Re-evaluation of the Strategic Implication of Great Clearance — Focusing on the Trend of Maritime Forces of the Coastal Regions of Fujian —

Zheng regime had been fighting against Qing effectively over 40 years. As is well known, Zheng forces’ anti-Qing activity was based on the continuous support of the Maritime people. Naturally, the confrontation between Zheng and Qing has been portrayed as a zero-sum game of two rival forces to win the support of the coastal residents. As a result, the researchers have paid much attention to the Maritime policy of Qing - sea ban and Great Clearance - and its influences. However, the existing studies on Great Clearance have a sort of tendency to evaluate it as a failed policy that resulted enormous economic losses in the coastal region, while not gaining the expected achievement - the economic isolation of the Zheng regime. Therefore, this study proceeded based on the perspective that the strategic role of Great Clearance cannot be underestimated, since this policy played a very important role to breaking down Zheng regime in Taiwan, even though it did not achieve its initial anticipated performance. This paper examines the strategic significance of Great Clearance and found that the continuation of this policy break down the profit-sharing relationship between Zheng regime and the coastal residents. In order to confirm this, this paper focuses on three different periods. The first period is from 1661 to 1664. During this time, Qing began to enforce Great Clearance and finally succeeded in occupying the coastal bases of Zheng regime. The second period is from 1664 to 1673, when Qing continued to enforce Great Clearance, but there was no direct confrontation between Qing and Zheng regime. The third period is from 1674 onwards, when Revolt of the Three Feudatories broke out and Zheng Jing(鄭經) advanced to the coastal regions of Fujian again. After analyzing these periods, this paper concludes that the strategic implication of Great Clearance are as follows. First of all, Great Clearance did not achieve its direct goal – the economic isolation of Zheng regime. When Qing enforced Great Clearance, Zheng regime still monopolized the interests of maritime trade, and it allowed Zheng to maintain his regime stably. However, from a long-term point of view, Great Clearance successfully separated the profit-sharing relationship between Zheng regime and the coastal residents. Those two groups were no longer able to share interests, which led to changes in the attitudes of the coastal residents toward Zheng regime. Such changes were captured by the Governor General of Fujian, Yao Qisheng(姚啓聖), who won the costal residents over to Qing side through “summon and appease”(招撫), and made a groundwork for Qing to conquer Taiwan later on.