Zheng Chenggong (1624–1662; also known as Koxinga, given name Mingyan; courtesy name Damu) was renowned as a Chinese general who fought the Qing court and as a national hero who recaptured Taiwan. , he was born Zheng Sen in Nan’an(Fujian Province) and was made commander-in-chief of the Middle Army of the Imperial Encampment of Emperor Longwu of the Southern Ming dynasty at the age of 22. In 1646 (the third year of the reign of Emperor Shunzhi), he recruited soldiers to fight against the Qing court and won three major battles. After wiping out the principal forces of the Qing army stationed in Fujian, he marched his troops north to capture Zhoushan of Zhejiang Province, for which he was made an imperial prince by Emperor Yongli of the Southern Ming dynasty. In 1658 (the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Shunzhi of Qing dynasty), he commanded 170,000 army and navy troops in a northward expedition. Sailing into the Yangtze River the following year, his fleet seized Zhenjiang and set sail for Nanjing. Falling into the trap of the Qing army, they were routed and retreated to Xiamen. In 1661, on the twenty-third day of the third month of the eighteenth year of the reign of Emperor Shunzhi, he commanded more than twenty thousand troops and hundreds of warships out of Jinmen on Taiwan via Penghu, and landed at Lu’ermen and Heliaogang in Taiwan. With help from the locals, they seized Chikan town (modern-day Tainan) which was loosely guarded by the Dutch army, before moving on to besiege Taiwan town (modern-day Anping). Helpless and hopeless, the Dutch governor Frederick Coyett signed an instrument of surrender. Zheng Chenggong then took to abolish the systems installed by the Dutch colonialists and establish corresponding administrative organs, making an outstanding contribution to the development of the island.
