Cheung Po Tsai

Cheung Po Tsai
Native name (simplified Chinese: 张保仔; traditional Chinese: 張保仔; pinyin: zhāng bǎo zǎi)
Born Cheung Po (simplified Chinese: 张保; traditional Chinese: 張保; pinyin: zhāng bǎo)
1783 (1783)
Xinhui, Jiangmen, China
Died 1822 (aged 38–39)[1]
Penghu, Fujian, China
Residence Penghu, Taiwan Province, Taiwan
Nationality China
Occupation Qing naval officer, former pirate
Known for Chinese pirate
Home town Xinhui, Jiangmen, China
Criminal charge piracy
Criminal penalty death penalty
Criminal status amnestied
Spouse(s)
Ching Shih (m. 1810–1822)
Children
  • Cheung Yu Lin (son)
  • 1 daughter
Parent(s) Cheng I (adoptive father)
Ching Shih (former adoptive mother)
Piratical career
Nickname Cheung Po Tsai
Type Pirate
Allegiance Red Flag Fleet
Years active 1798–1810
Rank second-in-command
Base of operations South China Sea
Commands Red Flag Fleet
Battles/wars Battle of the Tiger's Mouth
Later work naval officer of Qing Dynasty (1810–1822)
Cheung Po Tsai
Traditional Chinese 張保仔
Simplified Chinese 张保仔

Cheung Po Tsai (simplified Chinese: 张保仔; traditional Chinese: 張保仔; 1783–1822) was a navy colonel of the Qing Dynasty and former pirate. "Cheung Po Tsai" literally means "Cheung Po the Kid". He was known to the Portuguese Navy as Quan Apon Chay during the Battle of the Tiger's Mouth.

History

Early life

The Cheng family of the Pirates on the China Sea genealogy

Cheung Po (simplified Chinese: 张保; traditional Chinese: 張保) was born in 1783, he was a son of a Tanka fisherman who lived in Xinhui of Jiangmen. On about 1798, He was abducted at age 15 by the pirate Cheng I who pressed him into piracy. His natural talent helped him adapt to his unplanned new career and he rose through the rank swiftly. Cheung Po was later adopted by Cheng I and Ching I Sao (simplified Chinese: 郑一嫂; traditional Chinese: 鄭一嫂; pinyin: zhèng yī sǎo; "wife of Cheng I"; married 1801) as their step-son, making him Cheng's legal heir.

Rise to command

After Cheng I died suddenly in Vietnam on 16 November 1807, his widow Ching Shih acted quickly to solidify the partnership with her step-son Cheung Po which soon became intimate. Their first success came when they are able to secure the loyalty of Cheng’s relatives, who were leaders in the fleet. They became lovers within weeks.

As Ching Shih's second-in-command, Cheung Po Tsai was active along the Guangdong coastal area during the Qing Dynasty. Their followers are said to have reached 50,000+ and his fleet said to have possessed 600 ships. Po Tsai's piracy mate and lieutenant was Cai Qian (simplified Chinese: 蔡牵; traditional Chinese: 蔡牽) and the two worked together. Cai Qian had strong connections to the Western weapon dealers as his wife, known as Cai Qian Ma (simplified Chinese: 蔡牵妈; traditional Chinese: 蔡牽媽), real name Lu Shi (simplified Chinese: 吕氏; traditional Chinese: 呂氏), was fluent in English and was an expert in Western weaponry.[2]

The tide began to turn in 1809. The authorities managed to discover that Cai Qian was docked in the coastal town of Wuzhen, Zhejiang province. The new naval leaders, Wang Delu and Qiu Lianggong, blockaded him into the port and attacked. Their cannons sank Cai Qian’s ship and killed him.

Battle of the Tiger's Mouth

From September 1809 to January 1810 in the Battle of the Tiger's Mouth, Ching Shih and Cheung Po Tsai fleet suffered a series of defeats inflicted by the Portuguese Navy under command of José Pinto Alcoforado e Sousa, making them decided to surrender. They accepted an amnesty offered by the Qing Dynasty government, ending their career and allowed to keep the loot.[3]

Later life and death

Ching Shih and Cheung Po Tsai were soon married with the governor of Guangdong Zhang Bailing (張百龄) as witness. Cheung Po Tsai was capitulated to the Qing Dynasty government and became a captain in the Qing imperial navy, receiving the rank of navy colonel and an appointment in Penghu. He would spend the rest of his life helping the government to fight other pirates.[4]

On 20 April 1810, Cheung Po Tsai formally delivered his fleet and weapons, which now numbered about 280 ships, 2,000 guns and over 25,000 men. The Portuguese claimed naught, which greatly impressed the Chinese. Cheung Po Tsai would make future formal visits to the Leal Senado of Macau to meet several of the Portuguese officers who present at the fighting, among them was Gonçalves Carocha.

In 1813, Ching Shih gave birth to his son Cheung Yu Lin, she would later had a daughter who was born at an unknown date. After Cheung Po Tsai died at sea in 1822 at age 39, his widow and former step-mother moved the family back to her old hometown of Guangzhou and opened a gambling house and a brothel.[5] The descendants from his son Cheung Yu Lin are currently based in Macao, China.

Legacy

Cheung Po Tsai Cave, Cheung Chau.

Several places in Hong Kong are linked to Cheung Po Tsai:

  • The 1973 Hong Kong action film The Pirate (Da hai dao) has Cheung Po Tsai as its lead character.[6]
  • The 1983 Hong Kong action film Project A depicts a character based on Cheung Po Tsai. The lead villain, San Po (played by Dick Wei) is a pirate with similar characteristics. Project A's time period is a composite of several in Hong Kong's history.
  • The 1994 Hong Kong action film Once Upon a Time in China V has Cheung Po Tsai as one of the main villains opposing the protagonist Wong Fei-Hung. As the movie apocrythally takes place shortly after the Boxer Rebellion, however (over seventy years after Cheung Po Tsai had historically lived), Cheung is depicted in that movie as an extremely old man.
  • The movie Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End depicts a pirate named Sao Feng as a member of the Brethren Court. This character is based on Cheung Po Tsai, although the film is set many years before he lived.
  • The Amazing Race 17 visited the cave during Leg 10 Episode 10 in Hong Kong.
  • In the anime One Piece, one of the characters, Scratchman Apoo, is influenced by Cheung Po Tsai.
  • The Aqua Luna junk ship is named after Cheung Po Tsai.[7]
  • Tony Hung portrays Cheung Po Tsai in the 2015 Hong Kong television drama Captain of Destiny, a historical sci-fi series about a 21st-century police officer who meets Cheung Po Tsai after traveling back in time.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Dian H. Murray 1987, p. 64.
  2. ↑ https://kknews.cc/zh-sg/history/ovplepm.html
  3. ↑ Andrea J. Buchanan, Miriam Peskowitz - 2007 - 279 page
  4. ↑ 〈乙〉《靖海氛記》原文標點及箋註
  5. ↑ Koerth, Maggie (2007-08-28). "Most successful pirate was beautiful and tough". CNN. Retrieved 2007-08-28.
  6. ↑ Da hai dao at the Internet Movie Database.
  7. ↑ "Harbour Tours - Hong Kong Extras". Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  • Murray, Dian H. (1987). Pirates of the South China Coast, 1790-1810. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-1376-6.
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