Cheung Po Tsai (; born Cheung Po; 1783–1822) was a navy

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

and former

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

. "Cheung Po Tsai" literally means "Cheung Po the Kid". He was known to the

Portuguese Navy The Portuguese Navy ( pt, Marinha Portuguesa, also known as ''Marinha de Guerra Portuguesa'' or as ''Armada Portuguesa'') is the naval branch of the Portuguese Armed Forces which, in cooperation and integrated with the other branches of the Por ...

as ''Quan Apon Chay'' during the Battle of the Tiger's Mouth.

History

Early life

Cheung Po () was born in 1783. He was a son of a

Tanka is a genre of classical Japanese poetry and one of the major genres of Japanese literature. Etymology Originally, in the time of the ''Man'yōshū'' (latter half of the eighth century AD), the term ''tanka'' was used to distinguish "short poem ...

fisherman who lived in Xinhui of

Jiangmen Jiangmen (), alternately romanized in Cantonese as Kongmoon, is a prefecture-level city in Guangdong Province in southern China. As of the 2020 census, its three urban districts, plus Heshan City being conurbated, with 2,657,662 inhabitants ar ...

Piratical career

Around 1798, he was abducted at age 15 by the pirate Cheng I (), who pressed him into piracy. His natural talent helped him adapt to his unplanned new career and he rose through the ranks swiftly. Cheung Po Tsai was later adopted by Cheng I and Ching I Sao (); "wife of Cheng I"; married 1801) as their step-son, making him Cheng's legal heir. Cheung Po Tsai's piracy mate and lieutenant was Cai Qian () and the two worked together. Cai Qian had strong connections to the Western weapon dealers as his wife Lu Shi (; "Mrs. Lu"), best known by her nickname Cai Qian Ma (; "wife of Cai Qian"), was fluent in English and was an expert in Western weaponry.

Rise to command

After Cheng I died suddenly in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

on 16 November 1807, his widow Ching Shih acted quickly to solidify the partnership with her step-son Cheung Po Tsai. Their first success came when they were able to secure the loyalty of Cheng's relatives, who were leaders in the fleet. They became lovers within weeks. As Ching Shih's second-in-command, Cheung Po Tsai was active along the

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...

coastal area during the

. Their followers were said to have reached 50,000+ and his fleet said to have possessed 600 ships. The tide began to turn in 1809. The authorities managed to discover that Cai Qian was docked in the coastal town of Wuzhen,

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by ...

province. The new naval leaders, Wang Delu and Qiu Lianggong, blockaded him into the port and attacked, sinking Cai Qian's ship and killing him.

Battle of the Tiger's Mouth

In September and November 1809, Cheung Po Tsai's pirate fleet suffered a series of defeats inflicted by the

at the Battle of the Tiger's Mouth.

Battle of Chek Lap Kok

On 20 April 1810 at Furongsha in Guangdong, Cheung Po Tsai formally delivered his fleet and weapons, which now numbered about 280 ships, 2,000 guns and over 25,000 men. The Portuguese claimed naught, while the governor of Guangdong accepted his surrender.

As Qing Naval Officer

Cheung and Ching accepted an

amnesty Amnesty (from the Ancient Greek ἀμνηστία, ''amnestia'', "forgetfulness, passing over") is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power offic ...

offered by the

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

government, ending their career and allowed to keep the loot. Cheung Po Tsai reverted to his former name. Afterwards, he was capitulated to the Qing dynasty government and became a captain in the Qing's Guangdong navy, receiving the rank of navy

. He was given a command of a total of 30 ships, allowed to retain 30 private fleets, and an appointment in

Penghu The Penghu (, Hokkien POJ: ''Phîⁿ-ô͘'' or ''Phêⁿ-ô͘'' ) or Pescadores Islands are an archipelago of 90 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait, located approximately west from the main island of Taiwan, covering an ar ...

. He would spend the rest of his life helping the government to fight other pirates. Cheung Po and Ching Shih were later married with Governor Bailing as witness. Cheung Po would make future formal visits to the Leal Senado of

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

to meet several of the Portuguese officers who present at the fighting, among them was Gonçalves Carocha. In 1813, Ching Shih gave birth to his son, Cheung Yu Lin. She would later have a daughter who was born at an unknown date.

Death

After Cheung Po died at sea in 1822 at age 39, his widow moved the family to

and there she opened a gambling house and was involved in the

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quanti ...

trade.

Legacy

Several places in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

are linked to Cheung Po Tsai: * Cheung Po Tsai Cave, on

Cheung Chau Cheung Chau (lit. "Long Island") is an island southwest of Hong Kong Island. It is nicknamed the 'dumbbell island (啞鈴島)' due to its shape. It has been inhabited for longer than most other places in Hong Kong, and had a population of ...

island. It is a small natural cave, said to be the place where he stored his prizes. In addition, there are also Cheung Po Tsai Caves at

Lamma Island Lamma Island, also known as Y Island or Pok Liu Chau or simply Pok Liu, is the third largest island in Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the Islands District. Name Lamma Island was named Lamma only because of a chart reading error by ...

, Tap Mun, Sai Wan, Chung Hom Kok, Chek Chau, Siu Kau Yi Chau and Longxue Island,

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong ...

. * Cheung Po Tsai built several temples dedicated to the goddess Tin Hau and seafaring activities on Ma Wan, Cheung Chau, and Stanley.

In popular culture

* The 1973 Hong Kong action film '' The Pirate (大海盜)'' has Cheung Po Tsai as its lead character, he was portrayed by Ti Lung.
Da hai dao
' at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

. * The 1983 Hong Kong action film '' Project A'' depicts a character based on Cheung Po Tsai. The lead villain, San Po (played by Dick Wei) is a pirate with similar characteristics. '' Project As time period is a composite of several in Hong Kong's history. * The 1994 Hong Kong action film '' Once Upon a Time in China V'' has Cheung Po Tsai as one of the main villains opposing the protagonist

Wong Fei-Hung Wong Fei-hung (born Wong Sek-cheung with the courtesy name Tat-wun; 9 July 1847 – 17 April 1925) was a Chinese martial artist, physician, and folk hero. His recent fame was due to becoming the subject of numerous martial arts films and televi ...

. As the movie apocryphally takes place shortly after the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, b ...

, however (over seventy years after Cheung Po Tsai had historically lived), Cheung is depicted in that movie as an extremely old man. * The movie '' Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End'' depicts a pirate named Sao Feng as a member of the Brethren Court. This character is based on Cheung Po Tsai, although the film was set many years before he lived. * In the anime ''

One Piece ''One Piece'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' since July 1997, with its individual chapte ...

'', one of the characters, Scratchman Apoo, is influenced by Cheung Po Tsai. * The

Aqua Luna The ''Aqua Luna'', known in Cantonese as the ''Cheung Po Tsai'' (張保仔), is a Chinese Junk operating in Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong. It was launched in 2006, and while it is named the ''Aqua Luna'' in English, in Cantonese it is named after ...

junk ship is named after Cheung Po Tsai. * Tony Hung portrays Cheung Po Tsai in the 2015 Hong Kong television drama '' Captain of Destiny'', a historical sci-fi series about a 21st-century police officer who meets Cheung Po Tsai after traveling back in time. *The urban legend of Cheung Po Tsai was one of the twelve legends referenced on the TVB series Our Unwinding Ethos.

References

External links

Cheung Po Tsai Cave at discoverhongkong.com
{{pirates Cheung Chau 1783 births 1822 deaths 18th-century Chinese people 19th-century Chinese people 19th-century pirates Chinese adoptees Cheung, Po Tsai People from Xinhui District Tanka people Qing dynasty military personnel Chinese Navy officers