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Cheung Po Tsai | |
|---|---|
張保仔 | |
 | |
| Born | Cheung Po (張保) 1783 (1783) Xinhui, Jiangmen, China |
| Died | 1822 (aged 38–39)[1] |
| Occupations | Qing naval officer, formerpirate |
| Known for | Well knownChinesepirate |
| Criminal charge | Piracy |
| Spouse | |
| Children |
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| Parent(s) | Cheng I (adoptive father) Ching Shih (former adoptive mother) |
| Piratical career | |
| Nickname | Cheung Po Tsai |
| Type | Pirate |
| Allegiance | Red Flag Fleet |
| Years active | 1798–1810 |
| Rank | second-in-command |
| Base of operations | South China Sea |
| Commands | Red Flag Fleet |
| Battles/wars | Battle of the Tiger's Mouth Naval Battle of Chek Lap Kok |
| Later work | Naval officer ofQing dynasty (1810–1822) |
| Cheung Po Tsai | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 張保仔 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 张保仔 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Cheung Po the Kid | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Cheung Po | |||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 張保 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 张保 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Cheung Po Tsai (Chinese:張保仔; bornCheung Po; 1783–1822) was a Chinese navycolonel and a formerpirate. "Cheung Po Tsai" literally means "Cheung Po the Kid". He was known to thePortuguese Navy asQuan Apon Chay during theBattle of the Tiger's Mouth.
Cheung Po (Chinese:張保) was born in 1783. He was a son of aTanka[citation needed] fisherman who lived inXinhui ofJiangmen.
Around 1798, he was abducted at age 15 by the pirateCheng I (Chinese:鄭一), 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 andChing I Sao (Chinese:鄭一嫂); "wife ofCheng I"; married 1801) as their step-son, making him Cheng's legal heir.
Cheung Po Tsai's piracy mate and lieutenant wasCai Qian (Chinese:蔡牽) and the two worked together. Cai Qian had strong connections to the Western weapon dealers as his wife Lu Shi (simplified Chinese:吕氏;traditional Chinese:呂氏; "Mrs. Lu"), best known by her nickname Cai Qian Ma (Chinese:蔡牽媽; "wife of Cai Qian"), was fluent in English and an expert in Western weaponry.
After Cheng I died suddenly inVietnam in 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 and shared power.[2]
As Ching Shih's second-in-command, Cheung Po Tsai was active along theGuangdong coastal area during theQing dynasty. 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 ofWuzhen,Zhejiang province. The new naval leaders of Fujian and Zhejiang,Wang Delu andQiu Lianggong, blockaded him into the port and attacked, sinking Cai Qian's ship and killing him.
In September and November 1809, Cheung Po Tsai's pirate fleet suffered a series of defeats inflicted by thePortuguese Navy at theBattle of the Tiger's Mouth.
During the fighting, he revealed to the Portuguese that he coveted the Chinese imperial throne, and on 26th of February he wrote to the Portuguese commanderJosé Pinto Alcoforado de Azevedo e Sousa proposing that he supply him with four ships to help him in this endeavour and in return he would grant the Portuguese two or three Chinese provinces:
"Yesterday I received a very persuasive message from you in which you state your desire to meet with me in Macau. I thank you for the compliment. I reign from the seas just as from the centre of a kingdom, wielding the sceptre of power and governing all those who obey me. I am therefore extremely busy. Government is no easy task and for that reason I am, unfortunately, unable to accept your invitation. At present my sole aim is to regain control of this territory and I shall not rest until I have accomplished it. I would be able to achieve my objective sooner if you were willing to lend me four ships. In return I should give you two or three provinces of your own choice. Please trust my offer. As regards the ships, if you cannot send them to me immediately then do so at your own convenience. Many people have advised me to surrender to a Tartar. These are nothing more than vain exhortations. While I am in command of this red flag fleet I shall do my utmost to gain the Imperial Throne. I have already ordered my fleet to sail to Boca do Tigre and defeat the usurpor's army. I have several other matters to communicate to you but I am not able to do so at present. The above should serve to inform you of my true intentions".
— Cheung Po Tsai, 26 February[3]
The Portuguese however, refused the offer.[3]
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 GuangdongZhang Bailing [zh] accepted his surrender.
Cheung and Ching accepted anamnesty offered by theQing government, ending their career and allowed to keep the loot.[4] 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 navycolonel. He was given the command of a total of 30 ships, allowed to retain 30 private fleets, and an appointment inPenghu. He would spend the rest of his life helping the government to fight other pirates.[5]
Cheung Po and Ching Shih were later married with Governor Bailing as witness.
Cheung Po would make future formal visits to theLeal Senado ofMacau to meet several of the Portuguese officers who were 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.
After Cheung Po died at sea in 1822 at age 39, his widow moved the family toMacau. There, she opened a gambling house[6] and was involved in thesalt trade.[7]
Several places inHong Kong are linked to Cheung Po Tsai:
