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Chapter 2 Fifteenth Century Onwards－An East Asian Commercial Hub and Base for Fishermen, Businessmen, and Pirates |
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Before the Age of Exploration in the 16th century, Taiwan was quite isolated. Little was known about it, even in neighboring China. Some scholars believe that an island referred to as Yijhou (夷洲) during the Three Kingdoms Period (三國時代 222-265 A.D.) was Taiwan. Supporting evidence is lacking, however. Others assert that the Liuciou (流求, today, 琉球) mentioned in the historical records of the Sui (隋 581-618) and Yuan (元 1279-1367) dynasties refer to either Taiwan or a group of islands to the east that includes Taiwan. Still other researchers argue that Liuciou refers to Okinawa.From the Tang dynasty (唐 618-907) onwards, China’s external trade began to prosper, especially along the southeastern coast. During the Sung (宋 960-1279) and Yuan dynasties, Quanzhou Port (泉州港) grew into the largest port in China and perhaps even the world. Merchants from Fujian (福建) became active throughout East Asia. Taiwan produced few goods of value, however, and was thus largely ignored by traders. It was not until the Yuan dynasty that a patrol outpost (巡檢司) was established on the Penghu (澎湖) Islands (the Pescadores) in the Taiwan Strait and the archipelago was incorporated into China’s territory as part of Jinjiang County (晉江縣) of Fujian Province. Even at this point China made no effort to establish political sovereignty over Taiwan proper, however.
Trade in East Asia continued to prosper during the Ming (明 1368-1644) dynasty, especially from the 15th century onwards. Regular trade routes began to take shape, and Taiwan found itself sitting astride the new shipping lanes. The outside world slowly began to take note of the island. In the latter half of the 16th century, the Ming court lifted its ban on commercial travel overseas. Fujianese merchants once again became very active in the ports of East Asia. Towards the end of the 16th century, the Japanese government also began to encourage overseas trade in the East, and merchants responded enthusiastically. Further, with Europeans expanding the scope of their international trade, the flow of goods among China, Japan, and Southeast Asia grew accordingly.
It was under these circumstances that people became increasingly aware of Taiwan’s existence. The Chinese called this mysterious island Siao Liuciou (小琉球), Siao Dongdao (小東島), Beigang (北港), or Dongfan (東番), as well as a number of names with pronunciations similar to “Taiwan,” such as Dayuan (大員), Taiyuan (臺員), and Dawan (大灣). For the Japanese, Taiwan was Takayama Koku or Takasago (高山國), meaning “country of high mountains,” while Europeans named it “Formosa,” the Portuguese word for “beautiful.”
Although China prohibited direct trade with foreign countries, the island’s proximity to the mainland made it very important geographically. As none of the countries claimed jurisdiction over the island, Taiwan gradually emerged as a site of international trade for all nations of the world, in addition to being a place where both pirates and fishermen could make a living.
Fishing Grounds
Taiwan is surrounded by sea, and the mingling of cold and warm currents nearby makes for rich fishing grounds, with the Penghu Islands and the western coast of Taiwan becoming particularly renowned. Most prized of all is the mullet, known as “black gold” (烏金) because of its black scales and roe, which is a Chinese delicacy that can fetch a high price. Mullet migrate south every winter to the area off the shore of southern Taiwan to lay their eggs. Very early on, Chinese fishermen started coming to Taiwan to harvest mullet roe.
According to Ming dynasty historical records, early settlers on Taiwan in the 16th century consisted mainly of fishermen. From Keelung (雞籠) and Danshuei (淡水) in the north, right down to southern Taiwan, these early Chinese visitors left their mark. It was said that an experienced fisherman could reach Keelung or Danshuei from the mouth of the Min River (閩江) in northern Fujian Province in only one long day or night of sailing. For example, it is recorded that fishermen from Fuzhou (福州) sailed to Danshuei on the night of the fourth day of the fifth lunar month, arrived at dawn, fished, and then returned to the mainland to make preparations for the Dragon Boat Festival, which falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. Taiwan quickly became a fishing ground frequented by Chinese from the mainland. This has led some scholars to believe that most early Chinese settlers to Taiwan were fishermen. The fishing village at Cianjhen (前鎮) in Kaohsiung City is possibly the site of their earliest settlement. Further research is needed if this theory is to be confirmed, however.
A Free Port for Traders from Okinawa, China, and Japan
Since Taiwan had no sovereign government and no country assumed jurisdiction over it, the island was free from levies and administrative interference, making it a port where merchants from different countries could trade freely. Among these, Chinese and Japanese traders were the most active.
Following the establishment of the Ming dynasty, the new rulers enforced a ban on shipping in an attempt to discourage Japanese piracy. Chinese were not allowed to set sail, although the Ming court allowed non-Chinese some limited trading privileges under a vassal-tribute policy. After 1398, Okinawan merchants began to pursue trade with Southeast Asian countries such as Siam (Thailand). In 1422, they started paying tribute to the Ming court and conducting trade with the blessing of the Chinese empire. The Ming court even conferred upon the Okinawan leader the title of King of Okinawa. Okinawan merchants therefore enjoyed a privileged position and, in turn, held the Ming court in high respect. Okinawan emissaries paid frequent tribute to the court. The activities of Okinawan traders helped to establish a small trading circuit in East Asia.
After 1570, the influence of Okinawa began to wane, however. At the same time, the outside world was beginning to take note of Taiwan, due to its location en route to Japan. Four small islands to the north of Taiwan—Keelung Island (基隆島), Mianhua Island (棉花嶼), Huaping Island (花瓶嶼), and Pengjia Island (彭佳嶼)—were important landmarks for Chinese vessels sailing between China and Japan via Okinawa, as were the supply stops at Keelung and Danshuei. At the beginning of the Ming dynasty, the main island of Okinawa was known as Da Liuciou (大琉球 Big Okinawa). Probably sometime after 1373, the name Siao Liuciou (Small Okinawa) was given to the area of northern Taiwan that includes Keelung and Danshuei.
With the decline of the Okinawan traders, Chinese merchants started to take their place and grew more familiar with Taiwan. During the 16th century, the Chinese named Taiwan as Siao Dongdao, Dongfan, and Beigang. In the latter half of the 16th century, the Ming ban on sea trade was lifted in Fujian Province allowing trade and fishing to flourish in southern Taiwan. Merchants and fishermen from China and Japan gathered at Dayuan, now Anping (安平) in modern-day Tainan (臺南) County. Several different pronunciations of Dayuan in the Southern Fujianese dialect—such as Taiyuan, and Taiwan (臺灣)—were in common use at the time, but eventually the name Taiwan came to refer to the entire island.
At the end of the 1560s, officials from Fujian and Guangdong provinces cooperated to put down the pirate Zeng Yi-ben (曾一本), bringing relative stability to the Fujian coast. In response to a proposal by Fujian Governor Tu Ze-min (塗澤民) in 1567, the Ming government replaced its absolute ban on trade with a looser vessel-licensing system of restrictions (船引制度), in which local vessels were permitted to sail from Yuegang (月港) in Zhangzhou Prefecture’s (漳州) Haicheng County (海澄縣). Under this licensing system, Chinese merchants were allowed to sail either east or west for trading. Taiwan had few natural resources and trade was limited, however, so Fujianese merchants traveled primarily to Japan and only used Taiwan for stopovers. Han Chinese came to northern Taiwan mostly to barter with the aborigines, purchasing sulfur, deer hides, and gold while selling cloths, iron, and other goods. Southern Taiwan remained the realm of fishermen.
Japanese merchants were also very active at the end of the 16th century. In April 1565, the Spanish fleet occupied the Philippines, and discovered that both Japanese and Chinese merchants were making annual trips to Luzon (呂宋) for business. In 1592, Japan was unified under Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豐臣秀吉). Hideyoshi sanctioned official permits (御朱印狀) to Japanese vessels to expand overseas trade, and Japanese trade with Southeast Asian ports, including Siam, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Taiwan, increased as a result. The success of this trade was visible in such gestures as the offering of a collection of local products as a tribute to Hideyoshi in 1593 by Nayasuke Zaemon (納屋助左衛門), a Japanese merchant who had accumulated his wealth from trade with Taiwan and Manila.
During much of the rapid expansion in East Asian trade at the end of the 16th century, the Ming rulers enforced restrictions on sea faring as part of stringent efforts to eliminate Japanese piracy. As a result, both the Penghu Islands and Taiwan proper, located off the coast of the mainland Chinese province of Fujian, became stepping stones and bases for the Japanese wishing to acquire Chinese goods. Dayuan sat on the crossroads of the trade routes connecting China, Japan, and the Philippines, and developed into a free trade zone for merchants from China and other nations. The Japanese merchants, rich in capital and well organized, established a settlement in Baxenboy (北線尾 opposite to Anping harbor, Tainan) to conduct long-term trade in silk and satin with the Chinese. They also came to northern Taiwan to purchase gold, and some of them settled there. Taiwan’s status as a free trading port in East Asia led to a continued growth in trade in the region.
A Pirate Base
Expansion of trade in East Asia inevitably attracted pirates, who hoped to grab a share of the wealth. In fact, many adventurers on the seas at this time engaged in both piracy and commerce, banding together in powerful groups. As the aboriginal people of Taiwan had no islandwide organization to defend themselves, Japanese marauders and other pirates found Taiwan to be an easy target, and used it as a base for piracy.
From the 13th to 16th century, coastal waters from the Korean Peninsula to southern China were plagued by groups of wo kou (倭寇 Japanese pirates). However, by the second half of the 15th century and through the 16th century, most wo kou were in fact Chinese and Korean fugitives, who proved to be an even greater bane than the Japanese. Although China enjoyed prosperity and increased productivity during the Ming dynasty, the government’s ban on sea trade meant that those seeking Chinese commodities frequently resorted to looting and smuggling. Even leading families in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces chose to collaborate with pirates in view of the huge potential profits.
In 1564, pirates who had been raiding Fujian Province were defeated by Chinese general Ci Ji-guang (戚繼光). They fled to Taiwan to loot the port of Keelung and settled there, forcing aborigines to take refuge in eastern Taiwan. The Ming general Shen You-rong (沈有容) was sent to “Dongfan” (Taiwan) in 1602 to suppress pirates who had occupied the island as a base for raids on maritime traders. By 1617, however, pirates had returned to Taiwan and taken Jhuchan (竹塹), an old harbor of today’s Hsinchu, as a base for islandwide operations. Not until 1636, when the Japanese government sealed their country to outsiders and prohibited overseas travel, did the problem of Japanese pirates finally come to an end.
The mountainous provinces of Fujian and Guangdong had limited farmland, and many people relied on fishing and commerce for their livelihoods. The Ming prohibition of maritime trade led some coastal residents to risk their lives as pirates, who thus jeopardized maritime trade. Penghu served as their first base until Ming troops drove them to Taiwan proper. Lin Dao-cian (林道乾) led the first pirate group to establish Taiwan as a base. Lin’s pirates harassed the coastal region of China but, in 1564, were defeated by military governor Yu Da-you (俞大猷). The pirates made a strategic retreat to Beigang (Taiwan), extending their influence throughout central and southern Taiwan. Lin did not consider Taiwan a long-term base, however, and ruthlessly slaughtered aborigines before fleeing via either Anping or Dagushan (打鼓山 in modern-day Kaohsiung) to Jhancheng (占城) on the Malay Peninsula. After Lin Dao-cian’s death, another pirate, Lin Fong (林鳳), rose to take his place. He invaded Taiwan via Penghu in 1574 but was driven to the Philippines by the joint efforts of the troops of regional commander Hu Shou-ren (胡守仁) and aboriginal warriors.
The story of pirate and pirate-trader groups in Taiwan would not be complete without mentioning Yan Sih-ci (顏思齊) and Jheng Jhih-long (鄭芝龍). Yan Sih-ci was a native of Haicheng County in Fujian’s Zhangzhou Prefecture, but lived in the Japanese city of Nagasaki. In 1624, Yan and Jheng organized a gang of 28 conspirators and attempted to revolt against the Japanese shogunate. The group fled to Taiwan when their plot was exposed. Yan died the next year and Jheng Jhih-long assumed command, leading the group to great fame and fortune.
Jheng Jhih-long, or Jheng Yi-guan (鄭一官), was born in Quanzhou Prefecture’s (泉州府) Nan’an (南安) County in Fujian Province. He was a valiant warrior and keen strategist. After establishing his Taiwan base in 1624, he led his band of pirates back and forth across the Taiwan Strait to raid the mainland Chinese coast. He enforced strict discipline among his men and performed small works of charity, which made him popular with common people. Jheng was able to defeat government troops on several occasions, and Ming officials recognized him as a “villain [with a talent] rarely seen in the past or present.” In 1627, government troops were unable to prevent Jheng occupying Xiamen (廈門) on the mainland. Finally, in 1628 the Ming court offered an amnesty and official position in exchange for his allegiance, and Jheng accepted. He then patrolled coastal waters, put down other pirates, and defeated his enemies, all the while rising in rank. By 1639, he had risen to the post of regional commander.
Jheng then proceeded to monopolize coastal trade, requiring every trading vessel to fly his flag. The annual fee for each vessel was 3,000 taels of silver, and Jheng collected more than ten million taels a year from this levy. He put these funds to use, organizing a huge trading fleet. The ships were known as “Yi-guan ships” (一官船), and they could be seen in ports all over East Asia. He also signed contracts with Dutch merchants on Taiwan. His great success as an international trader enabled him to amass a fortune to rival that of the Ming treasury.
Jheng Jhih-long is a rarity in Chinese history, as he was able to play simultaneously the roles of pirate, official, and merchant. His power and influence commanded respect throughout East Asia. During the famine of 1630 in Fujian Province, Jheng assisted many starving victims to cross the strait to Taiwan and then opened land for these new settlers. Even after his surrender to the Ming government in 1628, many of his subordinates remained in Taiwan and maintained contact with the former pirate commander. These followers later led the Han people in Taiwan to rise against Dutch rule (the Guo Huai-yi [郭懷一] incident, discussed in Chapter 3, is one such example) and assisted Jheng’s son Jheng Cheng-gong (鄭成功 Koxinga) in his expedition to Taiwan.
