Chinese pirate (1775-1844). A former
employee of a
Cantonese floating brothel, she was initiated into
piracy after marrying
Cheng I, the
leader of the
Kwangtung Confederacy of
pirates. In 1804, the Chengs organized the
pirate bands into a
confederation of six
fleets, with about 70,000 men, 200
ocean-going
junks, 600-800
coastal junks, and a number of
river boats. They also imposed
rules providing
procedures for
internal affairs,
vessel registration, and distribution of
spoils, as well as penalizing
desertion,
pilfering,
mutiny, and
rape.
When
Cheng I was swept
overboard in a
gale in 1807, Cheng Shih was able to successfully
take over the operation, thanks to the
support of her
in-laws, her full
participation in
piracy, and her
appointment of
Chang Pao, Cheng I's
adopted son, as her
lieutenant. She
consolidated her position by taking Chang Pao as her
lover, and later, as her
husband.
Under
Cheng Shih's
leadership, the Confederacy enjoyed a period of
incredible success, raiding
coastal
towns,
ransoming
ships and
people, and selling
protection (
certificates of protection could be bought at
pirate offices in
Canton and
Macao!). The
pirates regularly
defeated
government ships sent to
capture them -- many government
patrols preferred to
sabotage their own ships rather than face the
Confederacy. When a new
provincial governor-
general tried to
embargo coastal movement, the Confederacy started
attacking
inland targets, while continuing their activities against
foreign traders. The
East India Company hired out seven
warships to the
Chinese government, but after blockading Cheng Shih's forces, a change in
wind direction forced the government
fleet to
scatter and let the pirates
escape again.
Finally, in 1810, the
government offered the pirates
amnesty, and Cheng Shih, realizing that the Confederacy needed
political support to
survive, decided to
negotiate. In a
dramatic move, she approached the
governor-general's
palace in Canton accompanied by 30
pirate women and
children. After two days of
negotiations,
terms were agreed to that would allow any
pirate who accepted
amnesty to keep their
loot and receive a place in the
imperial bureaucracy. Over 17,000 pirates accepted the
offer,
surrendering with over 200 junks.
Chang Pao became a
naval mandarin in
Fukien province and kept 20
junks of his own.
After Chang Pao died in 1822, Cheng Shih returned to
Canton, where she ran a
gambling house until her death.
Research from GURPS Who's Who 2, compiled by Phil Masters, "Cheng Shih" by Nelson Cunnington, pp. 82-83.