The Blood Bond Across the Strait: Decoding the Qing Dynasty Migration

Abstract

The Qing Dynasty marked a transformative period in the relationship between Fujian and Taiwan. Following Shi Lang’s recovery of Taiwan in 1683, the Kangxi Emperor lifted the maritime ban, igniting a massive migration wave during the Qing Dynasty. Statistical data suggests that approximately 70% of Taiwan’s population shares Minnan (Hoklo) ancestry, with Zhangzhou descendants forming a core segment. Drawing from the Zhangzhou Prefecture Chronicles, this article reconstructs this miracle of human migration through geographic links, administrative evolution, and clan histories, highlighting the deep-seated bonds of the Hokkien language and the Taiwan ancestors recorded in clan genealogies.

Geographic Connections

Zhangzhou (Longxi, Zhangpu, Haicheng, Nanjing, Pinghe, Zhao’an, Changtai, Hua’an), Xiamen (Siming), Penghu, Taiwan (Tayouan/Tainan, Zhuluo, Changhua, Fengshan).

I. Historical Turning Point: Trans-Strait Pioneering After 1683

In 1683 (the 22nd year of Kangxi), Admiral Shi Lang led his fleet to stabilize Taiwan, an event that fundamentally redrew the survival map for the people of Minnan. Prior to this, during the late Ming and early Qing transitions, many Zhangzhou residents had already reached Taiwan through illicit crossings.

  • Chronicle & Context: In 1567 (the 45th year of Jiajing), Haicheng County was established from parts of Longxi and Zhangpu to facilitate maritime trade, making Yuegang (Moon Harbor) a primary departure point for early Fujianese migrants. By 1684 (the 23rd year of Kangxi), the Qing government established Taiwan Prefecture with three subordinate counties: Taiwan, Fengshan, and Zhuluo, officially integrating the island into the national administration.
  • Data Density: According to the Zhangzhou Prefecture Chronicles, Zhangzhou initially governed “Seven Counties”: Longxi, Zhangpu, Nanjing, Changtai, Pinghe, Zhao’an, and Haicheng. By the late Qing, Zhangzhou’s population had surged from several hundred thousand in the Ming era, creating a severe land-to-people ratio that directly fueled the exodus to Taiwan.

II. Roots in Zhangzhou: Origins in Local Chronicles

The administrative divisions of Zhangzhou underwent numerous adjustments during the Ming and Qing dynasties, with each name change recording the paths of family migrations.

1. Longxi and Haicheng: Vanguard of Maritime Civilization

As the seat of the prefecture, Longxi has been the political heart of Zhangzhou since ancient times.

  • Precise Dating: In 1087 (the 2nd year of Yuanyou, Northern Song), the renowned scholar Su Shi submitted a memorial regarding land annexation in Southern Fujian, reflecting the region’s long history of agricultural development. In 1573 (the 1st year of Wanli, Ming), Prefect Luo Qingxiao supervised the compilation of the Wanli Zhangzhou Prefecture Chronicles, spanning 32 volumes of detailed folk customs and geography.
  • Numerical Evidence: Since its founding in 1567, Haicheng County developed 15 main streets and numerous harbor warehouses by the late Ming, serving as the bridgehead for transporting goods and people to Taiwan.

2. Pressure in the “Mountain Product” Counties: Nanjing, Pinghe, and

Zhao’an Unlike coastal Haicheng, counties like Nanjing and Pinghe were rich in “mountain products” but limited in arable land.

  • Precise Dating: In 1519 (the 14th year of Zhengde, Ming), after suppressing local unrest, Wang Yangming recommended the establishment of Pinghe County to better manage the mountainous population.
  • Data Density: Records from the Zhangzhou Population Chronicles indicate that by the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty, per capita arable land in these mountainous areas had dropped below 0.8 mu, forcing large numbers of young men to seek new lives across the sea.

III. Blood Bonds: Trans-Strait Survival of Hokkien and Genealogies

The Hokkien language and Clan Genealogies (Zupu) remain the most resilient cultural umbilical cords connecting Fujian and Taiwan.

1. Hokkien: The Hometown Accent Crossing the “Black Water Ditch”

The dominance of Hokkien in Taiwan is essentially the result of the fusion of Zhangzhou and Quanzhou immigrants.

  • Historical Depth: As early as 686 AD (the 2nd year of Chuigong, Tang), Chen Yuanguan founded Zhangzhou, bringing ancient Central Plains Chinese to the region and forming the basis of the Hokkien language.
  • Cultural Persistence: During the Qing migration wave, the Zhangzhou dialect, with its distinct “open ending” vowels, influenced the linguistic landscape of places like Yilan in Taiwan. Historical sources show that private schools in Qing-era Taiwan often used primers like Jian Lue, compiled in Minnan, ensuring the continuity of the mother tongue.

2. The “Taiwan Ancestors” in Clan Records

For millions of Taiwanese compatriots, clan genealogies are the only guides to finding their ancestral roots.

  • Precise Dating: In 1531 (the 10th year of Jiajing, Ming), major clans in Zhangzhou began large-scale revisions of their genealogies, emphasizing the Confucian value that “a tree has its roots, and water has its source”.
  • Numerical Evidence: Among extant Fujian-Taiwan genealogies, over 200 volumes containing records of “Taiwan Ancestors” have been discovered in the Zhangzhou area alone. These records detail the specific villages in Longxi or Zhangpu counties that ancestors left during the Kangxi and Qianlong eras.

IV. Economic Interaction: From Grain Exports to Trade Synergy

The migration wave was not merely a movement of people but an extension of economic models across the strait.

  • Precise Dating: In 1722 (the 61st year of Kangxi), the Qing government mandated that surplus grain from Taiwan be shipped back to Fujian to stabilize food prices in Southern Fujian.
  • Data Density: According to the Zhangzhou Foreign Economic and Trade Chronicles, during the mid-Qing, more than 300 merchant ships annually crossed between Haicheng’s Yuegang and Taiwan. Taiwan’s sugar and deerskins were constantly imported to Zhangzhou, while Zhangzhou’s silk, ceramics, and medicinal herbs were essential supplies for the migrants in Taiwan.

V. Conclusion: An Indelible Historical Imprint

From the unification in 1683 to the peak of migration in the mid-Qing, the people of Zhangzhou crossed the Taiwan Strait, bringing not only advanced agricultural techniques (such as Zhangzhou’s unique irrigation wheels) but also a resilient spirit of survival. Today, in the wave of ancestral searches in Taiwan, the familiar Hokkien phrases and the yellowing pages of clan genealogies continue to tell the moving story of “Roots in Zhangzhou.”