Guangdong Pirate Confederation (400 ships, 40,000–60,000 pirates in 1805)
Personal command of 24 ships and 1,433 pirates in 1810
Later work
Gambling house owner at Guangzhou
Zheng Yi Sao
Ching Shih
Traditional Chinese
鄭氏
Simplified Chinese
郑氏
Literal meaning
wife of Zheng
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin
Zhèng Shì
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutping
zeng6 si6
Cheng I Sao
Traditional Chinese
鄭一嫂
Simplified Chinese
郑一嫂
Literal meaning
wife of Zheng Yi
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin
Zhèng Yī Sǎo
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutping
zeng6 jat1 sou2
Shih Yang
(birth name)
Traditional Chinese
石陽
Simplified Chinese
石阳
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin
Shí Yáng
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutping
sek6 joeng4
Shih Heang Koo
(former nickname)
Chinese
石香姑
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin
Shí Xiāng Gū
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutping
sek6 hoeng1 gu1
Zheng Yi Sao (born Shi Yang; 1775–1844), also known as Shi Xianggu, Shek Yeung and Ching Shih, was a Chinese pirate leader active in the South China Sea from 1801[1] to 1810.[2]
Born as Shi Yang in 1775 to humble origins, she married a pirate named Zheng Yi at age 26 in 1801. She was named Zheng Yi Sao ("wife of Zheng Yi") by the people of Guangdong.[3][4] After the death of her husband in 1807, she took control of his pirate confederation with the support of Zheng Yi's adopted son Zhang Bao, with whom she entered into a relationship and later married. As the unofficial commander of the Guangdong Pirate Confederation,[5] her fleet was composed of 400 junks and between 40,000 and 60,000 pirates in 1805.[6] Her ships entered into conflict with several major powers, such as the East India Company, the Portuguese Empire, and the Great Qing.[7]
In 1810, Zheng Yi Sao negotiated a surrender to the Qing authorities that allowed her and Zhang Bao to retain a substantial fleet and avoid prosecution. At the time of her surrender, she personally commanded 24 ships and over 1,400 pirates. She died in 1844 at the age of about 68, having lived a relatively peaceful and prosperous life since the end of her career in piracy. Zheng Yi Sao has been described as not only history's most successful female pirate, but one of the most successful pirates in history.[8][9]
^Murray 1987, p. 71.
^Murray 1987, p. 143.
^Wang 2019, p. 85.
^Siu & Puk 2007, p. 10, U5b.
^Siu & Puk 2007, p. 10, U5a.
^Murray 2001, p. 258.
^Zheng 1998, p. 309.
^Banerji, Urvija (6 April 2016). "The Chinese Female Pirate Who Commanded 80,000 Outlaws". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
^"History's greatest woman pirate becomes a Hong Kong children's story". South China Morning Post. 28 February 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
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