Page 72 - An Overview of Penghu

Pirates and Penghu

While Taiwan has been recognized as a part of mainland China, the first to notice the Island were the
Europeans rather than the Chinese, although I personally believe it was the Japanese who noticed Taiwan first.

The two centuries between the Nanbokucho Period (or the period of the Northern and Southern Courts) and
the Azuchi–Momoyama period (the last phase of the Sengoku period) constituted the era when Japanese people's
ambition to reach out to the world peaked, and no one can better embody this idea than Japanese pirates, or what the
Chinese referred to as Wokou. They were ambitious folks who turned to the sea because they had no place to realize
their dreams back in Japan. They lived on the sea and attacked boats and ports in Korea or China for their valuables.
Their boats were known as the “Hachiman” ships due to the erection of the eight flags painted with the Hachiman
Buddha at the front of boats. Pirates were shirtless and wore 6-foot Dubikuns or knee-length shorts. They could cut
into their enemies' tactical formations rapidly and agilely like butterflies, which is why their tactic was dubbed the
Butterfly Arrangement. Children got so scared that they stopped weeping after catching sight of them.

The pirates (Wokou) had left their footprints all over the provinces on China's east coast, such as Jiangsu,
Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong. Although Penghu was not the base of those pirates, it was treated by them as a
place for rest. Concerning its location, there is little wonder that the Island was occupied by them. Penghu Island is
dotted with relics that indicate the pirates' occupation, such as the 20-ting (1 ting equals to 109.09meters) stone
fortress in Dacheng Mount at the center of the Island, and the relic of an undersea castle in Hujing Isle.

The Written Stories of Chikan also has the following record: After the government moved Penghu's residents
elsewhere in 1389, pirates quickly entered the Island, which became the place where they stopped by to replenish
water. Then there is the legendary Tomb of the Seven Beauties (Photo 116), a relic left behind by brave women who
chose to protect their virginity from pirates with death. In 1564, a group of pirates attacked provinces in Southeast
China, but they were repelled by the Ming government's General Qi Ji-guang. In the same year, the pirates invaded
the sea along Zhejiang and Fujian with Lin Dao-qian as their guide. The Ming government dispatched General Yu
Da-you, who defeated the pirates and forced them to retreat to Penghu. However, out of prudence, Yu decided not to
pursue them further because he knew the port into which the pirates had escaped was deep and unpredictable. He
commanded the Navy to be stationed in Penghu instead. Shortly after their failed attempt, Lin Dao-qian escaped to
Borneo, while the pirates returned to Japan. The Ming navy also set up a military office in Penghu before they left.
More details of this warfare can also be found in Jiuzhi (literally the Ancient Archive) and the Taiwan Provincial
Archive.

As Europeans and Chinese pirates gradually consolidated their presence on the sea, the Japanese government
issued the seclusion edict of 1636, which isolated the nation from others, forcing the Japanese pirates to eventually
forgo their business in the south.

The Japanese Karas and Penghu

Japanese Karas were all Chinese, but they served willingly under Japanese pirates as their separate
operational wing. While some claimed that the name “Kara” came from the aboriginal word “Kabira” (meaning
“looter”), others alleged that it was derived from the Japanese word “Kashira” (meaning “leader”). Yan Si-qi
(courtesy name Zhen-quan) of Fujian origin led a group of pirates and took over Beigang in Western Taiwan; he
identified himself as a Japanese Kara. He assimilated the indigenous people in Taiwan, while brandishing his power
by attacking Fujian and Guangdong. The father of the renowned Koxinga, Zheng Zhi-long, also joined his group
and was propped up as its leader after Yan perished. Also calling himself a Japanese Kara, Zheng invited like-
minded members to migrate to Taiwan to develop the land, while raging across the China Sea, looting along his way
and eventually taking the Taiwan Strait under his control. In 1629, the Ming government tried to pacify Zheng by
granting him a knighthood; he accepted the offer in 1629, and served as a general who defended Fujian's coastline.
There were other Japanese Karas, such as Wu Ping, Xu Chao-guang, Zeng Yi-zhi, and Guo Huai-yi, who ambushed

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