What Johnny Depp, Chow Yun-fat and a Hong Kong pirate legend have in common

The fifth instalment of the popular Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is set for release this month, and the story of a real pirate who inspired an earlier character in the successful series is in the spotlight at the Hong Kong Maritime Museum.

The franchise’s third episode, 2007’s Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, features a Chinese pirate captain, Sao Feng, played by Hong Kong actor Chow Yun-fat and modelled on Cheung Po Tsai, one of Hong Kong’s most notorious historical figures.

In the film, Sao Feng is a wily opportunist, quick to switch allegiance if it suits his needs. Accounts of Cheung’s life suggest the screenwriters had done their research.

“Cheung Po Tsai was a hard-headed businessman who needed to survive in a brutal world and make a profit,” says Dr Libby Chan Lai-pik, senior curator of the exhibition, “Pirates of the South China Sea: Chasing Cheung Po Tsai and Port Cities”, which runs until October 8 at the museum in Hong Kong’s Central district.

Cheung (also known as Cheung Po, Chang Pao or Zhang Bao) is believed to have been born in the Xinhui district of Guangdong province around 1786, where he grew up in a family of fisherfolk. He was captured as a 15-year-old by the most feared pirate chiefs in the South China Sea – Cheng I and his wife, former prostitute Cheng I Sao, co-leaders of the mighty Red Flag Fleet.