A city surrendered by treaty, but its towers pulled down
Editorial contextPassing through Zwanjefoe (Quanzhou), the Dutch envoys learned that the city had never been taken by the sword: its commander handed it over to the Tartars by agreement, keeping his office. Even so, as a sign of victory, the Tartar had all the city's towers torn down except three. A small, precise record of what conquest meant for a Chinese city's skyline.
The city was never conquered by the sword by the Tartars, but was handed over by its military commander … by treaty … As a sign of victory, however, the Tartar had all the towers, except the three mentioned before, torn down and razed to the ground
Working translation
Original wording
Noit is de Stadt door het zwaert, by de Tarters overwonnen, maer wierd, door den Krijgs-overste … met verdrag overgegeven … Ten teken evenwel der overwinning, liet de Tarter al de torens, behalve de voorzeide drie, afbreken en ten gronde slopen
About Tartars (Qing Manchu conquerors)
Keep in mind
The envoys saw the city but the story of its surrender was told to them.
OCR normalized; the two printed columns, interleaved in the OCR, are read in order.
Stone houses burned by the Tartars, heads on stakes
Editorial contextGoing ashore with Bort's fleet after the joint Dutch and Qing attack on the island bases of the Zheng (Koxinga) regime, the Dutch found a walled town and its suburb packed with fine stone houses, all wrecked and burned by the Tartars. In a square lay stakes and human heads, which the enemies of the Tartars had displayed six years before, after a great Tartar defeat at sea, and which had now been thrown down and burned 'after the manner of the Tartars'.
Both the suburb and the walled town were very densely built with countless fairly handsome stone houses, all of which were destroyed by the Tartars and laid in ashes by fire. On a certain square one saw some stakes, and beside them several human heads lying
Working translation
Original wording
Zoowel de voor als de bemuurde stad, was zeer dicht met ontelbare redelijke schoone steene huizen betimmert, welke alle door de Tartaren verwoest, en door den brant in d'assche gelegt wierden. Men zag aldaer op zeker plein eenige staken, en daer by verscheide menschen hoofden leggen
About Tartars (Qing army), fighting the Zheng regime
Continue in this sourceDapper's record of the Dutch in Qing China, 1662 to 16681662 to 1668 · 4 passages