4 h 53 minAudiobook13 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 4 h 53 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Along China's coast, trade, piracy and politics blur as one family builds a power that defies the Qing.
In Taiwan Waiji, Jiang Risheng follows the Zheng family through a coastal world of merchants, fleets and rival powers. Zheng Zhilong rises as a trader and sea lord. As the Ming falls and the Manchu Qing takes power, his son Zheng Chenggong, known as Koxinga, builds a force of his own.
From the islands and harbours of Fujian, the story moves across the strait to Taiwan and the Dutch stronghold of Fort Zeelandia. Loyal ministers, shrewd generals, foreign merchants and quarrelling heirs fill the account. Jiang tells this struggle outside the court histories, with the lively movement of a chapter novel.
What you’ll discover
- A coast in motion Enter a world where Chinese merchants, Japanese ports and European traders meet.
- A family under pressure Follow the Zhengs as dynastic collapse brings hard choices about loyalty and power.
- Koxinga takes command Trace Zheng Chenggong's growing force through the islands and harbours of Fujian.
- Taiwan comes into view Follow the fleet across the strait toward an island held by the Dutch.
- History with narrative force Discover how Jiang Risheng brings coastal memory and lore into a lively historical account.
Who will love it
Readers who love true stories of sea power, rebel loyalty and family quarrels, and who enjoy seeing how a Chinese scholar tells the rise of a pirate house.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A Ming general's dream foretells five Zheng generations
- A drunken boast sends young Yiguan fleeing to Taiwan
- Thirty lucky throws make Yiguan the pirate chief
- Zhilong turns amnesty into rank and sea power
- Loyalty to the Ming splits a father from his son
- Chenggong builds a coastal army on strict law
- The Nanjing campaign comes close and then collapses
- Chenggong chooses Taiwan against his officers' warnings
- The Zheng heirs lose their hold on the coast
- Shi Lang takes Penghu and Taiwan is kept
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Taiwan Waiji
Zheng Chenggong, a pirate's son, drives the Dutch from Taiwan and founds a rebel realm that holds out for decades.
Challenging2–5 hours to readfrançais
Excellent
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In short
Picture thirteen Chinese ships slipping out of a Japanese harbor in 1624, chased by cannon fire. A plot to seize Japan has been betrayed, after one drunken man boasts to his wife.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A Ming general's dream foretells five Zheng generations
The book begins in the first years of the Ming dynasty, long before the Zhengs appear. The Marquis Zhou Dexing builds coastal garrisons for Emperor Taizu, and Jiang starts here to trace the story to its source.
Near Shijing, Dexing sees a ridge that surges like a flying dragon and calls for laborers to cut it. That night two figures kneel in his dream. They warn that the land is guarded for a worthy man, and that five generations of feudal lords will rise from it and bring grief to the dynasty.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 13 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- Language
- français
- Reading time
- 3 h 10 min
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Jiang, Risheng. Taiwan Waiji. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/taiwan-waiji.
Jiang, R. (2026). Taiwan waiji. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/taiwan-waiji
Jiang, Risheng. Taiwan Waiji. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/taiwan-waiji.
@book{jiang2026taiwan,
author = {Jiang, Risheng},
title = {Taiwan Waiji},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/taiwan-waiji}
}
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What is Taiwan Waiji about?
It is a chronicle of the Zheng family, from Zheng Zhilong's rise as a pirate and admiral through his son Zheng Chenggong's resistance to the Qing, the founding of a rebel realm on Taiwan, and its end in 1683.
Who was Koxinga in Taiwan Waiji?
Koxinga is the Western name for Zheng Chenggong, son of Zheng Zhilong and a Japanese mother, Lady Weng. The Longwu emperor gave him the imperial surname Zhu, and the Yongli emperor later made him Prince of Yanping.
Is Taiwan Waiji a true story and when was it written?
It is a historical chronicle based on records, memorials and eyewitness accounts. Jiang Risheng completed his preface in 1704. It also includes omens, poems and anecdotes that reflect how events were remembered and told.
The author
Jiang Risheng
Chinese Qing dynasty writer
Jiang Risheng was a Chinese writer who lived during the Qing dynasty. He wrote Taiwan Waiji, which was completed in 1704. His dates of birth and death are unknown. The information available here does not establish his birthplace or the places where he lived within China.
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