But the Dutch garrisons at Fort Zeelandia and the nearby Fort Providentia—present-day Anping and Tainan in southern Taiwan—were in no mood to plan spring outings as in former years. Instead of rejoicing over the coming of spring, there was uneasiness and apprehension among the small but prosperous Dutch Colony. There had been persistent rumors that General Cheng Cheng-kung, or Koxinga, was making preparations on the other side of the Taiwan Straits for a seaborne attack on the island.
These rumors were not to be lightly disregarded. Koxinga was known to have strongly condemned the Dutch several years before when they ruthlessly put down an uprising of 5,000 Chinese settlers. In retaliation he had made the Dutch taste their first bitter experience by clamping down a strict economic blockade against them two years before. If the rumored invasion materialized, it would be the end of Dutch rule in Taiwan.
The Dutch knew this. None knew it better than Frederic Coyett, their governor in Taiwan. He immediately sent messages to the headquarters of the Dutch East India Company at Batavia, asking for troop reinforcements. All leaves among his troops were cancelled. Those who had served their term and were due to return home were ordered to stay on. At the same time he ordered the interment under close surveillance of thousands of Chinese in the area of possible invasion. The mountain tribesmen were formed into labor bands to help the garrison troops improve defense fortifications.
On the Fukien Coast, Koxinga had indeed made up his mind to recapture the island where his father, a Ming official, once established a busy trading center. By the time, the Manchu invaders from the north had already conquered the Chinese mainland and set up a regime at Peking. Meanwhile, Koxinga and his followers, under the increasing pressure of the new conquerors, had to retreat to the Fukien coast. They had been planning to stage an effective counterattack against the Manchus in the hope of driving the latter back to the north. Unfortunately, Koxinga's attempt to retake Nanking from the Manchus in the previous year had ended in failure. It was therefore imperative that he occupy a new base from which he could continue his fight for freedom and restore the glory of the crumbling Ming Dynasty.
Invasion Preparations
Then as now, preparations for a cross-channel invasion took a great deal of time. And it was not Koxinga's habit to risk failure of an important operation by rushing it. Therefore, months went by without any incident in the Taiwan Straits. To the Dutch the waiting was an ordeal. In late 1660, Governor Coyett decided to make a last-minute effort to avert the impending clash which he knew he would have little chance to win. He sent a gift-bearing envoy to Koxinga's camp with assurances of eternal friendship.
The mission bore no results. The Dutch emissary was politely received and sent back with a message from Koxinga. Coyett was reminded that the Dutch lived in Taiwan as tenants, not masters. He was told the rumored invasion was nothing but a rumor. As to Coyett's accusation the Dutch traders were ill-treated by the Chinese authorities, Koxinga replied that the Dutch in Taiwan had not been very considerate to Chinese merchants and settlers either. Good relations, he said, could be maintained only by a spirit of reciprocity.
After the departure of the Dutch envoy the Chinese stepped up their preparations for an early descent on Taiwan in the coming year. In February 1661, Koxinga summoned a war council to give final shape to the invasion plan. Even at that late stage some of his chief lieutenants voiced their objections to the move. They cited many reasons against the invasion. However, their objection melted away when Koxinga appealed to their innermost thoughts.
"Gentlemen," Koxinga began, "we are not going to Taiwan to become a bunch of permanent exiles. Our homes and the graves of our ancestors are on the mainland. I have no more desire to leave here permanently than you do.
"What I propose to do," he continued, "is to drive the Dutch out of Taiwan which by right is ours and make the island a base from which we can continue our fight against the Manchus."
The invasion preparations were completed in March. Having made arrangements for the defense of his remaining strongholds in Fukien and the coastal isles of Amoy and Kinmen (Quemoy), Koxinga set sail with his fleet of 400 junks and 25,000 men. The armada reached the Penghus (Pescadores) in the later part of April. Its progress was arrested by a violent storm, which continued for several days. Food stores were running low. Still there was no sign of a break in the weather.
Battle of Fort Zeelandia
Caught in this embarrassing situation, Koxinga made a daring decision. Against advices of caution, he gave the order to proceed to Taiwan on April 28. Fortunately, the storm subsided soon after the fleet put out to sea. At dawn on April 29 the fleet arrived off Fort Zeelandia without any loss during the perilous journey.
As the invading armada approached the shore two Dutch frigates and a number of supporting vessels patrolling the coastal waters turned to engage the invaders. But the Dutch men-of-war were driven back to seek shelter within the range of artillery fire from Fort Zeelandia.
Governor Coyett was roused from his sleep by the roaring of guns. Spyglass in hand, he mounted the parapets and took a careful look at Koxinga's fleet. Veteran soldier that he was, he was less than impressed by the strength of the invaders. The Chinese junks were small in size, and their guns were short in range. At any rate, Koxinga's troops could not possibly make a landing before the fire of the huge guns mounted atop Fort Zeelandia. Having satisfied himself with the appraisal of the situation, he retired to rest, an assured man.
However, Coyett was only partly right. All the accessible beaches were effectively defended. But there was a river mouth not far from the fort which was too shallow for ships to get in. Here the Dutch made the mistake of leaving it unguarded. When the afternoon tide came, Koxinga seized the opportunity by diverting a strong contingent of his fleet into the river mouth. Rowing upstream, the invaders effected a bloodless landing further inland beyond the reach of the Dutch guns at Fort Zeelandia. The fort was flanked without firing a shot.
Alarmed by the unexpected turn of events, Coyett sent a force of 200 men from the fort to intercept the attackers. However, they were cut to pieces by the numerically stronger invaders within a matter of hours.
Off the coast, the remainder of Koxinga's fleet of small junks swarmed toward the Dutch vessels in the teeth of gunfire from the fort. In the ensuing melee the Dutch vessels were either badly damaged or sunk.
On the shore, after putting the Dutch raiding party to rout, Koxinga's men continued to widen their foothold. One outpost after another beyond Fort Zeelandia was stormed and conquered. Before the day was over the fort was completely cut off from outside help.
Fort Zeelandia under the Dutch. (File photo)
Seige of Fort Zeelandia
While the battle around Fort Zeelandia was going on, another column of the invading force advanced toward Fort Providentia held by some 500 Dutch troops. Here the Dutch commander decided to meet the attackers on the open field. Within half an hour the defenders were chased back to their fortified fort. Coyett's attempt to relieve Fort Providentia on the same day was also foiled.
April 30 dawned with Koxinga's troops concentrating on attacking the less well-defended Fort Providentia while the Dutch garrison at Fort Zeelandia across the river watched helplessly. On May 2, a white flag was hoisted atop Fort Providentia. Thus ended the first phase of the Sino-Dutch struggle.
The assault on Fort Zeelandia itself began on May 5. The defenders made good use of their long-range guns, which rained death and destruction on the attackers. Three weeks went by during which the fort defense suffered little damage. On May 26 Koxinga called the Dutch garrison to give up resistance. This Coyett turned down. He could well afford to. The fort had been well stocked with food and ammunition and the thick walls had been considerably strengthened during the year past. He figured Batavia would soon rush reinforcements to Taiwan to lift the seige.
The attack was resumed on May 27 with great determination. It resulted in heavy casualties among the rank and file of Koxinga's troops. After that he changed his tactics. Instead of trying to take the fort by direct assault, he decided to starve the Dutch out. He also ordered the construction of 28 elevated gun positions around the fort to pump fire into the thick walls.
The Dutch Surrender
The seige lasted nearly six months. By the end of that time the Dutch ranks had been thinned so much by Koxinga's gunfire and privations that of the original 1500 defenders not more than 500 were left. Their food storage was almost gone and ammunition supply nearly exhausted. The expected reinforcements from Batavia never came. Coyett finally decided to surrender.
In his hour of triumph Koxinga showed magnanimity to his vanquished foe. Under the generous terms of the capitulation, the Dutch were permitted to cart away everything but arms and ammunition. On a November day Coyett and his men marched out of Fort Zeelandia followed by a long column of carts laden with the riches they had accumulated in Taiwan. They departed for Batavia in eight ships, ending 37 years of Dutch occupation of the island.
On the day of the Dutch surrender, Koxinga's troops marched into the dilapidated fort to the thunderous cheer of the Chinese settlers. Koxinga's colors, embroidered with the imperial dragon of the Ming Dynasty, were unfurled proudly atop the fort. A new era in the island's history had begun.
Koxinga's Childhood
Koxinga was the son of Cheng Chih-lung, a soldier of fortune, and his Japanese wife, Tagawa. The boy was born in Japan. Shortly afterward, Cheng returned to China alone to begin his career as a trader pirate. When he became a general in the service of Emperor Lung Wu seven years later, he sent for his wife and son. But the ruling shogun in Japan only permitted the boy to leave for China. Fifteen more years were to elapse before Koxinga's mother was permitted to rejoin her husband and son in Fukien.
There is scanty record about Koxinga's childhood in Japan. By the time he joined his father he had grown into a find lad endowed with unusual intelligence. Still jabbering in Japanese, he began learning Chinese classics under a private tutor. In four years' time, he surprised his teacher by expressing opinions worthy of an ambitious grownup. At the age of 15 Koxinga made the first grade of the series of traditional court examination for scholars.
When he reached 21, Koxinga was sent to Nanking to study under Chien Chien-yi, a leading scholar at the time. The renowned scholar was very much impressed by the young man's talents and re-christened him Ta Mou which means figuratively: a man of large caliber.
During his school days Koxinga had a special fondness for history and the military treatises written by the famous military theoreticians Sun Tsu and Wu Chi. Away from studies, he devoted his time to the arts of fencing, archery and horsemanship. These were far from being scholarly activities in those days. But the time was also far from normal. The entire northern half of the Ming empire had been overrun by the conquering Manchus. In a few years, Koxinga was to draw heavily on his extra-curricular acquired knowledge.
Lord with Imperial Surname
When he was 22 years old, Koxinga was brought by his father into the presence of Emperor Lung Wu. The monarch was struck by the young man's handsome looks and display of talents. "What a pity that we do not have a daughter to make you our son-in-law," said the emperor to Koxinga. As a compensation, the emperor bestowed on his new favorite the dynastic surname of Chu, an honor given only to a very few. Hence the name Koxinga, literally meaning "the lord with the imperial surname."
As the victorious Manchus took one city after another General Cheng Chih-lung his father, who until then had been faithful to the imperial house, began to waver. His change of attitude could not escape the observation of his son and also of the emperor. One day as the monarch was in a mood of utter dejection he received a request from Koxinga for a private audience.
"Your Majesty," said Koxinga, "are you not saddened by the recent behavior .of my father? Sometimes it is hard for a young man to be loyal to his parents and to his monarch at the same time. In my case I can assure you that no matter what my father does I will forever remain your loyal subject."
Emperor Lung Wu was very much moved. He immediately appointed Koxinga commander of the imperial guard with the mission to hold two strategic posts in northern Fukien. Not long after, the young commander was made a marquis.
A few months later Cheng Chih-lung made secret contacts with the Manchus for capitulation. At the same time, he ordered his son to pull back his troops from the front. This Koxinga flatly refused to do. Thereupon, Cheng Chih-lung withheld pay and provisions for his son's troops.
Before Cheng Chih-lung actually surrendered to the advancing enemy, Koxinga made a last-minute effort to change his mind. "Father," said he, "a tiger is a pitiful creature outside the jungle and a whale out of the sea is but a large heap of flesh and bone. You will find yourself at the mercy of the Manchus once your troops are taken away from you. Please consider twice before you take the irrevocable step."
Cheng turned a deaf ear to his son's earnest plea. Disgusted, Koxinga left a note for his father, in which he had this to say: "A father is supposed to set a good example for his son. You have failed to do that. What grieves me more is that you have tried to make a traitor out of me. I have nothing more to say. Only I wish to warn you that you have only yourself to blame for whatever misfortune awaits you as a result of your wrong decision."
Koxinga's prophesy turned out to be remarkably accurate. Cheng Chih-lung was first deprived of his command and then put to confinement by his new masters. Finally, the Manchus beheaded him for failing to bring his son into their camp.
Victorious Commander
After his father crossed the frontline into enemy territory, Koxinga burned his scholar's robe before the altar of the Confucian Temple and prayed fervently that he be given the strength to keep on fighting the Manchus. He was indeed in an unenviable position then. Gathered around him at this dark hour were a handful of his father's old subordinates and some 300 men. They had been separated from the main forces of the emperor.
But Koxinga was not easily given to despair. He brought his small force to Amoy and Kinmen and immediately started rebuilding a fighting army. Gradually, stragglers of Cheng Chih-lung's old command went to join him. As Koxinga's troops grew in size he was further encouraged by a linkup with the troops of his uncle.
In the next 15 years or so, Koxinga fought no less than two-dozen major battles with the Manchus on the mainland. Out of most of these encounters he emerged victorious. As a commander, he was often criticized for his reckless courage, which often put him at the most dangerous point during combat. On several occasions his aides were killed by shells a pen's stroke away from him. But he himself miraculously escaped injury.
Koxinga was also known as a strict disciplinarian. Under no circumstances would he permit his troops to trouble the people. Consequently, he was hailed by the people wherever he went. It was no wonder that he was able to hold the overwhelming forces of the enemy at bay for so many years.
He was equally harsh toward the members of his own family. A short time before his death in Taiwan in 1662 there broke out a scandalous affair between Cheng Ching, his eldest son and heir apparent, and the family governess. The enraged father at once wanted to put the offending son to the sword. The latter, who was then stationed on Kinmen, owed his life to the hesitation of the officer charged with the execution of the order. For Koxinga died soon afterward.
Preparing for National Recovery
After the ouster of the Dutch Koxinga lost no time to convert Taiwan into a strong bastion in preparation for a return to the mainland. This was no mean task. Though Chinese settlers came to the island as early as the 12th century, their number did not exceed 100,000 at the time of Koxinga's arrival. Because it had never received much attention of the government on the mainland, the island had been largely a haven for adventurers like General Cheng Chih-lung and the Dutch
The first thing Koxinga did after his conquest of Taiwan was to transplant the Chinese traditions on the island. This he did by opening schools for the education of the young. He also ordered the construction of the first Confucian Temple in Taiwan as a symbol of the continuation of Chinese culture on the last piece of Ming soil.
Economically, Koxinga divided the fertile land among the original settlers and the dependents of his men for cultivation. Farmers were told to plant sugarcane and make sugar. Residents on the coast were taught to produce salt. He also ordered his soldiers to participate in productive work during their spare time. There was brisk trade with the neighboring islands such as the Philippines, Japan and Okinawa.
Militarily, Koxinga drilled his soldiers intensively for his planned counterattack on the mainland. On the islands of Amoy, Kinmen and the Penghus, he ordered the erection of strong fortifications to bar the Manchus from crossing the Taiwan Straits. The Manchu rulers feared him so much that inhabitants living within 10 miles of the mainland coast were forced to evacuate further inland with a view to preventing Koxinga from getting supply and assistance should he carry out his threat of returning by force. This caused more civilians to flee to Taiwan to join the freedom fighters.
One could well imagine how Koxinga felt when he suddenly found himself gravely ill at the prime of life and at a time when his leadership was needed most. His condition worsened rapidly. He knew the end was approaching fast. Beating his chest with his fist, he cried on his death bed,"O, heavens! Do I have to quit so early while the fatherland is under the alien occupation?" Then he breathed his last. The time was June 1662. Koxinga was only 39 years old.
Had he lived his full years, there is little doubt that Koxinga could have realized his cherished ambitions. Cheng Ching, his son and successor, later had the opportunity to recapture a large part of Fukien when the new rulers of the Chinese mainland were fighting a widespread revolt. But Cheng Ching had neither his father's ability nor his single-minded dedication. In a few years he was again forced to retreat to Taiwan.
With the death of Cheng Ching, the administration of Taiwan passed into the hands of his second son, Cheng Keh-shuang. Unfortunately the character and ability of Koxinga's grandson were even more deplorable. During his brief reign the government was plagued by bickering and intrigues. Military discipline was allowed to deteriorate and defense fortifications were left unmanned. In 1683 the Penghus was captured by the Manchus. Lacking both the resolution and the means to continue resisting the invaders, Cheng Keh-shuang gave up. He was kept a virtual prisoner in Peiping for the rest of his life. The island of Taiwan was then officially made a province of China by the Manchu ruler.
Tercentennial of Koxinga's Arrival
On April 29 this year over 11 million free Chinese in Taiwan meaningfully celebrated the tercentennial of the arrival of Koxinga. A brand new statue of the early freedom-fighter was unveiled on the occasion. People thronged to the Chikang Tower, which was rebuilt out of Fort Providentia by Koxinga as his headquarters, to see the array of historical relics. They saw an exact copy of the treaty on which Frederic Coyett signed the Dutch surrender. Hanging on the wall is the original oil painting of Koxinga done not long after his victory over the Dutch. Exhibited in glass cases are costumes, weapons, tools and other articles in use in Koxinga's days.
The Confucian Temple, built at Koxinga's order, still stands in Taiwan. A shrine erected by posterity to honor the great hero reminds the free Chinese of his undaunted courage in the hour of adversity. On October 25, the day when Taiwan was officially restored to Chinese sovereignty after half a century of Japanese rule, a torch is carried from this shrine to whichever city sponsors the year's provincial athletic meet.
Although Koxinga died without seeing his fondest dream come true, he had set a shining example for the freedom-loving Chinese to follow. His indomitable spirit which burned so fiercely 300 years ago still runs strong in every heart in free China today. The seeds he sowed on the island have borne abundant fruit. In the near future, his cherished goal of returning to the mainland may be realized-three centuries behind his original schedule.