 During his tenure in Kobe, he worked closely with the Chinese community and played an instrumental part in establishing the Chinese guild ("Zhōnghuá huìguǎn" 中華會館) there.In Japan, Zheng also interacted with a number of influential politicians and scholars, such as Itō Hirobumi, Mutsu Munemitsu and Naitō Torajirō.Following the outbreak of the First Sino-Japanese war in 1894, Zheng was forced to leave Japan.