Cheung Po Tsai

Cheung Po Tsai
Type	Pirate
Place of birth	Xinhui, Jiangmen, China
Allegiance	Qing Dynasty
Years active	c. 1800-1810
Rank	Admiral
Base of operations	Hong Kong
Later work	Qing Admiral of the Imperial Chinese navy

Cheung Po Tsai (simplified Chinese: 张保仔; traditional Chinese: 張保仔; pinyin: Zhāng Bǎozǎi; Wade–Giles: Chang Pao Tsai; Cantonese Yale: Jēung Bóu Jái; 1783 – 1822^[1]) was a 19th century Chinese pirate. He was also known as Cheung Po/Chang Pao/Zhang Bao ("Cheung Po Tsai" literally means "Cheung Po the Kid").

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

Biography

Cheung Po Tsai
Cheung Po Tsai Cave Cheung Chau.
Traditional Chinese	張保仔
Simplified Chinese	张保仔
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin Zhāng Bǎozǎi - Wade–Giles Chang Pao Tsai - IPA [tʂɑ́ŋ pɑ̀ʊtsàɪ] Cantonese (Yue) - Jyutping Zoeng1 Bou2 Zai1 - IPA [tsɵ́ŋ.bǒu.tsɐ̆i] - Yale Romanization Jeung1 Bou2 Jai2

A famous pirate in Hong Kong, he was a son of a Tanka fisherman who lived in Xinhui of Jiangmen but was kidnapped by the pirate Cheng I and his wife Ching Shih when he was 15. He was adopted by the kidnappers as their son. Cheung Po later took over the pirating business from his adopted parents.

Cheung Po Tsai was active along the Guangdong coastal area during the Qing Dynasty. His followers are said to have reached 50,000 and his fleet said to have possessed 600 ships. His piracy mate was Cai Qian and the two worked together until Cai Qian was destroyed by the Qing government, making Cheung decide to surrender. Cheung Po capitulated to the Chinese government in 1810 and became a captain in the Qing imperial navy, receiving the rank of navy colonel and an appointment in Penghu, far away from Hong Kong. He spent rest of his life in a very comfortable government position.

In popular culture

• The 1973 Hong Kong action film The Pirate (Da hai dao) has Cheung Po Tsai as its lead character.^[2]

• 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 A's time period is a composite of several in Hong Kong's history.

• 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 is set many years before he lived.

• The Amazing Race 17 visited the cave during Leg 10 Episode 10 in Hong Kong.

• In the anime One Piece, one of the character Scratchman Apoo is influenced by Cheung Po Tsai. ^[3]

References

1. ^ Dian H. Murray 1987, p.64.
2. ^ Da hai dao at the Internet Movie Database.
3. ^ [1]

• Murray, Dian H. (1987). Pirates of the South China Coast, 1790-1810. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-1376-6. 

External links

• Cheung Po Tsai Cave at discoverhongkong.com
• Pictures of the cave

Persondata
Name
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1783
Place of birth	Xinhui, Jiangmen, China
Date of death	1822
Place of death