Zheng Zhilong (April 16, 1604 - November 24, 1661), named Feihuang, was a native of Shijing Township, Nan'an, Quanzhou Prefecture, Fujian Province. He was a representative of Minshang merchants. He was the largest maritime merchant and military group leader in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties. He was Zheng Chenggong's father and the founder of the Zheng Dynasty in Taiwan.

When Zheng Zhilong was seventeen years old, due to the difficult livelihood of his family, he and his younger brother Zhihu and Zhibao went to Xiangshan Macao (Macau), Guangdong Province, which was one of the centers of Sino-foreign trade at that time. According to his uncle Huang Cheng, Huang Cheng was a maritime merchant who engaged in overseas trade in Macau. He left Zheng Zhilong by his side as a helper and assisted in business. Zheng Zhilong used his wisdom and talents in business competition and competition for interests. He learned to do business and trade. He went to Manila and learned Lusita and Portuguese. In his dealings with the Portuguese, he was influenced by them and received Catholic baptism. He was given the Christian name Jasper, and the other name was Nicola. Foreigners called him Nicola Zhilong.

Huang Cheng bought a ship in business and sold it to the East. Seeing that Zheng Zhilong was capable, in the third year of the Apocalypse (1623), he was condemned to be attached to Li Dan (a native of Quanzhou), an overseas Chinese in Hirado, Japan, and escorted a batch of sugar, Chinan, musk, deerskin and other goods. He went to Japan from Xiangshan Australia and lived in Nagasaki. Unfamiliar from the land, he began to "sell shoes" as a career, or "sew for people to paste their mouths". Later, he turned to business and sold sugar, Chinan, musk and other things for his uncle Huang Cheng. Zheng Zhilong engaged in commercial activities and foreign trade, and later became a subordinate to Li Dan, the most powerful maritime merchant at that time, to help Li Dan do business. He became a subordinate of Li Dan, and "served his father". Li Dan is well-capitalized, owns a fleet, specializes in overseas trade, and is the leader of the local overseas Chinese. Li Dan thinks Zhilong is capable and reliable, and "he is a adopted son". He handed over some assets and ships for him to do business in Vietnam and won a lot of money. In a few years, Zheng Zhilong became a tycoon, often traveling between China and Japan, and living in Japan.

After Zheng Zhilong Group cleared away the obstacles at sea,"From then on, the sea atmosphere subsided, and it sold foreign goods. Domestic and foreign merchants all used the Zheng's banner. There was no warning and no danger, and merchants earned twenty times the profits. Zhilong used Haili to communicate with dignitaries and make a big show.¡»

He used the navigation and business base in Anping Town, Quanzhou to break the official sea ban and prosper the sea market. His armed fleet took a clear-cut stand and built a strong military force, sailing between China's coast, Taiwan, Macao, Japan, the Philippines and other Southeast Asian places, making full use of his power and financial resources, expanding maritime trade, almost monopolizing trade between China and overseas countries. Zheng Zhilong said: "Since the beginning of pacification, all ships that were not allowed to pass through Zheng's order flag were not allowed to travel. Each ship earns 3,000 gold per year, and tens of millions of gold per year. Zhilong is so rich that it can rival the enemy. Since the city was built in Anping (now Anhai in Jinjiang), sea ships can go straight to the inner sea, and they can berth ships to the sea... Eight Fujian regards Zheng as the Great Wall.¡»

With his powerful armed forces and abundant capital, he competes with trading companies in the Netherlands, Japan, and Nanyang countries in the international market. He is a representative figure of the combination of government and business and the emergence of China's capitalism. As far as the Nanming and Tang Dynasty's regime was concerned, the Zheng family's maritime power was the pillar. Just as Zheng Zhilong said: "The ministers of the three passes take the pay, and the ministers take the sea. Without the sea, there is no home.¡»

Zheng Zhilong was engaged in overseas trade, mainly with Japan. According to the Dutch East India Company's "Batavia City Log" and "Hirado Dutch Pavilion Log" records: In the fourth year of Chongzhen (1631), Zheng Zhilong's two merchant ships returned to Anhai, Quanzhou with goods from Nagasaki, Japan. In the twelfth year of Chongzhen (1639), dozens of Zheng Zhilong merchant ships sailed to Nagasaki. In the thirteenth year of Chongzhen (1640), two Zheng Zhilong merchant ships were full of yellow and white silk and satin, satin and other goods, and shipped to Japan. According to the "Nagasaki Dutch Merchant Ship Log", from 1641 to 1643 (the fourteenth to sixteenth year of Chongzhen), Zheng Zhilong carried a large amount of raw silk, various textiles, black and white sugar, musk, soil and other medicines, which were shipped to Japan and were very popular.

In the summer of the 14th year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty (1641), Zheng Zhilong's 22 merchant ships arrived in Nagasaki, Japan from Anping Port in Jinjiang County, accounting for 22.68% of the total number of Chinese merchant ships bound for Japan that year. The main goods were raw silk, textiles, porcelain, etc. Zheng Zhilong established trade relations with the Portuguese and Spaniards. Some of the silk fabrics he shipped to Japan were purchased from Macau, and Japanese goods were also shipped to Luzon for resale in Spain. Zheng Zhilong made great efforts to develop maritime trade, often laden with silk, porcelain, iron and other goods, sailing to Cambodia, Siam, Zhancheng, Jiaotou, Sanfoqi, the Philippines, Yaluba (now Jakarta), Malacca and other countries for trade, in exchange for Sumu, pepper, ivory, rhino horn and so on. In just a few years, it became the strongest competitor of the Dutch East India Company in Asian commercial trade.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Chenggong successively established a shipyard in Shijing, Nan 'an, to build dual-use ships for military and commercial purposes. Three to five ships were built every year and dozens of ships were built. Due to the substantial development of the Zheng Zhilong Group's power, it also posed a great threat to the Dutch colonists. As soon as Dutch ships appeared in the China Sea, they were intercepted by the Zheng Zhilong Group. For this reason, in the seventh year of Tianqi (1627), a war between the Dutch army stationed in Taiwan and the Zheng army occurred, resulting in the Dutch army being defeated.

Zheng Zhilong eliminated the heroes and incorporated maritime power into the local official system, obtained maritime power, and legally controlled the operation of the Eastern and Western trade system. In the twelfth year of Chongzhen (1639), Japan closed its territory and withdrew from the East Asian maritime competition; the Dutch colonists also had no choice but to reach a maritime navigation and trade agreement with Zheng, stipulating that Dutch trade with Japan required Zheng Zhilong to transport China specialties to Taiwan, and then transfer them to Japan for sale. Zheng Zhilong became the only power in the Eastern Ocean World.