If there’s anything I love about the Internet, it’s the assurance that I won’t be disappointed if I Google “Chinese Pirate Queen.” This month’s Kickass Women is Ching Shih, also known as Madame Ching, also known as Cheng I Sao. She ruled the seas with an iron hand and retired so she could spend her golden years perched on big bags of money. She was a badass, and while of course her story is embellished through legend, the basic facts of her story are absolutely true.
A note about names: Most of the articles I read used the following spellings: ‘Ching Shih’ for our heroine, ‘Cheng I’, for her first husband, and ‘Cheung Po Tsai’ for her second husband. However, other sites used other spellings (for instance, ‘Zheng Shi’ and ‘Jihng Sih’ are both listed as alternates for ‘Ching Shih’ in Wikipedia). I stuck with ‘Ching Shih’ because it seems to be the most common spelling on the Internet, and I want to increase your luck at your own Googling.
Ching Shih was born in 1775. Her real name is unknown (Ching Shih means ‘Widow of Cheng’). She was a prostitute who was captured by pirates and promptly married one of them, Cheng I. Cheng I was an immensely powerful pirate, though it’s probably more accurate to call him a privateer, since he was involved in political intrigues and played a significant role in the Tay Son Rebellion. The Tay Son Rebellion was a rebellion between Vietnam and China. It lasted from approximately 1771 – 1802. During this time, the Tay Son group basically outsourced their navy, hiring Chinese pirates to attack and loot other Chinese ships. Ching Shih and Cheng I were unstoppable partners who led a large fleet of ships until Cheng I died in 1807. At the time of his death, the couple had a pirate fleet of anywhere from 400 – 1200 ships and 70,000 – 80,000 pirates. It was known as the Red Flag Fleet.
Ching Shih decided that she needed a new ally. She entered into a marriage of convenience with her adopted son, Cheung Po Tsai, who was also the second in command (behind Cheng I and Ching Shih, who operated as a unit). The most straightforward story about Cheung Po Tsai, and the one most frequently told, is that Cheung Po Tsai was kidnapped as a teen by Cheng I and Ching Shih, who subsequently adopted him.
Another story, from History of Piracy, says that Cheung Po Tsai was Cheng I’s lover. Cheng I could not marry him, so he adopted him instead, which gave Cheung Po Tsai certain official status and protection in case of Cheng I’s death. This idea isn’t far-fetched: this article in The Advocate talks about gay couples in the modern day United States in which one adopted the other when gay marriage wasn’t legal. It appears to be a pretty common historical practice.
If this theory is true, then for a significant period of time the most powerful pirate fleet the world has ever known was run by a woman and a man who was either gay or bisexual. Suck it, heteronormative patriarchy!
Ching Shih implemented a strict list of rules. The rules called for obedience to Ching Shih alone, and for any loot to be turned in and then distributed by the fleet leader (whoever captured the loot got to keep an additional twenty present of it). Rape was punishable by death and many female captives were released. The pirates were allowed to take wives from among the captives but they could be punished by death if they were violent or unfaithful or failed to provide for their wives.
Ching Shih’s fleet ruled the coastal villages. The Chinese navy couldn’t outfight her. The British and Portuguese navies wouldn’t go near her.
A lot of stories about ambitious people end with the ambitious ones being punished in some way. This is especially true when the people are women. But in Ching Shih’s case, everything turned out just fine. The Chinese government became so desperate to get rid of her that they came to terms.
In the words of “Rejected Princesses,”
Instead of merely negotiating amnesty by informing on her shipmates, she spent months bargaining with the government. The end result: she actually retired. The government gave over a big chunk of cash, cancelled all warrants for her, and made Chang Palo lieutenant in the Chinese navy. One of his first acts? Using the government forces to destroy their old pirate rivals.
Ching Shih died in 1844, presumably while lying comfortably atop of a large pile of money. According to The Mary Sue, Maggie Q is set to star in a new series, Red Flag, based on Ching Shih’s life. No release date or network yet, but fingers crossed!
Once again, this column is brought to you by Google (unofficially – I’m not suggesting they are a corporate sponsor. I’m merely suggesting that I spent many happy hours typing “Chinese Pirate Queen” into my search engine). Every good hardcore academic scholarly endeavor starts with Wikipedia and this was no exception. I’m also grateful to:
“Zheng Shi, Pirate Lady of China” by Kallie Szczepanski, in About.com
“The Pirate Ching Shih,” by Ludovico Pisano, in The Global Dispatches
The incredibly fun website Rejected Princesses
The also incredibly fun website Badass of the Week
Persistent Piracy: Maritime Violence and State Formation in Global Historical Formation, edited by Stefan Amirell and Leos Muller, published by Palsgrave MacMillan in 2014 (Excerpt found in Google Books).
History of Piracy, by Angus Konstam, published by Osprey Publishing in 2008
I can’t believe I’ve never heard of such a fascinating person! Thank you for sharing her story.
Who was “Chang Palo”? Is that another spelling of the adopted son’s name?
Oh dear, I knew at some point I’d miss-type a name. The quote is from Rejected Princesses, which uses it was another spelling of Cheung Po Tsai. However it’s still a typo on my part, because it should be “Chang Pao, not Palo.
OMG, I am floored. Why have I never heard of her? Thank you for this. So very fascinating.
I was so amazed by the size of the pirate fleet, that I googled to see how big the Royal Navy was during the same time period. In 1810, which seems to have been the peak of their power, Great Britain had 152 ships of the line(very large battleships with > 50 cannon) and 183 cruisers(cruisers included sloops-of-war, frigates and corvettes). I’m guessing many of the pirate ships were smaller ships, and the Royal Navy probably had other smaller ships that are not listed. but still…that’s a huge number of boats.
Gentle readers who have a knowledge of the 3rd ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ movie will find a shout out to our pirate queen–as Madame Ching–in the great meeting of the pirate captains scene(I know…most of you were focused on Keith Richard, but she really is there…).
Thank you, Carrie, for the informative and interesting post.
BTW, I am currently reading “Far Traveler”–thanks to a previous post in this series. The former history major part of me loves this stuff. Keep it coming…
lol, love it..”Suck it, heteronormative patriarchy!”
Great read, thank you!