The Life Of Ching Shih
Very little is known of Ching Shih's young years, however people guess that she was born around 1775. Her history only really picks up when she's 26 and is working in a brothel in Canton. Here is where she first saw Zheng Yi. Zheng Yi was a successful pirate at the time and was in command of a small fleet of ships known as the "Red Flag Fleet". Nobody really knows what happened after this but rumor has it that Zheng Yi had been looting the ship Ching Shih was on, had simply seen her and proposed that they be married. However, Ching Shih did not agree to this until Zheng Yi said that he would give her equal amount of plunder and some control over the fleet. Ching Shih had a great impact on her husband. over six years, the fleet tripled in number fron two hundred ships to six hundred. Zheng Yi died in November of 1807, after being caught in a typhoon. Ching Shih convinced Zheng Yi's second in command, Chang Pao to help her take over the fleet. She later married Chang Pao. Ching Shih took over the "Business" and proved to be very clever at sorting out alliances and even better at attacking strategies. Soon, her fleet surpassed the average pirates, with 1800 ships and 70,000 to 80,000 pirates. With this power, Ching Shih had complete control over the Guangdong province and had spies throughout the Qing dynasty. Ching Shih was often described as ruthless, not only to her enemies, but to her crew as well. She always had the last say in battle strategy. Ching Shih virtually had her own government and law in her fleet. There were very specific rules, and if broken, punishments were harsh, often consisting of beheading. With these rules, she showed no mercy. This caused her to be feared and respected among her fleet. She was so feared, that all raiding gains were presented to her before they were divided among the surviving pirates. Soon, The Portuguese and English came to the conclusion that Ching Shih's forces were indestructible and instead of trying to arrest them, which would lead to more death and destruction, they issued amnesty for all pirates in her fleet to return to land and be free, so long as they stopped pirating and followed their laws. Ching Shih took advantage of this and returned to land as a free woman (retaining her wealth), with the majority of her fleet. She lived the rest of her life in her gambling house and died when she was 69 in 1844. (IMAGES AND CITATIONS BELOW)
Work Cited: "Ching Shih Pirate Biography and Facts." Ching Shih Pirate. Web. 20 Dec. 2014. <http://www.annebonnypirate.com/famous-female-pirates/ching-shih/>.
"Ching Shih." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 20 Dec. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ching_Shih>.
"Ching Shih." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 20 Dec. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ching_Shih>.