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Nickname: widow of Zheng   
Famous for: leading the most powerful pirate fleet in China   
Born: uncertain, somewhere in China about 1785   
Died: 1844, in Guangzhou, China   
Married: twice, first to Zheng Yi, then to Cheung Po-tsai   
Profession: pirate
Ching Shih, Pirate Queen   
Find words that mean: to say yes, navy, boss, forgive   
Nobody knows when or where Ching Shih was born. She first appears in history in 1801 as the girlfriend of Zheng Yi, a Cantonese pirate. When Zheng Yi asked Ching Shih to marry him, Ching Shih agreed - on the condition that she would share his power. Because Ching Shih was clever, Zheng Yi agreed.   
Zheng Yi was a successful pirate. He had a fleet of 400 ships and 70,000 men. 
Zheng Yi and Ching Shih attacked merchant ships and stole their goods. They also attacked villages. People paid protection money so the pirates would leave them alone. 
The government sent a fleet to destroy the pirates. But Zheng Yi and Ching Shih beat the government fleet and stole their ships.   
When Zheng Yi died, Ching Shih became the pirate leader. Ching Shih was very successful. In a few years she had a fleet of 1,500 ships and more than 80,000 sailors.   
But Ching Shih realised the government would beat the pirates eventually. So in 1810 she made an agreement with the government. The pirates retired and the government agreed to pardon them.   
Ching Shih went to live in Guangzhou and became a businesswoman. But as she was a pirate at heart she set up a gambling house - and smuggled opium!
Cheung Po-tsai, the Pirate Kid
Fill in the gaps: commanded, kidnapped, made an agreement
Cheung Po-tsai was the son of a fisherman. He lived in Xinhui in Guangdong. His life was very ordinary until he was ______ by Zheng Yi and Ching Shih. Luckily for Cheung, the pirates liked him. They liked him so much that they adopted him as a son.
When Zheng Yi died, Ching Shih made Cheung her lieutenant. After a few years, Ching Shih and Cheung got married.
Cheung became a very powerful pirate. He _______600 ships and 50,000 sailors.
But in 1810 Cheung ________ with the government. He gave up his pirate career and became a captain in the Qing imperial navy.
Cheung went to the Penghu Islands off Taiwan. He was an important government official there for the rest of his life.
The defeat of Pirate King Cai Qian   
Find words which mean the opposite of: protected, more dangerous, fewer   
Piracy was a big problem during the 1700s in China. Pirates attacked ships and seaside villages. Some pirates were so powerful that they demanded taxes - just like the emperor!   
The Qianlong Emperor wanted to destroy the pirates. He sent his admiral to fight the pirate king Cai Qian. This pirate had a fleet of more than 1,000 ships and 25,000 pirates. 
It took more than 10 years, but in the end Cai Qian was defeated. After this, other pirates like Ching Shih and Cheung Po-tsai decided to retire. Then life was safer for people in China.   
Pirates in the West   
Captain Jack Sparrow and Captain Hook are based on real pirates that worked in the Caribbean 300 years ago.   
At this time European countries were conquering North and South America. Ships carried gold, silver and other treasure from the Americas back to Europe. But the pirates in the Caribbean would ambush these ships and steal their cargo. Between 1650 and 1730, there were so many pirates that this time is called The   Golden Age of Piracy.   
If you want to read some great stories about these times, look for Treasure Island written by Robert Louis Stevenson. It's available for free at gutenberg.org or type in 'pirate' and read lots of other great pirate stories for free.
Amazing fact
Ching Shih made strict laws for her pirates. Anyone who disobeyed an order or stole was killed. Ugly female prisoners taken during raids were sent back home - freeof charge. Pretty ones were sold to the crew as wives. But pirate husbands who cheated on their wives were killed.
True or false?
To test your memory, try answering without referring to the text. If you can't remember the details, read the piece again.
1 Ching Shih was married to a famous pirate called Zheng Yi.
2 Zheng Yi and Ching Shih had an adopted son Cheung Po-tsai.
3 Ching Shih negotiated a peace deal with the government of China and retired.
4 Cheung Po-tsai retired and became a colonel in the Chinese navy.
5 The pirate king Cai Qian was defeated and killed by the Chinese navy.



History-makers Part 9: Pirate Queen Ching Shih