Zheng Yisao

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Zheng Yisao ( Chinese  鄭 一 嫂 , Pinyin Zhèng Yīsǎo , including: Widow Cheng , Cheng I Sao , Cheng Shi ; * 1775 ; † 1844 ) was a Chinese pirate who was active in the South China Sea and on the coast of southern China at the beginning of the 19th century .

origin

She was a former prostitute from Canton who married the pirate leader Zheng Yi ( Cheng I , Cheng Wen-hsien , Cheng Yih , 1765-1807) in 1801 and gave birth to two sons. Only six years later, he died under unknown circumstances. According to Yuan Yun-lun, he died in a severe storm, according to another version while fighting on the Vietnamese coast. Zheng Yisao succeeded the pirate fleet and entered into an alliance with a leader popular among the pirates named Zhang Baozai ( Chang Pao , Cheung Po Tsai , 1786-1822), which was accompanied by a sexual relationship. He was originally a fisherman's son who was captured, trained, and adopted by her husband. She made him fleet commander, playing off her husband's family and other Alliance leaders, and married him a few years later.

Together they drew up a rather strict code of conduct for pirates, which also tried to regulate the treatment of the civilian population. Theft, disobedience, and rape were punishable by death.

Threat to the cantons, amnesty

Between its founding in 1804/1805 and 1810, the pirate alliance defeated various military leaders, caused the removal of two governors-general and even threatened the canton and the surrounding area in 1808/1809 . At the height of its power, the fleet comprised around 200 ocean- going junks with 20-30 guns each and a crew of up to 400 men. In addition there were 600–800 smaller coastal ships with 12–25 guns and a crew of up to 200, plus many small river boats. Thus a fleet size of at least 80,000-100,000 men on at least 800-1000 ships can be guessed.

Faced with the emergency, the new Governor General Pai Ling called on the British and Portuguese for help, gathered large armed forces and at the same time offered an amnesty . To his advantage, the pirate alliance was weakened by the rivalry between Zhang Baozai and Guo Podai, a writer and longtime follower of Zheng Yi who eventually defected to the government.

Zheng Yisao went to Canton personally in April 1810 and accepted the amnesty, knowing full well that her fleet would pose a dangerous threat even without her and that Pai Ling could therefore not afford to betray her. The pirates were allowed to keep the loot and serve the navy, but had to surrender ships and weapons.

Late years

After the amnesty, the couple initially lived in Canton. Zhang Baozai became a naval officer and was allowed to maintain a private fleet of 20 or 30 ships. Zheng Yisao had another son, ran a casino and extensive opium smuggling operations, and lived a peaceful and prosperous life in Canton. She died in 1844 at the age of 69.

reception

The life of Zheng Yisao was filmed in 2003 in the film Cantando dietro i paraventi (international title: Singing behind screens ) by Ermanno Olmi .

literature

  • Dian H. Murray: Pirates of the South China coast, 1790-1810. Stanford University Press, 1987.
  • David Cordingly: Under the black flag. Legend and reality of pirate life. Munich 2001.
  • Angus Konstam: Piracy: The Complete History. Osprey Publishing, 2008.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ CR Pennell: Bandits at Sea: A Pirates Reader. New York University Press 2000, p. 266.
  2. ^ Bertil Lintner: Blood Brothers: Crime, Business and Politics in Asia. P. 96.
  3. ^ Angus Konstam: Piracy: The Complete History. Osprey Publishing, 2008, p. 300.
  4. ↑ David Cordingly: Under a black flag. Legend and reality of pirate life. Munich 2001, p. 82.
  5. ^ Bertil Lintner: Blood Brothers: Crime, Business and Politics in Asia. P. 97.
  6. ↑ Jay Weissberg: Singing behind screens ( Memento November 11, 2012 in the Internet Archive ). Variety, October 23, 2003
personal data
SURNAME Zheng Yisao
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cheng Shi; Widow Zheng
BRIEF DESCRIPTION chinese pirate
DATE OF BIRTH 1775
DATE OF DEATH 1844