The Qing Unifies Taiwan and Sets Up Taiwan Prefecture

After Zheng Chenggong's death in 1662, his son Zheng Jing continued to govern Taiwan, renaming Dongdu "Dongning", setting up schools, holding examinations and developing agriculture and trade, and Taiwan's society and economy grew further. But the Zheng regime stood off against the Qing for a long time and at one point sent troops to the mainland coast during the Revolt of the Three Feudatories. After the Kangxi Emperor put down that revolt, he resolved to use force to reunify the country. He appointed Shi Lang, a former Zheng general who had surrendered and knew naval warfare, as Fujian naval commander and planned the advance on Taiwan. In 1683 Shi Lang set out from Tongshan, Fujian (present-day Dongshan Island) with over 20,000 troops and over three hundred warships and crushed the main Zheng force at the Battle of Penghu; Zheng Jing's son Zheng Keshuang and his followers surrendered and Taiwan came into the Qing realm. After the unification, some in the Qing court argued for abandoning Taiwan and moving its people to the mainland; Shi Lang submitted a memorial, Gongchen Taiwan Qi-Liu Shu (Respectful Memorial on Abandoning or Keeping Taiwan), stressing Taiwan's importance and urging that it be held, and the Kangxi Emperor accepted his view. In 1684 the Qing set up Taiwan Prefecture under Fujian Province, with the three counties of Taiwan, Fengshan and Zhuluo, a circuit intendant and a garrison commander and 10,000 troops. The prefecture strengthened the central government's administration of Taiwan and consolidated southeast coastal defense; mainland people moved to Taiwan in large numbers to open land and build irrigation works, and Taiwan's society and economy entered a new period of growth.