Cheung Po Tsai
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Cheung Po Tsai (in Cantonese) or Chang Pao Tsai (in Wade-Giles) (張保仔 pinyin zhang1 bao3 zai3) was a 19th century Chinese pirate. He was also know as Cheung Po/Chang Pao/Zhang Bao ('Cheung Po Tsai' literally means 'Cheung Po the Kid').
He was a fisherman's son who lived in Xinhui of Jiangmen but was kidnapped by pirate Cheng I and his wife Ching Shih at age 15. He became the pirate's lover and was adopted by the kidnappers as their son. After Cheng I died, Ching Shih fell into an affair with their adopted son and soon married him, having already made him her lieutenant. He later took over the pirating business from his adopted parents.
Cheung Po Tsai was active along the Guangdong coastal area. This was during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). His followers are said to have reached 40,000 and they had up to 600 ships. He capitulated to the Chinese government in 1810 and became the captain of the Qing government's imperial navy. Chang Pao spent the rest of his life in a comfortable government position.
Several places in Hong Kong are linked to Cheung Po Tsai:
- Cheung Po Tsai Cave, on Cheung Chau island. It is a small cave, said to be the place where he stored his treasure
- Lantau Island was another of his bases. Tung Chung Fort, on the island, was built in 1817, when the Qing Government was alarmed by the rampant piracy of Cheung Po Tsai and decided to intervene and thwart the opium trade and defend the coast from pirates
- Cheung Po Tsai built several temples dedicated to Tin Hau and seafaring activities: in Ma Wan, Cheung Chau and Stanley.
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