On the question of what to do with the newly conquered territory, the Kangxi emperor is reported to have told his officials: “Taiwan is no bigger than a ball of mud. We gain nothing by possessing it, and it would be no loss if we did not acquire it.” He favored abandoning Taiwan (after repatriating all the Chinese). Keeping the island would be an economic burden, a needless expenditure for what was considered a wild land of tattooed cannibals, dangerous terrain, and disease. Kangxi had – as did his predecessors – a continental mentality; his eyes were on expansion into Central Asia, not turned toward maritime horizons.
