During the earlier era, when the Qing was in its heyday, controlling an expanse from the Ussuri River in the east to Xinjiang in the west, from Mt. Daxingan in the north to the "small island of Taiwan" in the south, the Qing court viewed Taiwan as a border region requiring little of their attention.
康雍乾時期，清廷國勢如日中天，掌管領域東從烏蘇里江，西至新疆，北至大興安嶺，位於南方的「蕞爾小島」台灣，在清廷的眼光裡，的確是不甚在意的邊陲。