The missing 500 - Part 4

[Koxinga's tomb in his hometown 南安Nan-an, Hokkien, relocated in 1699 from Tainan Ju-a-vei台南洲仔尾 after a petition to the Qing Court by Koxinga's grandson 鄭克塽Cheng Ke-shuang]

We will never know exactly what had happened to the rattan-shield soldiers藤牌兵 from Taiwan. Official records did not provide any clue. In fact, Chinese historians who tow the official lines often hide/alter the facts in order to glorify the victors. In the present case, the victorious were 施琅Shi-lang [the 明鄭Ming-Cheng turncoat] and the Qing Emperors [Kang-xi康熙 in particular]. However, given the episodic reports of the fighting 藤牌兵 in mainland China and reading between the lines of available historical documents, it is clear that a sizable number of Ming-Cheng soldiers were indeed forced to leave Taiwan.

In statements attributed to 施琅, there apparently had been some discussion over how to handle the defeated Ming-Cheng soldiers, i.e, the POWs. :

First the problems of relocating the soldiers were raised:
“若行移駐，其間有眷口者不少，無眷口者亦多，遠涉長途，不堪艱瘁，逃匿生患，所不能無。又沿途搬運，百姓有策應人夫之苦，經過郡縣，官吏有備給口糧之費，所到地方有撥動民房之擾；開懇耕作，有應給牛種農具之資，又是一番苦累…”
"if we were to relocate them, a large number of them have families and also a significant number without. To travel long distances, it'll be not only too difficult for them but they will also hide and escape. Wherever they traveled through, the locals must provide manpower support and they will need to be fed by local officials. They will also require lodging along the way. And eventually, they will also need farming cattle and equipment - another source of a big problem..."

It would seem that all POWs would be allowed to stay in Taiwan for logistical reasons. However, that apparently did not happen. The main concern remained the threat of armed uprising. It was finally decided as a general principle that
“系外省者，分發外省各府縣原籍安插；系本省者，即交各府縣原籍安插”；“願歸農者，則聽其歸農；願逐伍者，則暫撥在從征各鎮營農伍。”
"The non-Hokkienese are to be sent back to the province/county/city where they came from and the Hokkienese are to be returned to their hometowns - to be further assigned"; "those who are willing to become farmers, let them be farmers; and those who wish to stay in the military, they will tend to farmlands temporarily wherever they are stationed."

Very generous terms, indeed. The reality, however, is quite different:

In Vol 8 of Tung-hua-lu by Chiang Liang-chi, it stated that in Kang-xi Year 22 (1683):
清·蔣良騏《東華錄·卷八·康熙二十二年癸亥》載：
On the 29th Day of the 8th Month:
“（八月）戊辰（二十九日）：
Hokkien Admiral Shi-lang reported to the Qing Court:
福建水師提督施琅奏：

'On the 11th Day of the 8th Month, I led the troops and departed from Peng-hu. On the 13th Day, we entered Lu-er-men and arrived in Taiwan. On the 18th, Cheng Ke-shuang and his underlings, all have their heads shaven, received the royal edict, cheered enthusiastically, and expressed their gratitude by kowtowing in submission in the direction of the royal court. '
'臣於八月十一日，率領官兵自澎湖進發；十三日，入鹿耳門，至台灣。十八日，鄭克塽及文武官俱已薙發；宣讀敕詔，鄭克塽等歡呼踴躍，望闕叩頭謝恩。

All 6 (5?) sons of Koxinga, the 9 sons of Cheng Jing, and their subordinates plus the Ming heir totaling 17 are escorted to the ships which sailed to the mainland under the charge of local officials Su Bai et al.
所有鄭成功之子偽輔政公鄭聰等六人，鄭錦之子鄭克塽及其弟偽恭謹侯鄭克壆等九人，偽武平侯劉國軒、偽忠誠伯馮錫範等子弟，及明裔朱桓等十七人，並續順公下官兵家口、海澄公家口，俱撥船配載，官兵陸續護送，移入內地；並移諮侍郎蘇拜及督、撫，聽其安插。

The rest of the civil and military officials and their families are ordered to mobilize; soldiers who want to become farmers or continue to serve in the military are allowed to do so. As to the capture men and women from Jiang-su, Ze-jiang, Fokkien, and Canton, I have already extended Your Majesty's kindness and ordered them all to go back to where they came from.
其餘偽文武各官家口，見在趣令起行；兵丁有願入伍及歸農者，聽其自便。至於江、浙、閩、粵各省被獲男婦，臣仰體皇仁，已悉令回籍。”

How many men and women? 200,000 is a good estimate, i.e., the whole population of the 明鄭 Kingdom minus those who went into hiding. And how were the orders carried out? It now appears that 施琅's statement above regarding the difficulties of relocating the POWs was actually a description of what had already happened, not an idle speculation at all. And the freedom of choice, to be a farmer or remain as a soldier? Would the Qing allow the tens of thousands of Ming-Cheng soldiers to roam free in Taiwan??

In the same Vol 8 of Chiang's book, it was recorded:
清·蔣良騏《東華錄·卷八·康熙二十二年癸亥（1683年）》載：
On the 13th Day of the 12th Month:
“十二月甲辰（十三日）：

'Su-bai et al had first requested that Cheng Ke-shuang and his associated be ordered to Beijing. The 1,600 military officers and 400 civil officials be reviewed on their intention to go home or to accept a new appointment. and the 40,000+ soldiers be allowed to choose to be farmers or to re-enlist.
'先是，侍郎蘇拜等奏：'鄭克塽、劉國軒、馮錫範、明裔朱桓等，俱令赴京；其武職一千六百有奇、文職四百有奇，或願回籍、或願授職，應聽部察例議敘。兵四萬餘人，願入伍、歸農，各聽其便。

The royal order was for Cheng Ke-shuang and family and his close subordinates and their families be summoned to Beijing. The rest of the Ming-Cheng officials and the Ming heir be banished to several nearby provinces [Shantung, Shan-xi, and He-nan] to perform pioneering farming. And the rest as requested.
上命：'鄭克塽家口親族及劉國軒、馮錫範本身家口，俱令遣發來京。其偽官並明裔朱桓等，俱於附近各省安插墾荒。餘如議。

And Cheng and his two closest advisers were held hostage in Beijing, and as a reward for their "sincere" capitulation, were given [empty] military titles and allotted some houses and lands.'
至是，鄭克塽等至京。上念其納土歸誠，授鄭克塽公銜，劉國軒、馮錫范伯銜，俱隸上三旗；仍令該部撥給房屋、田地。'

For the fiercely loyal Ming-Cheng soldiers, most would have chosen to follow their leaders into farming. In a way, this was the most unkind punishment: for sea-faring men to till the land. Some had joined the Manchurian army, often to die in the first line of offense.

In 1685-6, 黃元驥, a Shantung local mandarin originally from Hokkien, could not bear to see the suffering of these transplanted "farmers", had built some accommodations for them and lost his job as a result. 黃 did not realize the Qing's hidden agenda - for the Ming-Cheng soldiers to helplessly die off.

In Kang-xi Year 46 (1707), on the 27th Day of the 8th Month, Cheng Ke-shuang died at age 37. His surviving family was deprived of most of the means of support and eventually faded away from the pages of history.

The missing 500 - Part 3

[The famed rattan shields]

In 1628, the Russians first invaded the homeland of the Buryats, west of Lake Baikal, and the settlers then moved steadily eastward to the great alarm of the Chinese governments. There have been many conflicts between Russia and China over the possession of the northern territories including Siberia ever since.

It was in one of these armed conflicts, 500 藤牌兵 from Taiwan were recalled and sent to northern China to join in the fight. The order came directly from Emperor 康熙Kang-xi himself; although the suggestion most likely was put forth by a Han Chinese [Shi Lang?] The intrigued Emperor summoned an aging 林興珠Lin Hsing-Ju for a demonstration of the fighting strategy and skills of the 藤牌兵. Lin had served in Koxiga's military and twice surrendered to Qing as a faithful follower of his two previous commanders. 康熙 was suitably impressed by Lin's performance and an order to activate the infantrymen from Taiwan was issued.

On June 23, 1685, 彭春Pengcum led 3,000 Qing soldiers in an attack on 雅克薩Albazin. First Peng read to the Russian defenders Emperor 康熙's edict demanding their surrender. Then the Qing army laid siege to Albazin and blocked the access of the Russian artillerymen to their guns inside the fort. Two days later, a Russian reinforcement unit sailed east on the Amur黑龍江 on board of wooden rafts to reach Albazin. They were intercepted by the 藤牌兵 submerged in the river covered under their round rattan shields. The Russians panicked at the sight of soldiers with "huge hats" who came out of water to chop off their feet. Half of the Russian men were killed. The siege ended very quickly when the Qing soldiers set fire to the walls of Albazin. During the negotiations for surrender, >600 (almost all) of the Russians requested permission to go back to Nerchinsk. 康熙 received the news of the victory on July 5, 1685, while visiting his ancestral land in Manchuria. The Qing army and the Taiwanese soldiers then returned triumphantly to 璦琿. However, shortly after, on Aug 27, the Russians came back to harvest the crops and to brazenly re-build Albazin. In 1686, 2,000 Qing soldiers and 100 藤牌兵 were again dispatched to re-take the fort. In both campaigns, the 藤牌兵 suffered no casualties which was probably not what the scheming Han Chinese had anticipated.

What followed was a mystery. There was no mention in any official history of the 藤牌兵's safe return to their farming settlements. Some suggested that they were simply murdered by the Qing to totally wipe out the last remnants of the Ming-Cheng military. This does not seem likely because in 1696, 林興珠 and his men went on another campaign to fight against Mongolian rebels. He was well-rewarded and putatively died of old age in Beijing. In fact, a secret directive from 康熙 was to treat these infantrymen from Taiwan nicely.

There are other unofficial versions as far as the fate of the 500:

Version one: They settled in 齊齊哈爾Qiqihar in 黑龍江 Province.

According to 魏毓蘭's 《龍城舊聞》：“水師營兵，皆調自福建。今道署附近之土著，其先世皆福建人。若莆田林姓、同安陳姓，在福建本巨族，徙塞上仍大姓也。雅克薩之役，建義侯林興珠平羅剎，為閩人立功塞外之祖。故當日水師之權勢，雖不得比於滿洲，以視屯、站漢人，殊為優越。” This "Old Tales of the Dragon City" states that the soldiers of the Naval Camp in the city of Qiqihar all came from Hokkien. They were led by 林興珠 and had won the battle against the Russians at Abazin and were the ancestors of the natives now living near the Camp. They came with prominent Hokkien family names such as Lin of Pu-tien and Chen of Tung-An - now common local last names...

[Note: The info above was provided by a friend nicked-named Fishdoc.]

And Version two: They migrated to Cambodia.

According to 劉文海(?)'s 《西行奇見聞》:"曾聞安南西屬[即柬埔寨]有異人自海上入，劃地為界，乃不能制，[求]援於安南，[安南]王怪其無禮，遣軍擊之，異人手持墨棉 [即藤牌]，兵刃不能損，以火觸之即燃。曾擒之，與其談，語不能通也，鏖戰經月，不可復制，安南國王遣使與談，約以[互]不[相]擾。因其為首者名「拎主[林興珠?]」故當地稱兩地之界為【拎邊】。" [Source: here] In other words, 林興珠 [拎主 appears a compressed 林興珠 when pronounced in Hokkien] and the 500 men [together with their families possibly totaling about 1,000] seemed to have escaped from China and ended up in the now Cambodia, then a client state of Viet Nam. According to this book, "Odd stories on the journey west", the King of Viet Nam came to the aid of Cambodia but was unable to defeat these "strangers" from overseas who were armed with sword-proof but inflammable rattan shields. It was also impossible to communicate with a captive/them who spoke a different language. The King, through an emissary, reached an agreement for both sides not to disturb each other and to keep within their own borders...

[Note: The author of Version two did admit that he had concocted the story.]

Often the unofficial stories contain grains of truth. It probably does not matter which version is more credible. Most important is that these 500 men seemed to have survived and had carried on unhindered as all Taiwanese would do in the face of great adversity.

[re-posted from http://danshuihistory.blogspot.com]

The missing 500 - Part 2

(In this 1710 map published in Japan, Taiwan is still identified as 東寧, possibly in remembrance of Koxinga whose mother was Japanese.)

The classic Chinese historical novel 三國演義 (published in the 14th century covering the tumultuous late Han period of 169-280AD) has a haunting episode. In which 諸葛亮Tsu-ge Liang (also known as 孔明Kung Ming, 181-234AD) captured and then purposely released the trouble-making Southern Savage leader 孟獲Meng-Huo. Who finally gave up after the 7th capture and became a most faithful ally. Meng's friend, a chieftain named 兀突骨WuTuGu had led an army of 藤牌兵 in support of Meng that had caused much damage to Tsu-ge's Sze-chuan army. These infantrymen were equipped with round shields and body armors all as strong as iron made from rattan cured in (probably Tong) oil. They were trapped in a dead-end valley and set on fire by Tsu-ge's army and every single one died. For this, Tsu-ge knew he had gone too far in taking lives in this manner and would not be permitted by Heaven to live to a ripe old age. He was right.

Because of the tactical effectiveness in battle against the cavalries, 藤牌兵 has become a special force throughout the ages, especially in Southern China where rattan plants were abundant. Often, however, they were deployed on suicide missions - to perform the first frontal assault of each battle at great losses. The British 18th Infantry Regiment had run into such a fearless group when they attacked Xiamen on Aug 26, 1841. By then, unfortunately, the rattan shields were no longer effective against the gun fire.

Koxinga's military was quite formidable both at sea and on land. His infantry to a man was trained in the use of the sword and rattan shield, a martial art still in practice in Taiwan (and Southern Hokkien) today. And in addition, he had organized a very special force, the elite 鐵人部隊Iron-men corps (or heavily-armored 藤牌兵) as the main attacking force. At the first encounter in 1661 with the Dutch then based in Zeelandia (Tainan), the Iron-men troop defeated the Dutch musketeers led by Thomas Pedel; half of the 240 men including Pedel himself were slaughtered. This began the siege of Zeelandia and the last governor of the Dutch colony in Taiwan Frederick Coyette finally called it quits on Feb 10, 1662. He retreated to Batavia and was promptly tried and imprisoned for losing the colony.

In trying to recover Ming territories, Koxinga's 藤牌兵 first demonstrated their prowess in 1651 in the battle of 海澄 and went on to defeat the Qing army in another major battle in 漳州 in 1652. And in 1659, they were deployed in the battle of 銀山 against the Qing cavalry. History recorded that these infantrymen were organized in 3-man teams. One held the shield to protect the other two, the second man was responsible for chopping down the horseman and the third, slicing the war horse in two - both with a heavy sword, known as the 雲南馬刀 (see below). The Qing could not come up with a defense strategy and again suffered heavy losses.
With the surrender of the Ming-Cheng dynasty, these 藤牌兵were not allowed to stay in Taiwan. In fact, all Cheng officials and soldiers were banished to mainland China to become farmers in desolate areas in HeNan, Shantung, and Shanxi provinces. The strong ones were drafted to serve in the Qing flag-armies and the old and the feeble were purposely left behind to quietly die. The ones exiled to Beijing were the six (probably 5, see below) sons of Koxinga, the nine sons of 鄭經Cheng Jing (Koxinga's first son) including 鄭克塽, plus the families of 鄭克塽's advisers, 劉國軒 and 馮錫範, as well as that of the Ming heir 朱桓. The sixth son of Koxinga had escaped and gone into hiding. Shi-lang had spent years tracking him down to no avail. This sole surviving branch is now into the 13th generation. The tombs of Koxinga and 鄭經 were relocated to Nan-An in Hokkien; those of the other high officials were secretly razed to the ground and the remains destroyed. And any memorials to the Ming-Cheng were either erased or converted into temples. This was the Qing Court's 以漢制漢 (Han controlling Han) policy in action - the Manchu people apparently knew that the Han Chinese were very good at exacting revenges from the Han Taiwanese.

In a strange twist of fate, 500 Hokkien/Taiwanese 藤牌兵 were recalled from the settlements to fight in 1685 in the Sino-Russian border wars. They were naturally victorious. Then the 500 mysteriously disappeared. Did they really? Stay tuned.

(Re-posted from http://danshuihistory.blogspot.com)

The missing 500 - Part 1

(A statue of 鄭成功Cheng Chen-Gong - known to the West as Koxinga國姓爺, in 皓月園, 鼓浪嶼Gulangyu, Xiamen City)

On the 18th day of the 8th month (lunar calendar) in 1683, the Ming-Cheng Dynasty ceased to exist. This was the statement from the 14-year-old ruler of Taiwan, Koxinga's 2nd grandson 鄭克塽Cheng Ke-shuang, to turncoat 施琅Shi-lang who had just defeated Cheng's Navy in Peng-hu and was ready to attack Taiwan proper. It was authored by 鄭德瀟Cheng De-Shiaw on behalf of the boy-king:

招討大將軍延平王臣鄭克塽謹奏：為舉國內附，仰冀聖恩事。

竊惟臣生自海邦，稚懵無識；謬繼創垂之緒，有乖傾向之誠。邇者，樓船西來，旌旗東指；簞壺緩迎於周旅，干羽煩舞於虞階。自省重愆，誠為莫贖。　 　

然思皇靈之赫濯，信知天命有攸歸。逆者亡、順者昌，迺覆載待物之廣大；貳而討、服而舍，諒聖王與人之甚寬。用遵往時之成命，爰 邀此日之殊恩。冀守宗祧以勿失，永作屏翰於東方。業有修表具奏外，及接提督臣施琅來書，以復居故土，不敢主張。臣 思既傾心而向化，何難納土以輸誠。茲特繕具本章，并延平王印一顆、冊一副及武平侯臣劉國軒印一顆、忠誠伯臣馮錫范印一顆，敬遣副使劉國昌、馮錫韓齎赴軍前繳奏；謹籍土地人民，待命境上。數千里之封疆悉歸王宇，百餘萬之戶口並屬版圖。遵海而南，永息波濤之警；普天之 下，均沾雨露之濡。實聖德之漸被無方，斯遐區之襁負恐後。　　

獨念臣全家骨肉，強半孺呱；本係南人，不諳北土。合無乞就近閩地方，撥賜田莊、廬屋，俾免流移之苦，且獲養贍之資；則蒙高厚之生成，當誓丹青以啣結。　 　

至於明室宗親，格外優待；通邦士庶，軫念綏柔；文武諸官，加恩遷擢；前附將領，一體垂仁；夙昔仇怨，盡與蠲除；籍沒產業，俱行賜復。尤期廣推寬大之仁，明布維新之令。使夫群情允愜，共鼓舞於春風；萬彙熙恬，同泳游於化日。斯又微臣 無厭之請，徼望朝廷不次之恩者也。為此，激切具本奏聞，伏候勑旨。

Essentially, it states: "... I am young and ignorant and should have capitulated sooner in the presence of the immense power of Your Majesty [the Qing emperor]... I hereby renounce my titles and rights and together with my subordinates surrender to you. Attached please find the seals of mine and those of my trusted advisers. Have mercy on us and the household of the Royal Ming Court ..."

In it, Cheng requested that he and his family be sent back to Hokkien [instead of Beijing] because a southerner could not adapt to life in northern China and that he be granted residences and lands and a stipend to live on in reasonable comfort.

The Qing Court naturally would not have any of these. Instead, Cheng was held hostage in Beijing, given an empty title of 漢軍公(the Duke of Han Army - sarcastically of course) as part of the 正黃旗Formal Yellow-flag Army [one of the eight flag-armies of Qing]. And his army disbanded totally.

It has been only 327 years since the surrender; the aftermath while little known was actually very well-recorded. The systematic destruction of anything Cheng by the Qing Court was nothing short of spectacular. We will now look at what had happened to the 東寧王朝Tung-Ning Dynasty survivors. One of the examples is the 藤牌兵 or the Rattan-shield Infantrymen who were recruited from 龍溪縣Long-shi Prefecture of 漳州府ChangChowFu in Hokkien - the same birthplace of the ancestors of many Danshui-ren.

[Note: the above is re-posted from http://danshuihistory.blogspot.com]