The Min Shin tō ki

Abstract

I have already touched on one Japanese work, written in a mixture of Chinese characters and Japanese kana, detailing the activities of Zheng Chenggong; it is the Min Shin tō hi (preface dated 1661)^a which appeared early on. It was written some 113 years before Kimura Kenkadō’s reprint of the Zheng Chenggong zhuan appeared. Because it was written in a dramatic style, in the form of a novel of military affairs, it necessarily contains colorful adornments to its descriptions. However, many texts cite its accounts as historically accurate. This can be seen even in studies of more recent vintage, from the Taiwan Teishi kiji on. In that year of 1661, Zheng Chenggong seized Taiwan from the occupying Dutch forces and made it his consummate base of operations. However, at the very end of volume ten of the Min Shin tō ki, we read that Zheng Chenggong attacked the outpost held by the Dutch (Anpingcheng) and brought about their surrender soon thereafter. Thus, we can see that this book was written on the basis of the most recent reports and information available at the time.