Taiwan Under Qing Dynasty Rule - History

History

Qing Emperor Kangxi annexed Taiwan because he wanted to remove the remaining resistance forces against the Qing Dynasty. However, Qing did not want to develop Taiwan over aggressively as this may encourage any potential resistance force to build a base in Taiwan. Accordingly, the early Qing Dynasty ruled Taiwan passively. Taiwan was governed as part of Fujian province at the time, only becoming a separate province later. In 1721, a Hakka-Fujianese rebellion led by Zhu Yigui captured Tainan and briefly established a government reminiscent of the Ming.

In the immediate aftermath of Zhu Yigui rebellion, the desire to open up new land for cultivation saw government encouraging the expansion of Han migration to other areas of the island. For instance, the population in Danshui area had grown to the point where the government needed an administrative centre there, in addition to the military outpost. The government tried to build a centre with local aboriginal corvée labor, but treated them more like slaves and finally provoked an uprising. Aboriginal groups split—most joined the uprising; some remained loyal to the Qing, perhaps because they had pre-existing feuds with the other groups. The aboriginal revolt was put down within a few months with the arrival of additional troops.

The Lin Shuangwen rebellion occurred during 1786 and 1788. Lin, who was an immigrant from Zhangzhou, had come to Taiwan with his father in the 1770s. He was involved in a secret society called the Heaven and Earth Society (天地会) whose origins were not clear. Lin's father was detained by the local authorities, perhaps in suspicion of his activities with the society; Lin Shuangwen then organized the rest of the society members in a revolt in an attempt to free his father. There was initial success in pushing government forces out of Lin's home base in Zhanghua; his allies did likewise in Danshui. By this point, the fighting was drawing in Zhangzhou people beyond just the society members, and activating the old feuds; this brought out Quanzhou networks (as well as Hakka) on behalf of the government. Eventually, the government sent sufficient force to restore order; Lin Shuangwen was executed and the Heaven and Earth Society was dispersed to mainland or sent into hiding, but there was no way to eliminate ill-will between Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, and Hakka networks. Though they never again were serious to push out the government or encompass the whole island, feuds went on sporadically for most of the 19th century, only started coming to an end in the 1860s.

There were more than a hundred rebellions during the early Qing Dynasty reign. The frequency of rebellions, riots, and civil strife in Qing Dynasty Taiwan is evoked by the common saying "every three years an uprising; every five years a rebellion" (三年一反、五年一亂).