''The Sino-Dutch War 1661'' (), also known as ''Hero Zheng Chenggong'', is a 2000 Chinese historical drama film directed by

Wu Ziniu Wu Ziniu (born 31 October 1952), is a Chinese film director and a member of the "Fifth Generation" film movement, a movement of filmmakers who graduated from the Beijing Film Academy in the early 1980s.Zhang, Yingjin & Xiao, Zhiwei (1998). ''Enc ...

, starring

Vincent Zhao Vincent Zhao Wenzhuo (born 10 April 1972), sometimes credited as Vincent Chiu or Chiu Man-cheuk, is a Chinese actor and martial artist. Zhao is best known for playing the Chinese folk hero Wong Fei-hung in the '' Once Upon a Time in China'' film ...

Jiang Qinqin Jiang Qinqin (, born 3 September 1976) is a Chinese actress. She is sometimes credited as Shui Ling (), a stage name given to her by Taiwanese writer Chiung Yao while she was involved in the production of the television series ''Tears in Heaven' ...

, Du Zhiguo,

Yoko Shimada was a Japanese actress, best known to Western audiences for her portrayal of Mariko in the 1980 miniseries ''Shōgun''. ''Shogun'' miniseries Shimada was the only female member of ''Shōgun''s massive cast of Japanese actors shown speaking En ...

, Xu Min and Zhang Shan. The film is loosely based on the life of

Koxinga Zheng Chenggong, Prince of Yanping (; 27 August 1624 – 23 June 1662), better known internationally as Koxinga (), was a Ming loyalist general who resisted the Qing conquest of China in the 17th century, fighting them on China's southeastern ...

(Zheng Chenggong) and focuses on his battle with the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...

for control of

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

at the

Siege of Fort Zeelandia The siege of Fort Zeelandia () of 1661–1662 ended the Dutch East India Company's rule over Taiwan and began the Kingdom of Tungning's rule over the island. Prelude From 1623 to 1624 the Dutch had been at war with Ming China over the Pescador ...

. The film was released in 2002 in Japan under the title ''Kokusenya Kassen'' ().

Plot

In the mid-17th century, most of China has been conquered by the Manchu-led

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

after the collapse of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

. Ming remnants have fled south and established a

Southern Ming The Southern Ming (), also known as the Later Ming (), officially the Great Ming (), was an imperial dynasty of China and a series of rump states of the Ming dynasty that came into existence following the Jiashen Incident of 1644. Shun force ...

regime based in

Fujian Province Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...

, with the

Longwu Emperor Zhu Yujian (; 1602 – 6 October 1646), nickname Changshou (長壽), originally the Prince of Tang, later reigned as the Longwu Emperor () of the Southern Ming from 18 August 1645, when he was enthroned in Fuzhou, to 6 October 1646, when he wa ...

as their figurehead monarch. The Qing armies are closing in on Fujian and the southern areas under Ming control. Zheng Sen is the son of

Zheng Zhilong Zheng Zhilong, Marquis of Tong'an and Nan'an (; April 16, 1604 – November 24, 1661), baptismal name Nicholas Iquan Gaspard, was a Chinese admiral, merchant, military general, pirate, and politician of the late Ming dynasty who later defec ...

, a former pirate who became a Ming general. Having heard of Zheng Sen's strong sense of loyalty, the Longwu Emperor is so impressed with him that he grants him the imperial family name, Zhu, and a new personal name, Chenggong (literally "success"). Zheng Sen is known as the Imperial Name-keeper (transliterated "

") or Zheng Chenggong from then on. Around the time, Taiwan has been colonised by the

for over three decades and many people have signed a petition requesting Zheng Chenggong to help them claim back Taiwan from the Dutch. Zheng Zhilong defects to the Qing dynasty after seeing that he has no future in Southern Ming. Despite his father's betrayal, Zheng Chenggong remains loyal to the Longwu Emperor and continues to resist the Qing invaders even after the fall of Southern Ming. He plans to retreat to Taiwan and establish a new base of operations there in preparation for retaking Mainland China from the Qing dynasty. In 1661, Zheng Chenggong's fleet sets sail from

Xiamen Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an ...

to attack the Dutch on Taiwan. Nine months later, he defeats the Dutch at the

and forces them to surrender and relinquish their control of Taiwan to him.

Cast

Zheng Chenggong Zheng Chenggong, Prince of Yanping (; 27 August 1624 – 23 June 1662), better known internationally as Koxinga (), was a Ming loyalist general who resisted the Qing conquest of China in the 17th century, fighting them on China's southeastern ...

as Xue Liang * Du Zhiguo as

Tagawa Matsu Tagawa Matsu (田川マツ; 1601–1647) or Weng-shi (翁氏), was the mother of Koxinga, daughter of Tagawa Shichizaemon ( 田川七左衛門), a vassal of Hirado Domain. She was a Japanese who lived most of her life in the coastal town of Hirado, ...

* Xu Min as the

* Zhang Shan as Li Wei * Alexander de Zwager as the Dutch governor * Jiang Guoyin * Wang Ling * Xu Yuanqi

Casting

Director

originally had Tony Leung in mind for the role of Zheng Chenggong before

took over.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sino-Dutch War 1661, The 2000 films 2000s Mandarin-language films 2000s war films Chinese historical films Chinese war films Films directed by Wu Ziniu Works about the Dutch East India Company Films set in the 1660s Koxinga 2000s historical films Films shot in Fujian 2000s Chinese films

Plot

Cast

Casting

See also

References

External links