Zhu Yigui
Rebel Leader
Early Qing Frontier
1690–1722
Zhu Yigui, born in 1690 in Changtai County, Fujian, migrated to Taiwan around 1713 and settled in the rural Luohanmen area near present-day Neimen, Kaohsiung. He earned his living raising ducks on the lowland marshes and acquired local fame for his skill in herding the flocks with simple gestures, a reputation that gave rise to his later popular nickname, the Duck Emperor (鴨母王). In 1720 the acting prefect Wang Zhen and his sons imposed harsh new levies and arbitrary punishments on settlers, igniting widespread grievance among Hokkien immigrants in southern Taiwan. In April 1721 Zhu rallied a band of followers in Luohanmen, raised the banner of Ming restoration, and within two weeks routed Qing garrisons across the southern plains. He was joined by a separate Hakka force under Du Junying from the Pingtung plain, and the combined armies entered the prefectural city of Tainan with little resistance. Acclaimed by his followers as the rightful descendant of the Ming imperial Zhu line, he assumed the title King of Central Restoration (中興王) and issued proclamations from a hastily organized court at Tainan. The alliance quickly fractured along ethnic lines, with the Hokkien and Hakka contingents fighting each other over titles, share of plunder, and political precedence. The Qing court dispatched the naval commander Shi Shibiao — son of the conqueror of Tungning — and the general Lan Tingzhen with reinforcements from Fujian and Penghu within weeks of the news reaching Beijing. The internally divided rebels were defeated in a series of clashes through May and June 1721, and Zhu was captured at Goutou village near present-day Jiayi. He was transported in a cage to Beijing, paraded before the Kangxi court, and executed in 1722, his head subsequently displayed in the southern provinces as a warning. The Qing tightened administration of Taiwan in the wake of the revolt, building walled cities and adding new sub-prefectures while still maintaining strict bans on family migration from the mainland. Zhu Yigui's uprising — the first major Han Chinese rebellion in Qing Taiwan — established the long-running characterization of the island as a chronically unruly frontier and prefigured the more catastrophic revolts of the Lin Shuangwen and Dai Chaochun generations.
Led the Zhu Yigui Rebellion of 1721 ('Duck Emperor' uprising)
Rebel Leader
Zhu Yigui
Era
Early Qing Frontier
Lifespan
1690–1722
Zhu Yigui, born in 1690 in Changtai County, Fujian, migrated to Taiwan around 1713 and settled in the rural Luohanmen area near present-day Neimen, Kaohsiung. He earned his living raising ducks on the lowland marshes and acquired local fame for his skill in herding the flocks with simple gestures, a reputation that gave rise to his later popular nickname, the Duck Emperor (鴨母王). In 1720 the acting prefect Wang Zhen and his sons imposed harsh new levies and arbitrary punishments on settlers, igniting widespread grievance among Hokkien immigrants in southern Taiwan. In April 1721 Zhu rallied a band of followers in Luohanmen, raised the banner of Ming restoration, and within two weeks routed Qing garrisons across the southern plains. He was joined by a separate Hakka force under Du Junying from the Pingtung plain, and the combined armies entered the prefectural city of Tainan with little resistance. Acclaimed by his followers as the rightful descendant of the Ming imperial Zhu line, he assumed the title King of Central Restoration (中興王) and issued proclamations from a hastily organized court at Tainan. The alliance quickly fractured along ethnic lines, with the Hokkien and Hakka contingents fighting each other over titles, share of plunder, and political precedence. The Qing court dispatched the naval commander Shi Shibiao — son of the conqueror of Tungning — and the general Lan Tingzhen with reinforcements from Fujian and Penghu within weeks of the news reaching Beijing. The internally divided rebels were defeated in a series of clashes through May and June 1721, and Zhu was captured at Goutou village near present-day Jiayi. He was transported in a cage to Beijing, paraded before the Kangxi court, and executed in 1722, his head subsequently displayed in the southern provinces as a warning. The Qing tightened administration of Taiwan in the wake of the revolt, building walled cities and adding new sub-prefectures while still maintaining strict bans on family migration from the mainland. Zhu Yigui's uprising — the first major Han Chinese rebellion in Qing Taiwan — established the long-running characterization of the island as a chronically unruly frontier and prefigured the more catastrophic revolts of the Lin Shuangwen and Dai Chaochun generations.
Led the Zhu Yigui Rebellion of 1721 ('Duck Emperor' uprising)