She commanded more than 1,800 pirate ships, an estimated 80,000 Chinese female pirates, and zheng shi, who lived and plundered during the Qing Dynasty, is known as the most successful pirate in history.
In the early 19th century, a former prostitute at a floating brothel in Guangzhou married Zheng Qi, a terrible pirate leader who operated in the South China Sea during the Qing Dynasty.
Although we now know that her name is Zheng Shishi— meaning "Zheng's widow," she left a legacy far beyond her husband's legacy. After her husband's death, she succeeded him, commanding more than 1,800 pirate ships, estimated at 80,000 soldiers. In contrast, the famous pirate Blackbeard of the same period commanded 4 ships and 300 pirates. As a result, The Zheng shi clan is known as one of the most successful pirates in known history.
Her husband, Zheng Qi, is the boss of the Red Flag Pirate Fleet. He successfully united many rival pirate gangs. He married the 26-year-old Zheng Shishi in 1801, "and she was fully involved in her husband's piracy," Dian H. Murray wrote in Pirates on the Southern Coast of China, 1790-1810.
Rumor has it that Zheng Qiqi sought out Zheng Shishi because she was a shrewd businessman. Apparently, Zheng Shishi mastered the secrets of many rich and powerful people when she was a prostitute, and she later used these secrets to exert influence on them. There is no reliable historical source to support this claim, but zheng Shishi's financial wisdom is undoubtedly undeniable during her pirate career.
Zheng Shishi demanded equal control of the pirate fleet, as a condition of her marriage to Zheng Qi, in 1801. "When Zheng Shishi became the head of the entire alliance, her business acumen began to show," Murray said. Female pirate leaders are a rare phenomenon, and Murray knows only one more female commander, Ms. Han Qiulu, who was active in Hong Kong in the first half of the 20th century.
Six years after their marriage, Zheng Qiqi died at the age of 42. Not much is known about how he died. Some claims suggest he died in the tsunami, while others suggest he was murdered in Vietnam. In any case, his death put Zheng Shi in an unstable position.
A 19th-century sketch depicts the battle of The Jeong Shek clan (right).
Her husband's adopted son and heir, Zhang Baozai, was originally the one who inherited control of the Red Flag Fleet. However, Zhang Baozai is not only Zheng Qi's stepson, the young fisherman was also her husband's lover. Although the sexual relationship between the adopted son and the adoptive father may seem unusual, adoption itself is not surprising.
"Unlike in the West, 'adult' adoption in China is often intended to build a foundation for kinship for further engagement, especially in business or discipleship," Murray said. So Zheng Qiqi's adoption of a young fisherman as a son was a routine operation at that time.
Within a few weeks of Zheng Qi's death, Zheng Shi also adopted Zhang Baozai as her lover, eventually cementing the relationship through marriage. Soon, she managed to bring herself back to power and gained leadership of the Red Flag Fleet.
As a woman commanding a large fleet of pirate ships, Zheng Shishi has a lot of work to do. "There are often women on pirate ships, but it's not clear to what extent they are or aren't real pirates," Murray said. Unlike in the West, in southern China, it is common for women to board a boat and does not bring bad luck to the boat. Still, it's not easy for anyone to control so many outlaws, let alone the widows of pirates.
In September 1809, an employee of the East India Company named Richard Graspool was captured by Zheng Shi's pirates and imprisoned until December of that year. In his account of the ordeal, he estimated that there were 80,000 pirates under the command of Cheng Shi, as well as about 1,000 large ships and 800 small boats and rowboats.
Zhang Baozai Cave, named after Zheng Shi's adopted son and lover, is also rumored to be the place where Zheng Shi hid his booty
Zheng Shi used a set of legal norms to unify her vast fleet of pirate ships. The code was very strict, stipulating that any pirate who gave his own orders or disobeyed the orders of his superiors would be beheaded on the spot. The Code was particularly unusual in the area of laws relating to female captivity. If a pirate raped a female captive, he would be sentenced to death. If sex between two people is voluntary, both will be put to death.
There are more accounts of The Code of Zheng Shi that say, "If a pirate takes a captive as his wife, he must be loyal to her (although others say that the captain will have multiple wives). Murray said: "Whatever they think of her, it seems that the pirates do respect and obey her authority." ”
Although Qing officials, the Portuguese Navy, and the East India Company all tried to eliminate the Red Flag Fleet, under the rule of Zheng Shi, the Red Flag Fleet was not defeated. After three years of notoriety on the high seas, Zheng shishi finally accepted the Chinese government's amnesty proposal in 1810 and retired.
"The reason for the surrender appears to be the internecine killing between black flag and red flag fleets and their leaders, which led first to the surrender of the black flagship and then finally to the surrender of the red flag fleet," Murray said. "I imagine that given the growing pressure of repression from the outside and the loss of cohesion internally, she realized that the time had come to give up."
In 1844, Zheng Shishi died at the age of 69. The legacy she left behind during her reign has permeated pop culture. She even inspired a character in the Pirates of the Caribbean films: the mighty Lady Cheng, one of the nine pirate lords. Although nothing is known about her years after retirement, one can only hope that she will spend her last days in peace and anonymity, away from the life of suffering at sea on which she became famous.