically, the Japanese play ''The Battles of Coxinga'' changes this to 国性爺 (roughly, "Lord bearing National Character").</ref> 和唐内、和藤内 ''(J: Watounai)'', 田川福松 ''(Takawa Fukumatsu)''

*''Chinese/Japanese'': [[鄭]]成功 ''(Zhèng Chéng gōng / Tei Seikou)''

*''Chinese/Japanese'': [[鄭]]成功 ''(Zhèng Chéng gōng / Tei Seikou)''

==Life and Career==

==Life and Career==

Born in [[Hirado]] to a Japanese mother, he sailed alongside his father, the pirate-lord [[Zheng Zhilong]], in harassing the ships and bases of the [[Dutch East India Company]], as well as wealthy Chinese merchants and [[Ming Dynasty]] governmental targets.

Born in [[Hirado]] to a Japanese mother named Takawa Matsu,<ref name=yamagata>Yamagata Kin'ya 山形欣哉, ''Rekishi no umi wo hashiru'' 歴史の海を走る, Nôsangyoson bunka kyôkai (2004), 166.</ref>, he sailed alongside his father, the pirate-lord [[Zheng Zhilong]], in harassing the ships and bases of the [[Dutch East India Company]], as well as wealthy Chinese merchants and [[Ming Dynasty]] governmental targets.

He inherited control of his father's network of maritime trade, pirate bands, and bases of operation, and after the fall of the Ming to [[Manchu]] invaders in [[1644]], put these to work rebelling against the new [[Qing Dynasty]] by attacking coastal shipping and other targets. The loyalists lost [[Fuzhou]], their last foothold on the Chinese mainland, in [[1646]], but then worked to consolidate their position on Taiwan. That same year, Chenggong's father turned to support the Qing, and began working to convince Chenggong to give up the resistance.<ref name=jansen>[[Marius Jansen]], ''China in the Tokugawa World'', Harvard University Press (1992), 26-27.</ref>

He inherited control of his father's network of maritime trade, pirate bands, and bases of operation, and after the fall of the Ming to [[Manchu]] invaders in [[1644]], put these to work rebelling against the new [[Qing Dynasty]] by attacking coastal shipping and other targets. Under his command, Amoy ([[Xiamen]]) became a bustling international entrepot, where Zheng oversaw ten trading companies dealing in goods ranging from [[sugar]] and [[silk]] to [[gunpowder]].<ref name=spence55>Jonathan Spence, ''The Search for Modern China'', Second Edition, W.W. Norton & Co. (1999), 55.</ref> Around this time, Zheng gained the favor of the [[Longwu Emperor]] of the Southern Ming, who bestowed upon him the Ming Imperial surname [[朱 (Zhu)|Zhu]], and the honorary title "Guóxìngyé" (roughly, "Lord bearing the Imperial Surname").<ref name=yamagata/> The loyalists lost [[Fuzhou]], their last foothold on the Chinese mainland, in [[1646]], but then worked to consolidate their position on Taiwan. That same year, Chenggong's father turned to support the Qing, and began working to convince Chenggong to give up the resistance.<ref name=jansen>[[Marius Jansen]], ''China in the Tokugawa World'', Harvard University Press (1992), 26-27.</ref>

The Qing government attempted to blockade Taiwan in [[1656]], but were largely ineffective; the following year, they imposed a policy known as ''[[qianjie]]'', forcing Chinese to retreat inland, emptying the coastal regions of southern China in order to deny Coxinga targets to attack.

The Qing government attempted to blockade Taiwan in [[1656]], but were largely ineffective; the following year, they imposed a policy known as ''[[qianjie]]'', forcing Chinese to retreat inland, emptying the coastal regions of southern China in order to deny Coxinga targets to attack. Suffering a considerable defeat by the Qing at [[Nanjing]] in [[1659]], Coxinga fell back to Taiwan.<ref name=jansen85>Jansen, 85.</ref>

After his father's execution in [[1661]],<ref name=jansen/> Chenggong solidified his position on Taiwan the following year by seizing the Dutch fortress, and in total managed to hold out against Qing forces until [[1684]].

His father was executed in Beijing in [[1661]],<ref name=jansen/> his mother having been killed some years earlier by the Qing.<ref name=spence55/> The following year, Chenggong solidified his position on Taiwan by seizing the Dutch fortress, and driving the Dutch off the island. They successfully negotiated with him to be allowed to return safely to [[Batavia]] (rather than be killed or captured), but left behind goods and cash worth over one million ounces of [[silver]].<ref name=spence55/> Zheng Chenggong died later that year,<ref name=jansen85/> but his successors managed to hold out against Qing forces until [[1683]]. Following their defeat, Zheng's descendants were treated relatively well by the Qing government, with some even being ennobled and settled in Beijing. Many of their followers were absorbed into the Manchu military, being assigned to garrisons on the Russian border or elsewhere.<ref>Spence, 56.</ref>

 

Chenggong's son [[Zheng Jing]] returned to the Chinese mainland, and fought under [[Wu Sangui]] in the [[Revolt of the Three Feudatories]].<ref>Schottenhammer, Angela. “Empire and Periphery? The Qing Empire’s Relations with Japan and the Ryūkyūs (1644–c. 1800), a Comparison.” ''The Medieval History Journal'' 16, no. 1 (April 1, 2013): 159.</ref>

==Legacy==

==Legacy==

Zheng Chenggong is celebrated in numerous legends and stories. In Japan, the most prominent of these is [[Chikamatsu|Chikamatsu's]] [[1715]] ''[[ningyo joruri|ningyô jôruri]]'' (puppet theatre) play ''[[The Battles of Coxinga]]'', the first puppet play to ever be adapted to the [[kabuki]] stage. In the play, the character of Coxinga is named Watônai, literally meaning "between Japan and China," a reference to Coxinga's birth.

Zheng Chenggong is celebrated in numerous legends and stories. In Japan, the most prominent of these is [[Chikamatsu|Chikamatsu's]] [[1715]] ''[[ningyo joruri|ningyô jôruri]]'' (puppet theatre) play ''[[The Battles of Coxinga]]'', the first puppet play to ever be adapted to the [[kabuki]] stage. In the play, the character of Coxinga is named Watônai, literally meaning "between Japan and China," a reference to Coxinga's birth.

==References==

==References==

*Matt Matsuda, ''Pacific Worlds'', University of Cambridge Press (2012), 109.

*Matt Matsuda, ''Pacific Worlds'', University of Cambridge Press (2012), 109.

[[Category:Criminals, Bandits, and Pirates]]

[[Category:Criminals, Bandits, and Pirates]]

[[Category:Edo Period]]

[[Category:Edo Period]]