Why the Qing Emperor Initially Rejected Taiwan as a Tiny Speck of Land
In short: When the Qing dynasty defeated Ming loyalists in 1683, the Kangxi emperor famously dismissed Taiwan as a worthless, distant mud ball. He saw no reason to govern it until a strategic warning about the island’s potential to harbor rebels forced a reluctant, and perhaps self-interested, imperial annexation.
Following the 1683 destruction of the Zheng family’s Dongning Kingdom at the Pescadores, the Qing court faced a dilemma. The young Kangxi emperor viewed Taiwan as a strategic liability, a tiny, uncivilized territory that offered no clear administrative benefit. Many officials initially argued for the mass relocation of the island's inhabitants to the mainland and the total abandonment of the territory. This hesitation was rooted in the lack of historical precedent for Chinese dynasties governing the island, which had previously been considered outside the imperial domain.
The tide turned due to the persistent lobbying of General Shi Lang. Shi, who had led the naval campaign against the Zheng regime, argued that Taiwan was a vital strategic point capable of threatening the empire’s wealthiest provinces—Fujian, Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu. He cited the terrifying memory of Koxinga’s 1657 northern expedition, which had besieged Nanjing and severed Qing supply lines. Shi warned that if the Qing did not hold the island, it would inevitably become a base for criminals, foreign powers like the Dutch, or future rebels, as seen during the 1670s alliance between Zheng Jing and the rebellious Wu Sangui.
However, the annexation was not purely a matter of state security. Shi Lang used his influence to secure massive landholdings on the island, effectively becoming one of its largest landlords while remaining based in Quanzhou. Records show that local officials, such as Zhuluo magistrate Ji Qiguang, later complained that Shi had illegally appropriated former Zheng regime lands for private profit. This pattern of personal enrichment continued with other generals, such as Lan Tingzhen. Ultimately, the Qing’s formal incorporation of Taiwan in 1684 was driven by a mix of defensive anxiety and the private ambitions of the military elite who stood to gain from the island’s fertile resources.
The resulting administration was cautious and often decentralized. For much of the Qing period, the government restricted Han migration to prevent conflict with indigenous populations and minimize the risk of rebellion. Despite these policies, settlers continued to push into indigenous territories, and by the end of Qing rule in 1895, the Han population had grown significantly. The island’s status as a formal part of the empire was solidified through the creation of the Taiwan Prefecture, marking a permanent shift in how the Qing conceptualized its imperial boundaries.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: The Real Reason for How Taiwan Became Chinese - Taiwan Studies Program
- Also: Taiwan under Qing rule
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