Cheng Cheng Kung Landing Day
Cheng Cheng Kung Landing Day, celebrated on April 29, commemorates a significant historical event in Taiwan when the Chinese pirate and Ming dynasty loyalist Cheng Cheng Kung, also known as Koxinga, successfully ousted the Dutch colonial forces from the island in 1661. This event is notable as it represents one of the rare instances during European colonialism when a non-European power reclaimed territory from a European colonizer. Koxinga, born in 1624 to a wealthy family in southeastern China, rose to prominence after rejecting his father's allegiance to the Manchu dynasty, which had overthrown the Ming dynasty.
After years of conflict along the Chinese coastline, Koxinga turned his attention to Taiwan, where he seized the Dutch strongholds of Zeelandia and the settlement that would become Tainan. His victory marked the end of Dutch colonial rule on the island, leading to a brief establishment of a Ming loyalist government. Although Koxinga died in 1662, his legacy endures, and the day of his landing is observed annually, reflecting Taiwan's complex colonial history and the struggle for sovereignty. This day serves as a reminder of Taiwan's past and the resilience of those who fought for its independence.
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Cheng Cheng Kung Landing Day
Cheng Cheng Kung Landing Day
During the long history of European colonialism, it was rare indeed for non-European peoples to be able to oust a European power once it had established a foothold in a foreign land. One such rare incident occurred on April 29, 1661, when the Chinese pirate and Ming dynasty loyalist Cheng Cheng Kung landed on Taiwan and ousted the Dutch, who had brought settlers to the island and constructed several forts. Cheng Cheng Kung is more commonly known as Koxinga, but the anniversary of his conquest is honored every year in Taiwan as Cheng Cheng Kung Landing Day.
Taiwan is a large island off the southeastern shore of China. It has been inhabited by human beings for at least 10,000 years, and for most of its history occupied by indigenous peoples and claimed by no nation-state. Some Japanese settlers arrived in the 1100s, but the island was never incorporated into Japan. The first Europeans to reach its shores were the Portuguese, who arrived around 1590 and gave it the name Formosa, which means “beautiful” in Portuguese. The Spanish also attempted to establish a presence on the island, which was considered valuable because of its proximity to China and its position along the nautical trade routes, but the Dutch, who arrived in 1622, forced both groups out. The Dutch also brought colonists and began to build forts on the southern coast of Taiwan. Their strongholds were the fortress of Zeelandia and a settlement that would become the modern-day city of Tainan.
Koxinga (Cheng Cheng Kung) was born in 1624 to a powerful family in southeastern China that had accumulated vast wealth from the sea, both by trade and by piracy. The family had prospered under the Ming dynasty, which ruled China for centuries, but in the 1640s invaders from Manchuria (now part of northeastern China) overthrew the Ming and established a Manchu dynasty instead. Koxinga's father swore fealty to the Manchus, but Koxinga himself decided to fight them. He raised a powerful fleet of ships and battled with the Manchus along the Chinese coastline during the 1650s but was ultimately forced to retreat. Koxinga decided to make Taiwan his base of operations, and so he invaded in April 1661 and took both Zeelandia and Tainan, forcing the Dutch to abandon the island in 1662. Koxinga died that same year and was buried in Tainan, but his successors established a Ming center of resistance on Taiwan and successfully fought off the Manchus until 1683, when they were finally conquered.