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After her husband died in 1807, Zheng Yi Sao became a leading figure in a powerful pirate confederation off southern China. In 1810 she helped negotiate a surrender to Qing authorities. Her career at sea ended with a pardon rather than an execution.

Yuan Yonglun, Jing hai fen ji (1830), translated by Charles F. Neumann (1831)

History

The story behind the card

Zheng Yi Sao means 'wife of Zheng Yi'; her own name is uncertain. At its height the Red Flag Fleet, which she led with her late husband's adopted son Cheung Po Tsai, may have counted some 1,800 ships and tens of thousands of pirates, one of the largest pirate forces in history. An 1830 Chinese account describes her going to Canton with other women to settle the terms when talks had stalled. Former pirates could join government forces or go home, and some then hunted the remaining fleets. She later ran a gambling house in Canton and died there in 1844.

Türkçe oku
Zheng Yi Sao, kocası 1807'de ölünce Güney Çin kıyılarındaki güçlü bir korsan birliğinin önde gelen liderlerinden biri oldu. 1810'da korsanların Qing yönetimine teslim olma koşullarını pazarlıkla belirlemeye yardım etti. Denizdeki hayatı idamla değil, afla sona erdi.

Zheng Yi Sao, “Zheng Yi'nin karısı” demektir; kendi adı kesin olarak bilinmez. Kocasının evlat edindiği Cheung Po Tsai ile birlikte yönettiği Kızıl Bayrak Filosu, en güçlü döneminde tahminen 1.800 gemiye ve on binlerce korsana ulaşmıştı; bu, tarihin en büyük korsan güçlerinden biridir. 1830 tarihli bir Çin kaynağına göre görüşmeler tıkanınca başka kadınlarla birlikte Kanton'a gidip anlaşmayı bizzat sonuçlandırdı. Eski korsanlar devlet güçlerine katılabiliyor ya da evlerine dönebiliyordu; bazıları sonra geri kalan korsan filolarının peşine düştü. Zheng Yi Sao daha sonra Kanton'da bir kumarhane işletti ve 1844'te orada öldü.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Zheng Yi Sao
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