Coxinga and the Fall of the Ming Dynasty: The Pirate King of the Ming Dynasty

by Jonathan Clements

This is the fantastic true story of the infamous pirate; Coxinga who became king of Taiwan and was made a god - twice. From humble origins, Coxinga's father became the richest man in China and Admiral of the Emperor's navy during the Ming Dynasty. As his eldest son, Coxinga was given the best education and developed a love of poetry and the study of Confucius. From this unlikely beginning, it took the invasion of south China by the Manchu and the subsequent loss of both his parents - his father defected to the Manchu and his mother, a Japanese Samurai, died in battle - to turn Coxinga from scholar to warrior. Fiercely loyal to his exiled Emperor, Coxinga fought against overwhelming odds until his defeat drove him out to sea and over to Taiwan - at the time a lawless set of islands inhabited by cannibals. Self-styled king of Taiwan, Coxinga died at the moment of his triumph. His descendants ruled the island for two decades.

Genres: History, China, Nonfiction, Biography, Pirates, Asia, 17th Century

436 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2005

About the author

Jonathan Clements is an author, translator, biographer and scriptwriter. His non-fiction works include biographies of Confucius, Marco Polo, Mao Zedong, Koxinga and Qin Shihuangdi. He also writes for NEO magazine and is the co-author of encyclopedias of anime and Japanese television dramas.

Reviews

[Justin Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recommended to me by my friend Reid Yankowski after I asked him for a book about Chinese history that is structured in a similar way to Roman history ie focused on the achievements of an individual.

The book was eye-opening. I am still learning about this region, and seeing the historical interaction between East and West has helped me better understand the modern day.

At a macro level, Coxinga highlights that people are people. It doesn't matter if it's the Romans or the Ming; power, wealth, and beliefs drive people.

I would recommend to anyone looking to learn about Chinese history.

[Walt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many books refer to Coxinga as one of the greatest pirates in history. This is one of the best books available about him. It culls the factual Coxinga from the fictional by using Chinese and European sources.

[Truls Ljungström · Rating 5 out of 5]

En lättbegriplig och intressant skildring av piratkungen Coxingas liv. Den fördjupar sig inte vidare mycket i någonting, men det kompenseras av äventyrligt berättande och breda förklaringar av det som faktiskt tas upp. Rekommenderas för nybörjare kring Asiatisk historia.

[Tai-chi Kuo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jonathan Clements is brilliant and witty in recounting Zheng Chenggong's biography! He writes with a flourish that makes this action-packed history exciting to read and has some genuinely funny moments too.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 really, rounded up.

Everyone's favorite half-Chinese half-Japanese pirate loyalist's only (that I know of) biography in english. Probably due to a scarcity in sources, about half of this book is really about the politics of the late Ming, the early Qing, and the bumbling and inept Dutch Empire vis-a-vis East Asia trade networks.

[Dangermousie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read it ages ago but was reshelving books and came across this and remembered how much I enjoyed reading about an era and personalit(ies) I was previously not familiar with. A bit slim (I tend to favor door-stoppers when it comes to history), but still a worthwhole read.

[Galatea · Rating 5 out of 5]

A comprehensive biography of one of 鄭成功 Zheng Chenggong, also known as 國姓爺 Guo Xingye / Kok Sengya, perhaps the last person who could have saved the dying Ming dynasty.

This book goes DEEP into the historical and cultural context, which I love, though it might be a bit much for some, as the titular character only starts to take center stage after 3 whole chapters of background, both of the Ming's decline, and of the Zheng family's history, looking at Coxinga's background coming from smugglers and pirates, raised with a devotion and loyalty that his father lacked, as he rallied against the new wave of unrest from above that would later establish the Qing, a dynasty he would never recognize. He expelled the Dutch from Taiwan initially as a temporary measure to recoup his forces to retake the mainland once again, but it was never meant to be. Indirectly, he paved the way for the inclusion of Taiwan into the wider Sinosphere, as the Qing won and brought Taiwan into their domain.

The inclusion of sources from all sides; Chinese, Japanese, Dutch, Spanish, and English, is astounding, and makes for a realistic scene of the time that is no less dramatic and captivating.

[Shahbaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Usually, the kind of history books I've read have been on something bigger than a Pirate/Rebel who went against the Qing Empire but I somehow got a hold of this book because I didn't have anything else at the time & Jonathan Clements didn't disappoint.

[Hunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

a super interesting story but boy was it dense 😵‍💫

[Jeffrey Powanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although marketed as a popular biography of legendary 17th Century Ming loyalist Zheng Chenggong, a.k.a. Coxinga, this is really a sweeping historical epic of the most fascinating period in Chinese history: the four-decade fall of the Ming dynasty (from 1644 to 1683). It's thoroughly enjoyable; it reads like a James Clavell blockbuster novel.

The book features incredibly daring exploits, astoundingly complex military campaigns, clashes of several different cultures (Manchu, Han Chinese, Jesuit, Dutch, Portuguese, and native Taiwanese), and byzantine deceits and betrayals. Although Coxinga is a central character, many other historical figures occasionally dominate the narrative: Nicholas Iquan (Coxinga's cunning and immensely wealthy father), Tagawa Matsu (Coxinga's Japanese mother), Li Zicheng (rebel leader who toppled the last Ming emperor), Wu Sangui (Ming general and Qing feudatory), Captain China (Li Dan, Chinese merchant), Frederik Coyett (Dutch governor of Taiwan), Zheng Jing (Coxinga's son and heir), and Adam Schall (Jesuit astronomer and imperial advisor).

Despite being worshipped as a god today in China, Taiwan, and southeast Asia, Coxinga was surprisingly unsuccessful in most of his military misadventures. He'd assemble an impressive armada and a numerically superior army and then various factors—weather, betrayal, indecision, misfortune—would cause the attack to fail. In 1662, events finally worked in his favor and he conquered Taiwan—then died soon after.

Clements is a wonderful storyteller, but his narrative relies mostly on Western sources. Oddly, he translates the reign names of Chinese emperors; for instance, the second Qing emperor is repeatedly referred to as Emperor of Hearty Prosperity. Most Westerners know him as Kangxi.

For more insight into Coxinga's character, I also read the novel Lord of Formosa by Joyce Bergvelt, a Dutch writer, and Lost Colony by Tonio Andrade, a history of the 1661-62 Sino-Dutch War. I enjoyed all three, but found Clements's book to be superior for its breadth and depth. It's the most entertaining account of Coxinga and the fall of the Ming.

I also plan to re-read Louis Cha's classic martial arts novel The Deer and the Cauldron, which starts in 1662, soon after the death of Coxinga.

[Max · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not often that you find a *non-fiction* book about a half-Japanese, half-Chinese pirate overlord cum God engaged in a desperate, doomed struggle to save his nation from a ruthless force of foreign invaders. Ming Dynsaty loyalist and pirate king Coxinga (Zheng Chenggong) is one of those improbably awesome characters that get mentioned as an aside in some history textbook or lecture, and never investigated further, much to the student's frustration. This is a competently-written journalistic book about a fabulous subject - definitely worth a read by anyone interested in China, as so many seem to be these days.

[Pei-jean Lu · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who was born in Taiwan Koxinga's life and story is well ingrained into the very fabric of Taiwan's history. For me having been brought up in Australia and not knowing much beyond the fact that he was a pirate and was half Japanese and half Chinese, I found more insight into his life than my parents had ever told me. Though perhaps not as thorough as I would normally like for a biography, it still offers a good insight into the history of Taiwan under Dutch occupation and the political climate of the time. Reading this also enhanced the experience of being in Tainan and seeing the fort at Anping, the Koxinga family shrine and Chikan.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jonathan Clements weaves a fascinating account of the rise and fall of the Zheng clan. This is several histories in one: that of a Chinese family, the rise and fall of empires, the colonization of Taiwan, the rise of Western colonialism, missionaries in China, and the economic history of the Pacific Rim.

http://fireandsword.blogspot.com/2007...

[bkwurm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting book. It shows how precarious the Manchus' hold onto China in the years immediately preceding their conquest was. The titular character certainly squandered his opportunity to retake Nanjing and possibly all of China for the Ming.

Unfortunately, possibly due to the paucity of available material, it is a very thin book.

[Daniel Burton-Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent introduction to the Ming loyalist pirate, though the author can read neither the Chinese or Japanese source materials, and has the irritating habit of translating reign names.

[Huub · Rating 3 out of 5]

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