Luermen
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Taiwan Tainan Temples at Luermen
Right: Luermen Harbour Luermen (lu4 er3 men2) is located in Tainan City's vast sparsely populated An Nan district. It is well known for it's temples which are extremely active places during certain times of the year, notably Chinese New Year and Lantern Festival. It is also historically significant as the place Koxingha landed with his forces just prior to evicting the Dutch. |
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Koxingha was born to a Japanese mother in Japan. His father, Zheng Chih-long was a pirate operating out of Taiwan during the time of the Manchu (Ching Dynasty) invasion of China. The Ming emperor Sze Tsung appointed Cheng commander of his naval forces in a final desperate effort to keep the Ching forces at bay. Though Cheng won some decisive battles he was ultimately unsuccessful and the Ching Dynasty was established in 1644. The younger Cheng inherited his father's command and from 1646-1658 waged war against the Manchus in an effort to re-establish the Ming Dynasty. Finally giving up in his efforts to reclaim the mainland Koxingha set his sights on Taiwan and in 1663 succeeded in expelling the Dutch from their stronghold in Tainan.
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Left: Statue of Koxinga at Luermen Port Koxingha a.k.a. Zheng Cheng-gong is undoubtedly Taiwan's greatest historical figure. He is pretty well regarded in Mainland China also as the hero who returned Taiwan to the Chinese. This symbolism is not missed by the mainland's propaganda machine in the light of the current political stand off. |
Koxinga set up a Ming style government in Tainan and established a Chinese legal system and some of the first schools. His reign on Taiwan was however short lived, as he suffered a fatal heart attack two years later. Koxingha was succeeded by his son Zheng Jing who also met an early demise. The Manchus exploited the ensuing disarray in the Zheng house and established control in 1863.
Taiwan Tainan Temples at Luermen
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