From Japan Focus:
Winter 1697: After four days and nights aboard a junk crossing the treacherous waters of the Taiwan Strait, Chinese traveler Yu Yonghe excitedly spotted the peaks of Taiwan’s mountains on the horizon. [1] In sight at last was the frontier island that he had longed to see since the Chinese conquest of Taiwan fourteen years earlier. As Yu wrote in his travel diary:
Taiwan lies far beyond the Eastern Ocean and has never, since the dawn of Creation, sent tribute to China. Now we have made . . . Taiwan the ninth prefecture of Fujian. By nature I am addicted to distant travel and I am fearless of obstacles and danger. Ever since Taiwan was put on the map, I have said that I would not be satisfied until I could see the place for myself. [2]
Yu Yonghe’s wish came true at last in 1697, when he volunteered for an expedition to Taiwan to obtain sulfur, a vital strategic item used to manufacture gunpowder. Friends and associates warned him against the voyage: the Taiwan Strait was perilous, filled with obstacles such as the notorious “Black Water Ditch,” which had capsized countless junks; Taiwan itself was a dangerous place, a mountainous jungle inhabited by “savages” and rife with deadly tropical diseases. Travelers told stories of shipwrecked sailors cannibalized by the islanders and of headhunting raids across the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan had also gained infamy as a “pirates’ lair.” Above all, the island was known as a stronghold for the Ming loyalist forces of Koxinga, [3] who had waged a war of resistance against the new Manchu Qing dynasty (1644‚Äì1911), and whose defeat by Qing forces in 1683 resulted in Taiwan’s becoming an imperial possession for the first time in Chinese history. It was this feat that sparked Yu Yonghe’s desire to travel to the island.
Despite the risks the journey presented, Yu was intrigued by the notion of seeing the empire’s newest frontier. Before the Qing conquest, few Chinese literati had traveled to this “savage island.” This voyage was Yu’s chance for adventure, his opportunity to go beyond the old boundaries of China and explore uncharted terrain.
Yu’s enthusiasm for the Taiwan frontier stands in sharp contrast to the disdain expressed by many of his contemporaries, who regarded the acquisition of this new territory as a waste of imperial resources. As one critic declared, “Taiwan is merely a ball of mud beyond the seas, unworthy of development by China. It is full of naked and tattooed savages, who are not worth defending. It is a daily waste of imperial money for no benefit.” [4] Such objections reflected the prevailing Chinese perception of Taiwan as a barren wilderness, an insignificant parcel of land beyond the pale of civilization. So deeply ingrained was this notion that the court had proposed in 1683 to abandon the newly conquered island after repatriating Ming loyalist troops to the mainland. Admiral Shi Lang, who had led the capture of Taiwan, vigorously protested this decision. In a memorial submitted to the emperor in February 1684, Shi argued for the importance of annexing Taiwan on both strategic and economic grounds. [Full Text]
Emma J. Teng is an Associate Professor of Chinese Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
