Ep. 174 | The Pirate Queen Zheng Yi Sao
Laszlo finally gets around to the oft-requested subject of piracy in early 19th century China. Pirates had been a fact of life going back to the most olden days. Mid to late Qing Dynasty the amount of trade being plied on the China coast attracted pirates like never before.
Zheng Yi Sao (“Zheng Yi’s Wife”) was a tough woman from the Pearl River Delta who married the most notorious pirate of his day, Zheng Yi. Upon Zheng Yi’s death, his widow took control of his massive pirate fleet.
With her adopted son, and later husband Cheung Po Tsai, she controlled what was, at the time, the largest pirate fleet that preyed on coastal dwellers and vessels engaged in trade. She later became an inspiration for many characters that appeared in books, movies, video games, and more.
Listen On Your Favorite Podcast Player
Terms in Episode
| Pinyin/Term | Chinese | English/Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Binh Dinh Province | - | South central coastal province in Vietnam |
| Cheung Chau – Changzhou | 长洲 | Island off the coast of Lantau |
| Cheung Po Tsai | 张保仔 | Zhang Baozai, Zheng Yi Sao's partner in crime |
| Chow Yun-fat | 周润发 | Great Actor who played Sau Feng, one of the Pirate Lords from Disney’s P of the C movie Part 3. |
| Da Nang | - | Vietnam’s 3rd largest city |
| Daoguang emperor | 道光帝 | Qing emperor 1820 – 1850 |
| Guangdong | 广东 | Southernmost province of continental China |
| Guangxi | 广西 | One province over from Guangdong |
| haidao | 海盗 | pirate |
| Humen | 虎门 | Located at the mouth of the Pearl River Delta |
| Hóngqí Bāng. | 红旗帮 | Red Flag Fleet |
| Jiaqing Emperor | 嘉庆帝 | Qing emperor 1796 – 1820 |
| Jing Hai fen ji | 靖海氛记 | Charles F. Neumann’s “The Pirates who Infested the China Sea from 1807 to 1810. |
| Lantau | 大屿山 | Island that is part of the Hong Kong SAR |
| Ma | 马 | Another common Chinese surname, means horse |
| Ming Jiajing Emperor | 明嘉靖帝 | Ming emperor 1521 – 1567 |
| Nha Trang | - | Coastal city in Vietnam |
| Qiongzhou Strait | 琼州海峡 | Body of water that separates Hainan from Guangdong |
| Shi | 石 | Common Chinese surname, means stone |
| Shi Xianggu | 石香姑 | Zheng Yi Sao’s real name |
| shuishang ren | 水上人 | people who live on the water |
| Tanka or Danjia | 疍家 | The boat dwelling people of south China and Fujian |
| Tây Sơn Rebellion | 西山起义 | Major uprising in Vietnam from 1770 to 1802 |
| Xinhui | 新会 | City near Jiangmen |
| Xishan | 西山 | West Mountain (Tây Sơn in Vietnamese) |
| Xu | 徐 | Common Chinese surname. I always get it mixed up with 许. |
| Zhejiang | 浙江 | East coast province of China |
| Zheng Shi | 郑氏 | Madame Zheng, Widow Zheng |
| Zheng Yi | 郑一 | South Seas pirate who ran the Red Flag Fleet. Married Shi Xianggu |
| Zheng Yi Sao | 郑一嫂 | Zheng Yi Sao, wife of Zheng Yi |
Enjoy the show and want to support the CHP?
Join the CHP Patreon
Make a Direct Donation
Laszlo introduces the lives of Doctors Ida Kahn and Mary Stone, two Jiujiang, Jiangxi-born women who played a major role in introducing western medicine to women and children in early 20th century China