- Zheng Zhilong
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This article is about the 17th-century Chinese merchant/pirate/admiral. For the Taiwanese basketball player/coach/legislator, see Cheng Chih-Lung.
Nicholas Zheng 
Illustration of Zheng Zhilong and his son Koxinga Personal details Born 1604 Died 1661 (aged 56–57)
Beijing, Qing EmpireSpouse(s) Tagawa Matsu Relations Father: Zheng Shaozu
Mother: Lady WangChildren Zheng Chenggong
Tagawa ShichizaemonReligion Catholic, Mazu (goddess), Marici (Buddhism) Noble Rank Earl of Nan'an→Marquess of Nan'an→Marquess of Tong'an Zheng Zhilong (Chinese: 鄭芝龍; pinyin: Zhèng Zhīlóng; Wade–Giles: Cheng Chih-lung; 1604 – 1661) also known as Nicholas Iquan Gaspard, a native of Nan'an, Fujian, China. He was a Chinese merchant, pirate and admiral for the Ming Empire.[1] He was the father of Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga), also a military leader. Under the Qing Dynasty, Zheng was elevated to the rank of Count of the Second Rank. His company was known as Iquan's Party.
Contents
History
Early life
Zheng Zhilong Chinese name Traditional Chinese 鄭芝龍 Simplified Chinese 郑芝龙 Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin Zhèng Zhīlóng - Wade–Giles Cheng Chih-lung Japanese name Kanji 鄭 芝龍 Kana ジェン・ジーロン Hiragana てい しりゅう Transcriptions - Romaji Tei Shiryuu - Revised Hepburn Jen Jīron Portuguese name Portuguese Icoan Baptismal name Baptismal Nicholas Western name Western Nicholas Iquan Gaspard Other name Other Jasper Zheng was born in Nan'an, Fujian, the son of Zheng Shaozu (鄭紹祖), a mid-level financial official for the Quanzhou government, and Zheng Shaozu's wife Lady Huang (黃氏). Contemporary biographies tell a possibly apocryphal story of how when Zheng was a child, he and his brothers wanted to eat longan fruit.[1] They found a fruit tree in an enclosed courtyard but whose branches hung over the top of the wall into the street. They threw stones in the hope of knocking some of the fruit clusters loose.[1] It happened to be the courtyard of the governor of Quanzhou City, and he was struck by the stones. The boys ran but were caught and hauled before the governor. Due to the child's age and apparent charisma, the governor forgave Zheng and released him, saying "This is the face of one destined for wealth and nobility."[1] The story may or may not be true, but it encapsulated the character of Zhilong: he ran wild, grasped at low hanging fruit, got in trouble, and came out the better for it.[1]
Zhilong left home as a teenager, jumping aboard a merchant ship. Sources vary on why he left home, some saying he slipped his hand up his stepmothers skirt, others recording his father chasing him through the streets with a stick.[1] Zhilong went to Macau where his mother's brother lived (his uncle).[1] He was baptized as a Catholic in Macau, receiving the Christian name Nicholas Gaspard.[2] His uncle asked him to take some cargo Nagasaki, Japan, where he met a rich old Min man named La Din, also known as "Captain China", who became his mentor and possible homosexual lover.[1] La Din had close ties with the Europeans and he arranged for Zhilong to work as an interpreter for the Dutch (Zhilong spoke Portuguese which the Dutch could also speak).[1] In 1622, when Dutch forces took over the Pescadores archipelago off the Taiwan Strait, Li Dan sent Zheng to the Pescadores to work with the Dutch as a translator in peace negotiations. Before leaving Japan he met and married a local woman named Tagawa Matsu.[1] He impregnated her with Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga), leaving Japan before she gave birth in 1624.[1] After Li died in 1623, Zheng acquired his fleet of ships.
Pirate
The Dutch, wishing to control and monopolize commerce routes to Japan, collaborated with Chinese pirates.[3] Zhilong initially worked as a translator but soon became a highly successful pirate under the tutelage of the Dutch, who provided ships and weapons in exchange for a cut of the loot.[1] Zhilong prospered and by 1627 he was leading four hundred junks and tens of thousands of men.[1] He built ten outposts on Taiwan's southwestern coastal region, between Tainan and Chiayi, but was evicted shortly after when the Dutch arrived on the island.
Shibazhi challenges the Ming fleet
Shibazhi (十八芝) were a pirate organization of 18 well-known Chinese pirates, founded in 1625 by Zheng Zhilong. Members included Shi Lang's father Shi Dashan (施大瑄). They began to challenge the Ming fleet and won a series of victories. In 1628, Zheng Zhilong defeated the Ming Dynasty's fleet. The Ming Dynasty's southern fleet surrendered to Shibazhi, and Zhilong decided to switch from being a pirate captain to working for the Ming Dynasty in an official capacity, to go legit.[1] Zheng Zhilong was appointed major general in 1628. Stories tell of how Cai, the governor who had forgiven Zheng for stoning him so many years ago, came to Zheng and asked for a position in the Ming navy. Zheng granted this request. Whether or not this story is true is unknown, but it reflects the popular appraisal of Zhilong who was seen as a benevolent leader.
The Ming and the Dutch
After joining the Ming navy, Zheng and his wife resettled on an island off the coast of Fujian, where he operated a large armed pirate fleet of over 800 ships along the coast from Japan to Vietnam. He was appointed by the Chinese Imperial family as "Admiral of the Coastal Seas", and defeated Dutch East India Company vessels on October 22, 1633. Zheng would continue to serve the Ming dynasty after the fall of Peking in June 1644. After the capture of Nanjing in 1645, Zhilong accepted an offer to serve as commander-in-chief of the Imperial forces and was ordered to defend the newly established capital in Fuzhou under the Prince of Tang.
He defeated the Dutch and pirates, a combined force of more than 100,000. The spoils of this victory made him fabulously wealthy. He bought up a large amount of land, as much as 60% of Fujian, and became a very powerful landlord.
Surrender to Qing
In 1646, Zheng decided to defect to the Manchus leaving the passes of Zhejiang unguarded, allowing Manchu forces to capture Fuzhou. As a result of the Manchu victory, Zhilong was greatly rewarded and retired very wealthy. However, he would later be executed by the Qing government in 1661, as a result of his son's continued resistance against the Qing regime.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Tonio Andrade. Lost Colony: The Untold Story of China's First Great Victory over the West, Princeton University Press, 2011. ISBN 978-0-691-14455-9.
- ^ "Zheng Zhilong". Enyclopædia Britannica. 2011. http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9023812.
- ^ (Chinese) "海禁下的民間活力: 尼古拉‧一官 [Nicholas Iquan]". National Palace Museum. Taipei. http://www.npm.gov.tw/exhbition/formosa/chinese/04.htm.
- Clements, Jonathan (2004). Coxinga and the Fall of the Ming Dynasty. Stroud: Sutton Publishing.
- Manthorpe, Jonathan (2005). Forbidden Nation: A History of Taiwan. New York.
- Michael, Franz (1942). The Origin of Manchu Rule in China. Baltimore.
- Andrade, Tonio (Dec. 2004). "The Company's Chinese Pirates: How the Dutch East India Company Tried to Lead a Coalition of Pirates to War Against China, 1621-1662". Journal of World History 15 (4): 415–444. http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/jwh/15.4/andrade.html.
Categories:- 1604 births
- 1661 deaths
- Ming Dynasty people
- Chinese pirates
- Chinese Christians
- Chinese Roman Catholics
- Chinese translators
- Converts to Roman Catholicism from pagan religions
- Ming Dynasty generals
- Chinese billionaires
- Executed Chinese people
- People executed by the Qing Dynasty
- 17th-century executions
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