Storm Over the Taiwan Strait: Zheng Chenggong and the Ming Dynasty

Why was the Southern Ming the only regime to have "two emperors within two hundred li"? Did the Ming general Shi Lang defect to the Qing purely out of self-interest? Why did the Zheng family's army, which swept through its early northern campaigns, ultimately fail? Why did the Dutch, with their powerful ships and cannons, end up fighting a siege? Did the Tokugawa shogunate ever lend troops to the Zheng family? Using Zheng Chenggong's life and career as its narrative thread, this book presents a panoramic view of the turbulent and rapidly changing world of the eighteen years from 1644 to 1662. It vividly portrays numerous historical figures and, through an in-depth reconstruction of major events, explores the complex factional relationships and political struggles of the Southern Ming, as well as the choices people made when weighing their interests.