The Kingdom of Tungning: Twenty-One Years of a Dynasty That Wrote Taiwan into Its Name

30-Second Overview: On February 1, 1662, the Dutch official signed the instrument of surrender, and Koxinga took possession of Fort Zeelandia. In June of the same year, Koxinga passed away; Zheng Jing succeeded him following a political struggle, renaming "East Capital" to "Tungning" in 1664. For the next twenty-one years, the Zheng clan established an administrative system of one prefecture, two prefectures (zhou), and three supervisory commissions on the island, implemented a military-agricultural settlement system, established Confucian temples and civil service examinations, and traded with Japan and the British East India Company. After the Battle of Penghu in 1683, Zheng Keqiang surrendered to the Qing, ending Tungning. The duration is calculated from the takeover of Fort Zeelandia in 1662; if calculated from Koxinga's landing in 1661, it spans twenty-two years.

One Key, Two National Names

On February 1, 1662, the Governor of Tayouan signed the instrument of surrender at Fort Zeelandia. A few days later, two thousand Dutch citizens boarded eight ships and departed, while Koxinga entered the fortress to take possession of its assets. ¹

The siege had begun in April 1661. Leading twenty-five thousand men from Liaoluo Bay in Kinmen, Koxinga utilized the high tide to land at Luerhmen. He first captured the weakly defended Fort Provintia before encircling Fort Zeelandia. The siege lasted nine months, only breaking the defenders' morale in January 1662 when the Zheng army bombarded Fort Utrecht. ¹

After landing on June 14, 1661, Koxinga established six administrative departments, renamed Cankun to "East Capital Mingjing" (東都明京), established Chengtian Prefecture and the counties of Tianxing and Wannian, and designated Anping Town as the capital region. ¹ This marked the beginning of the "East Capital."

However, he passed away on June 23, 1662, at the age of thirty-eight—only thirteen months after his landing. ¹ This was followed by a succession struggle between Zheng Jing and his uncle, Zheng Xi. Supported by Chen Yonghua and Feng Xifan, Zheng Jing marched into Luerhmen, defeated Huang Zhao (who had supported Zheng Xi), and secured the title of Prince of Yanping. ²

In 1664, believing there was no longer a need to refer to the capital as a "temporary capital" following the death of the Yongli Emperor, Zheng Jing renamed "East Capital Mingjing" to "Tungning" (東寧) and established his capital in Anping Town. ¹ From then on, the name "Tungning" became the designation for this regime on the island.

One Prefecture, Two Prefectures, and Three Commissions

The administrative divisions of Tungning evolved through two stages.

During Koxinga's era, there was one prefecture and two counties: under Chengtian Prefecture were Tianxing County and Wannian County; the seat of Tianxing was in Jiali Xing, and Wannian was in Erzanhang. ¹

During Zheng Jing's era, this changed to one prefecture, two zhou (prefectures/sub-prefectures), and three supervisory commissions: Chengtian Prefecture was retained, but the two counties were upgraded to Tianxing zhou and Wannian zhou, with twenty-four li (neighborhoods) under each. To manage indigenous affairs, three Anfu (Pacification) Commissions—Penghu, Beilu (North Road), and Nanlu (South Road)—were established, creating a parallel system of "one prefecture, two zhou, and three commissions." The capital region of Chengtian Prefecture was further divided into four wards (fang): Dong'an, Xiding, Zhenbei, and Ningnan. These wards were managed by qian-shou (officials), and the li were managed by zongli (administrators), responsible for grassroots civil matters such as household registration, migration, marriage, births, and deaths. ¹

In terms of officialdom, under the Prince of Yanping was a Consultative Military Advisor (Ziyi Canjun) who managed state affairs. Under the Consultative Office were six departments: Personnel, Revenue, Rites, Justice, War, and Works. Other institutions included the Bureau of Observation, the Bureau of Proclamation, the Bureau of Adjudication, the Bureau of Merit, the Institute of Sages, and the Academy of Heirs. ¹ During Zheng Jing's western expedition in 1674, Chen Yonghua was appointed as the General Controller of Tungning (Tungning Zongzhi), a position ranking above the six departments. ¹

While small in scale, this system functioned as a complete state apparatus: encompassing household registration, taxation, education, justice, and military affairs.

Settling Troops in the Fields

The most pressing issue for Tungning was food supply.

Immediately after landing, Koxinga promoted the policy of "settling troops in agriculture" (yu bing yu nong), ordering officers and soldiers to establish military colonies across Taiwan. This reached as far north as Carmel (噶瑪蘭) and as far south as Langjiao (瑯嶠). Land was allocated by garrison and reclaimed accordingly. ¹ These settlements solved the problem of military logistics but also altered the island's landscape and human geography: large-scale reclamation encroached upon indigenous territories, leading to multiple armed conflicts with polities such as the Middag Kingdom (Dadu Wangguo). Due to this resistance, the Zheng clan's actual effective rule extended roughly from Erlin (in present-day Changhua) in the north to Qiaoteng (in present-day Chiaotou, Pingtung) in the south. ¹

In other words, the territory of the "Kingdom of Tungning" was not the entire island, but rather the southwest combined with several military colony outposts. This limitation is often overlooked when discussing the Zheng clan's "state-building."

Chen Yonghua and the Three Fields

If the Zheng clan provided the skeleton of Tungning, Chen Yonghua was its vital organs.

Chen Yonghua was born in Tong'an, Fujian, in 1634; his courtesy name was Fu-fu. In 1648, when Qing forces captured Tong'an, his father, Chen Ding, committed suicide to remain loyal to the Ming. In 1656, through the recommendation of Vice Minister of War Wang Zhongxiao, he engaged in political discussions with Koxinga and was subsequently hired as a mentor for Zheng Jing. ²

After Koxinga's death in 1662, Chen Yonghua and Feng Xifan helped install Zheng Jing. Upon his succession, Zheng Jing appointed him as the Consultative Military Advisor, stating that "all matters of military and state must be consulted with him." ² In 1664, when Zheng Jing retreated from Xiamen to Taiwan, he entrusted the administration of the state to Chen Yonghua. ²

His contributions can be summarized in a list: Economically, he promoted military colonies using rice as the primary crop; developed sugarcane production for sugar export to Japan and Britain; introduced brine-evaporation methods to improve salt quality; and advised Zheng Jing to bribe Qing maritime defense officials to facilitate smuggling, thereby stabilizing cloth prices which had surged due to the "Great Clearance" edict. ² In education, he established Taiwan's first Confucian temple in Zhuozaipu in 1666 (now the Tainan Confucian Temple, known as the "First School in Taiwan"), set up local schools with enrollment at age eight, and formulated civil service examination rules: Tianxing and Wannian zhou held provincial exams twice every three years; successful candidates proceeded through prefecture and academy exams to enter the Imperial Academy (Taixue), while indigenous people were exempt from corvée labor upon enrollment. ² In public security, he introduced the Baojia system (groups of ten households forming a pai, ten pai forming a jia, and ten jia forming a bao), requiring reporting on migration, occupation, marriage, births, and deaths, and prohibited gambling. ²

During Zheng Jing's western expedition in 1674, Chen Yonghua remained in Chengtian Prefecture as the General Controller of Tungning to manage logistics. ² After Zheng Jing returned to Taiwan in 1680, Chen Yonghua was marginalized by Feng Xifan and Liu Guoxuan. Provoked by Feng Xifan's words, he resigned from his positions as General Controller and Brave Guard, retiring to Longhuyan, where he passed away in July of that year; he was posthumously honored with the name Wenzheng. ²

Doing Business at Sea

The economic lifeline of Tungning lay at sea.

Between 1665 and 1672, trade between Tungning and Japan reached its peak. Large quantities of metals were imported to arm the Zheng army with armor and weaponry. Japanese merchants were even permitted to reside in Keelung, and the Japanese referred to Zheng Jing as the "King of Tungning." ¹

In 1672, Zheng Jing invited the British East India Company to Taiwan. The two sides signed a trade treaty, exporting sugar and deer hides while importing Western firearms and cannons. They also requested British assistance in training artillerymen and borrowing British gunners during wartime. ¹

The regime's self-definition was also reflected in its diplomatic documents. During negotiations with the Qing, Zheng Jing claimed Taiwan was "not within [the Qing] territory" and described it as "connected to Japan in the east and kicking Luoyang (the Philippines) in the south, with a convergence of people and flowing commerce." He described his regime as "Establishing the Kingdom of Tungning" and "setting up a new world outside the existing borders." ¹ His refusal to adopt the Manchu hairstyle (shaving the forehead) eventually caused negotiations to collapse.

Twenty-One Years Later

The Revolt of the Three Feudatories broke out in 1673, and Zheng Jing responded by crossing the sea to join Geng Jingzhong in a western expedition, occupying Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, Chaozhou, Huizhou, and other areas. However, internal strife within the alliance led to disaster; after Geng Jingzhong surrendered to the Qing, Zheng Jing suffered successive defeats. In 1680, he fully withdrew from Xiamen and retreated to Taiwan. ¹

On March 17 of the following year, Zheng Jing died at age forty due to injuries sustained while hunting. Before his death, he entrusted the regency to Zheng Ke'e, but a coup led by Zheng clan relatives alongside Feng Xifan and Liu Guoxuan resulted in Zheng Ke'e's murder. The twelve-year-old Zheng Keqiang was subsequently installed. ¹

In June 1683, Shi Lang was dispatched by the Kangxi Emperor to conquer Taiwan. On July 10, he crushed the navy led by Liu Guoxuan in the waters of Penghu, and on the 16th, he occupied Penghu. ¹ In September, after consulting with his ministers, Zheng Keqiang submitted a petition of surrender; Zhu Shugui, the Prince of Ningjing, committed suicide while wearing Ming-style clothing. On October 8, Shi Lang entered Taiwan to accept the surrender, marking the fall of Tungning. ¹

From the takeover of Fort Zeelandia in February 1662 to Zheng Keqiang's surrender in October 1683, a total of twenty-one years elapsed—this is also the calculation method adopted by the National Taiwan Museum of History. The Qing government subsequently forcibly relocated Ming imperial clansmen, the Zheng royal family, and civil/military officials to mainland China; even the royal tombs of Koxinga and Zheng Jing in Taiwan were all relocated. ¹ A regime named "Tungning" ultimately left not even its graves on the island.

Further Reading:

• The Dutch and the Ming Zheng Period — An overview of the same sixty years
• Shi Lang — The Battle of Penghu and the "Abandonment vs. Retention" debate
• Koxinga — The man before Tungning

References