Ching Shih

Cheng I Sao (鄭一嫂; c. 1775 – 1844), also known as Ching Shih (鄭氏), was a Chinese pirate active in the early 19th century. She is regarded as the most successful female pirate in history, and among the most successful pirates overall, controlling a large fleet that dominated the South China Sea and rivaled the navies of some of the world's major powers.

Biography

Ching Shih was a former prostitute who married the infamous pirate Cheng I. After her husband's death in 1807, Ching took command of all his operations, becoming the most important and powerful pirate in China.

Ching eventually married her lieutenant Cheung Po Tsai and turned her piratical enterprises into a ruthlessly effective organization. At the height of her career, Ching commanded a fleet of over 300 junks with a force of 20,000 to 40,000 individual pirates called the Red Flag Fleet. Her power even allowed her to establish hegemony in many Chinese cities, imposing levies or taxes against the citizens as the forces of Qing China and Great Britain struggled against her attacks.

Following several unsuccessful attempts by Cantonese officials to end her rule, Ching's fleet finally suffered a series of defeats against the Portuguese Navy. Coupled with the Red Flag Fleet's internal rifts, Ching's utter dominance over East Asian piracy was at an end. In 1810, the Chinese government offered amnesty to all pirates who wished to surrender, which she accepted, and she retired with all of her loot.

Behind the scenes

In Assassin's Creed: Pirates, the Red Flag of Ching Shih's pirate fleet is featured as one of several collectible items that the protagonist Alonzo Batilla can find, despite the game being set in the early 18th century, decades before Ching Shih was even born.

Gallery

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  The flag of Ching Shih's Red Fleet

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Initiates (first mentioned) (mentioned in Database entry only)
• Assassin's Creed: Pirates (mentioned only)