A Woman to Know: Ching Shih
Her origins were humbler, but rooted in maritime tradition. — writer Joan Druett
(image via Wikimedia Commons)
In the early part of the 19th century, Ching Shih was brought on board as a teenage prostitute for the Red Flag pirate captain — and within five days of his untimely death, she was running the ship.
Not just *a* ship, either. For the next two decades, Ching Shih commanded the most powerful pirate fleet in the South China Sea.
As captain of more than 70,000 pillagers in her Red Flag Fleet, Ching set hard rules: no stealing, rape, and no mistreatment of female hostages — all were punished by execution on the plank. She grew her fleet to more than 1,500 junks, traveling throughout the Asian seas to spread her renown. Sailors remembered her as Ching Shih, Cheng I Sao and Pirate Madam Ching ("Mistress Ching" when they fictionalized here in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies). Her fleet faced off against the Chinese, Portugese and British navies, and after decades of pirating, Ching Shih retired in 1810, after negotiating amnesty for her entire crew.
But pirate queens don't just retire — instead, Ching Shih established a gambling house, where she luxuriated in her wealth and fame until her death in 1844.
Add to your library list:
Ching Shih, Pirate of the China Seas (Tom Teller)
Pirates of the South China Coast (Dian H. Murray)
Seafaring Women: Adventures of Pirate Queens (David Cordingly)
Read more:
Women, embrace your inner pirate (The Guardian)
Cheng Sao, the vicious pirate who banned rape in her fleet (Jezebel)
The Chinese female pirate who commanded 80,000 outlaws (Atlas Obscura)
Ching Shih: Meet the most successful female pirate ever (Smart Girls)
Female Pirates: A history (The Huffington Post)
Ching Shih (Rejected Princesses)
Ching Shih: From prostitute to pirate lord (Ancient Origins)
9 female pirates you should know (Mental Floss)
Hear more:
Don't Cross Cheng I Sao (Stuff You Missed in History Class)
Ching Shih the Pirate (Badass Bitches Podcast)
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