Yu Zigao (.1628)
[.] was a Chinese admiral. He was responsible for forcing the Dutch to leave
Penghu Island
The Penghu (, Hokkien POJ: ''Phîⁿ-ô͘'' or ''Phêⁿ-ô͘'' ) or Pescadores Islands are an archipelago of 90 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait, located approximately west from the main island of Taiwan, covering an area ...
. While he enriched himself by way of an association with one notorious pirate,
Li Dan, his position came under pressure because of another pirate, Li Dan's protégé,
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 ...
.
Life
Zigao was the son of
Yu Dayou
Yu Dayou (1503–1579), courtesy name Zhifu, art name Xujiang, was a Chinese general and martial artist best known for countering the ''wokou'' pirates along China's southeastern coast during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor in the Ming dynasty. ...
, a notable
pirate
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
suppressor.
[
He took command of ]Zhejiang
Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...
and Fujian
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 capi ...
's military forces as ''dūdū'' in February 1624 and immediately took a hard line against 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 ...
stronghold on Penghu Island
The Penghu (, Hokkien POJ: ''Phîⁿ-ô͘'' or ''Phêⁿ-ô͘'' ) or Pescadores Islands are an archipelago of 90 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait, located approximately west from the main island of Taiwan, covering an area ...
in the Pescadores
The Penghu (, Hokkien Pe̍h-ōe-jī, POJ: ''Phîⁿ-ô͘'' or ''Phêⁿ-ô͘'' ) or Pescadores Islands are an archipelago of 90 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait, located approximately west from the main island of Taiwan, cov ...
.[ They had previously agreed to withdraw to ]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 ...
but had continued to delay the move.[ Yu commissioned several iron " red-barbarian cannon", one of the first Chinese officials to do so.][.] He assembled his provincial forces and forced the Dutch to dismantle their fortifications in August the same year.[ They then removed themselves to ]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 ...
, where they established Fort Zeelandia.[ Following the recovery of the Pescadores, Yu had its Mazu temple refurbished and enlarged.][.]
Yu Zigao was on friendly terms with the merchant and pirate Li Dan[ and used his position to enrich himself.][.]
In 1627 and 1628, Li Dan's protégé[ ]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 ...
launched a series of massive pirate invasions of the Fujianese coast, maintaining his popularity by targeting the wealthy and reserving some of the plunder for assistance to the poor.[.] He sank hundreds of Ming vessels and captured several county seats around Quanzhou
Quanzhou, postal map romanization, alternatively known as Chinchew, is a prefecture-level city, prefecture-level port city on the north bank of the Jin River, beside the Taiwan Strait in southern Fujian, China. It is Fujian's largest metrop ...
and Zhangzhou
Zhangzhou (), alternately romanized as Changchow, is a prefecture-level city in Fujian Province, China. The prefecture around the city proper comprises the southeast corner of the province, facing the Taiwan Strait and surrounding the prefec ...
.[ In 1628, he successfully attacked ]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, ...
("Amoy"), the base of Yu Zigao's anti-piracy forces, and forced Yu to flee.[ By capturing and executing pirates affiliated with Yu and offering to submit to Ming control, he was able to legitimize himself at Yu's expense.][ (Yu himself had difficulty at the imperial court owing to his association with the ]eunuch
A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function.
The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...
faction under Wei Zhongxian
Wei Zhongxian (1568 – December 12, 1627), born Wei Si (魏四), was a Chinese court eunuch who lived in the late Ming dynasty. As a eunuch he used the name Li Jinzhong (李进忠). He is considered by most historians as the most notorious eunuc ...
.)[
]
Legacy
The 1624 stele
A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), whe ...
recording Yu Zigao's ultimatum to the Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
to abandon 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 ...
was discovered at Magong
Magong ( POJ: ''Má-keng'') is a county-administered city and seat of Penghu County, Taiwan. Magong City is located on Penghu's main island.
Name
The settlement's temple honoring the Chinese Goddess Mazu, the deified form of Lin Monian ...
's Mazu Temple This is a list of Mazu temples, dedicated to Mazu (媽祖) also known as Tian Shang Sheng Mu (天上聖母) or Tian Hou (天后) Chinese Goddess of Sea and Patron Deity of fishermen, sailors and any occupations related to sea/ocean, also regarded as ...
in 1919[.] and is preserved by the temple.
See also
* Sino-Dutch conflicts
The Sino-Dutch conflicts were a series of conflicts between the Ming dynasty (and later its rump successor the Southern Ming dynasty and the Ming loyalist Kingdom of Tungning) of China and the Dutch East India Company over trade and land through ...
* Zheng dynasty
References
Citations
Bibliography
* .
* .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yu, Zigao
1628 deaths
Ming dynasty generals
Chinese admirals