Changes

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, 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> 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. Suffering a considerable defeat by the Qing at [[Nanjing]] in [[1659]], Coxinga fell back to Taiwan.<ref name=jansen85>Jansen, 85.</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. Suffering a considerable defeat by the Qing at [[Nanjing]] in [[1659]], Coxinga fell back to Taiwan.<ref name=jansen85>Jansen, 85.</ref>

His father was executed in Beijing in [[1661]].<ref name=jansen/> The following year, Chenggong solidified his position on Taiwan by seizing the Dutch fortress, and essentially driving the Dutch off the island. He died later that year,<ref name=jansen85/> but his successors 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 [[1684]].

==Legacy==

==Legacy==