24. Chinese Pirates

Piracy was not confined to the West. Chinese and South East Asian piracy evolved with the amount of commerce and strength of the dynasty in power. The South China Sea is ideally suited to pirates and remains a problem through modern times. 

The most notable Chinese pirate was a woman. She was such a famous pirate she was portrayed as Madam Ching Shih in the film Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. And yes, she was the pirate that came up with the Pirate Code.

Madam Ching lived from 1775 to 1844.  Madam Ching terrorized the China Sea in the early 19th century.  Ruthless, she is known to have nailed the feet of her captives to their ships.

Madam Ching was a Cantonese prostitute who worked in a floating brothel in Guangzhou.  In 1801, she married Cheng I, a notorious pirate.  Following her husband’s death, she succeeded him and commanded over 1,800 pirate ships, and an estimated 80,000 men. Her fleet was known as the "Red Flag Fleet".  She attacked the empires of the time, such as the British, the Portuguese and the Qing Dynasty.  

Madam Ching was never captured by the Chinese Navy or by foreign bounty hunters. In a desperate attempt to end the ordeal the Chinese government offered Madam Ching amnesty in exchange for peace in 1810.  She was one of the few pirate captains to retire from piracy.  Madam Ching died peacefully in 1844.

At this stop view the various artifacts and weapons used by Chinese Pirates. 

At this stop also locate the Gong.  Gongs were used on junks for signaling and navigation purposes and for good luck on a voyage. Can you ring the Gong for good luck on your future voyages?