Pedro Yan Shiqi

Yan Shiqi's hometown, Haicheng, Zhangzhou, Fujian, had a tradition of martial arts. Since young, he was proficient at martial arts, bold and well-respected. However, because of his livelihood, his work was gentle as he was a tailor. In 1603, at the age of 14 or 15, Yan Shiqi became a fugitive when he beat his servant to death due to insult.

At that time, Zhangzhou was an important window for foreign trade and many ships departed from Zhangzhou to overseas. The world was big but there was no place in the country to accommodate oneself. Yan Shiqi was lucky enough to take a boat from the port to Japan. The country was relatively stable during the era of Tokugawa Shogunate. Many Chinese also lived here, doing foreign trade business (or some called it piracy).[2]

Although Yan Shiqi fled, he started his own business after he arrived in Japan. His tailoring business was good because of his good craftsmanship and he soon established himself in Japan. He also made a lot of friends due to his open-mindedness. The Japanese also appointed him as the leader.

He started as a tailor, for some reasons, he was engaged in foreign trade business (or some called it piracy). He stayed in Japan for almost 20 years.

In 1624, for unknown reasons, Yan Shiqi and his brothers planned to overthrow the Tokugawa Shogunate and established a regime. At any time, treason was risky and this time was no exception. The news was leaked before the uprising, they were forced to run for their lives again.

Yan Shiqi was the leader of the 27 men, that went to the port of Nagasaki. Among them were, Yan Shiqi, Yang Tian Sheng (deputy financial officer of Dachiban), Hong Sheng (from Putian, Xinghua), Chen De also known as Chen Zhong Ji (from Haicheng), Zhang Hong (from Hui'an, Quanzhou), nicknamed "Iron Bone Zhang Hong", who can lift 500 catties (250kg) of bluestone, Chen Xun (from Jinjiang, Quanzhou), Lin Fu (nicknamed "Deep Mountain Monkey"), Li Ying, Zhuang Gui, Yang Jing, Lin Yi, Huang Bi, Zhang Hui, Wang Ping, Huang Zhao, Li Junchen (from Nanjing, Zhangzhou), Zheng Yiguan also known as Zheng Zhilong, father of Koxinga of the Kingdom of Tungning, He Jin, Gao Guan, Yu Zu, Fang Sheng, Xu Ma, Huang Ruilang, Tang Gong, Fu Chun, Liu Zongzhao and Zheng Yu.

Later, he met with Li Dan, a merchant who traded between Ming China and Japan at that time. Hong Sheng and Yang Tian Sheng were under the command of Li Dan which total around 4000 people. Under the influence of Li Dan, Hong Sheng and Yang Tian Sheng joined Yan Shiqi's group and formed alliance with Zheng Zhilong.[3]

Taiwan in the 17th century

  Ming Dynasty

  Dutch Territory

  Spanish Territory

  Kingdom of Middag

At this time, Yan Shiqi and his brothers had 13 large ships. It should be said that they still have a certain strength. Zheng Zhilong was such a capable man. Chen Zhong Ji said that Taiwan was a good place so they all went there.

After arriving in Taiwan, he immediately opened up Beigang and built ten settlements (Main Village, Front Village, Back Village, Left Village, Right Village, Coast Defense Village, Grains Supply Village, Sentinel Village, Treatment Village and North Village). Beigang had sufficient sunshine, abundant rainfall and fertile soil, it is extremely suitable for farming. However, their labour force was insufficient, therefore, he sent Yang Tian Sheng to secretly return to Fujian and recruited more than 3000 labourers from Zhangzhou and Quanzhou to Beigang. This was a large scale migration of Mainland Chinese to Taiwan.

However, this large force caused panic among the natives on the island. They thought that foreign enemies were invading, so they gathered to attack. At this moment, Yan Shiqi showed his intentions, he comforted the natives and agreed on the boundaries. After that, they did not intrude each other.

Land reclamation, required capital investment, so Yan Shiqi selected a group of people with sailing experience. With the original 13 large ships, they used the convenience of sea transportation, carry out sea trade with the mainland, at the same time, they organized sea fishing and island hunting, developed the economy and met the needs of immigrants.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Dutch, Spanish and Chinese entered Taiwan in large numbers and introduced various plants, such as: mango, sweet potato, pineapple, jackfruit and so on.