"Fragments of the Dutch Invasion of Penghu in the Ming Dynasty" is a precious collection of historical data. The author is anonymous. The book is not a literary work in the general sense, but a collection of coastal defense archives of the Ming Dynasty reconstructed with original historical data as the core. It was compiled by the Institute of History and Philology of the Academia Sinica from Parts B and E of "Historical Materials of the Ming and Qing Dynasties" about the invasion of Penghu by the Red Barbarians (as the Dutch were called at that time), as well as relevant records in "Records of the Ming Xizong". The book has about sixty-four pages and contains 18 major archives and several appendices. Its content mainly details first-hand historical records such as how the forces of the Dutch East India Company took the opportunity to invade Penghu at the end of the Ming Dynasty (mostly recorded in "Penghu" at that time), the Ming court report, the response of the Fujian governor and generals, and the Penghu naval battle.
The first fourteen files in the book focus on recording detailed memorials and battle reports on how the Ming court organized the Fujian navy and dispatched governor Nan Juyi and generals to respond to the Dutch navy's invasion of Penghu during the Tianqi period (1620s), presenting strategic decisions and coastal defense pressure from an official perspective; the last four files supplement records related to the Dutch's harassment of the Zhang and Quan coasts during the Chongzhen period. The book also includes excerpts from the "History of the Ming Dynasty", "The Legend of Helan", "Hongmaoyi", and "The Examination of Taxes" to provide evidence and expand understanding of the background of the event.
For history enthusiasts who study coastal defense in the Ming Dynasty, early exchanges and conflicts between China and the West, and the pattern of maritime power in East Asia, this "remnant archive" not only preserves precious original archival fragments, but also provides important clues to insight into major historical events such as the Ming-Dutch War and the Battle of Penghu through rigorous organization. It is a rare first-hand source of information to understand the dilemma of coastal defense in the Ming Dynasty in the early seventeenth century.
