Zheng Zhilong
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Zheng Zhilong (traditional Chinese: 鄭芝龍; pinyin: Zhèng Zhīlóng; Wade-Giles: Cheng Chih-lung; 1604 – 1661) also known as Nicholas Iquan Gaspard was a 17th century Chinese merchant, pirate and admiral for the Ming Empire. He was the father of Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga), also a military leader. Qing raised Zheng Count of second class. His company was known as Iquan's Party.
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[edit] Names
- Name: traditional Chinese: 鄭芝龍; simplified Chinese: 郑芝龙
- Japanese Romaji: Tei Shiryuu
- Surname: 鄭 (ch: Zhèng; jp: Tei)
- Western Name: Nicholas Iquan Gaspard
- Baptismal name: Nicholas
- Other names: Jasper (in Portuguese Icoan)
[edit] History
[edit] Early life
He was born in Fujian, the son of a mid-level financial official for the Quanzhou government. Once, when Zheng was a child, he wanted to eat a longan fruit. Finding a tree, he threw a small stone toward tree in hopes of knocking some fruit loose Quanzhou mayor Tsai(蔡) was passing by, and his hat was knocked off by the stone Zheng had thrown. Due to the child's age, the mayor forgave Zheng and released him, but Zheng‘s father never forgave him for embarrassing the family, and forced him out of the family home at the age of 17.
[edit] Businessman and pirate
In 1628, Zheng Zhilong defeated the Ming Dynasty's fleet. Tsai, the mayor who had forgiven Zheng for de-hatting him so many years ago, came to Zheng and asked for a position in the Ming navy. Zheng granted this request.
Zheng studied business under his uncle in Macau at the age of 18. He became baptized as a Catholic in Macao, receiving the Christian name Nicholas Gaspard [1]. He later worked for Li Dan, a Chinese businessman in Nagasaki, Japan, where Zheng married Tagawa Matsu, a local woman. In 1622, when Dutch forces took over the Pescadores archipelago off the Taiwan Strait, Lee Dan sent Zheng to Pescadores to work with the Dutch as a translator. The Dutch, wishing to control and monopolize commerce routes to Japan, collaborated with Chinese pirates; Zheng was one of the collaborators, engaging in robberies along coastal China.[1] After Lee died, Zheng acquired his fleet of ships in 1623. Zheng's son, Zheng Chenggong, was born in Nagasaki in 1624. In the same year, due to the feudal nature of Japan during the Edo period, Zheng relocated his enterprise to Taiwan. He built ten outposts in the island's southwestern coastal region, between Tainan and Chiayi, but was evicted shortly after when the Dutch arrived on the island.
[edit] Lead 18 G challenge Ming‘s fleet
18 G (18芝) were tough piracy included 18 famous Chinese piracy and raised from 1625 by Zheng Zhilong that is his gang,members included Shi Lang‘s father Shi Dashan (施大瑄). They began challenge Ming‘s fleet and win series victorys, at last Ming Dynasty southern fleet surrender to 18 G and appointed Zheng Zhilong was major general in 1628.
But not all piracy promise join in Ming‘s navy, it happen separate inner 18G and Ming order Zheng Zhilong should arrest his friends of piracy from 1628 to 1638. The famous battle was on sea of Hong Kong (near Humen Town).
[edit] Ming and Dutch Admiral
After join in Ming‘s navy, Zheng and his wife resettled on an island on the coast of Fujian, where he operated a large armed pirate fleet 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 (Beijing) in June 1644. After the capture of Nanjing in 1645, Zhilong accepted an offer to 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ npm.gov.tw - Nicholas Iquan. (Chinese)
[edit] References
- Manthorpe, Jonathan. Forbidden Nation: A History of Taiwan. New York, 2005.
- Michael, Franz. The Origin of Manchu Rule in China. Baltimore, 1942.
- Andrade, Tonio. "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, 2004 Dec.; 15(4):415-444. [2]
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