Ching Shih: The Pirate Widow Menace of the South China Sea
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- čas přidán 14. 06. 2024
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Source/Further reading:
Historical Context:
afe.easia.columbia.edu/timelin...
www.chinahighlights.com/trave...
www.scribd.com/book/187370144
www.britannica.com/topic/Tay-...
Chinese pirates in general:
www.jstor.org/stable/23881412...
www.researchgate.net/publicat...
www.academia.edu/6369722/Pira...
thegsaljournal.com/2019/12/10...
Life of Cheng Shih:
Maughan, Philip (1812). “An Account of the Ladrones Who Infested the Coast of China”. Further Statement of the Ladrones on the Coast of China.
www.atlasobscura.com/articles...
books.google.com/books/about/...
daily.jstor.org/cheng-i-sao-f...
www.jstor.org/stable/41298765
www.todayifoundout.com/index.p...
/ ching-shih-a-prostitut...
books.google.com/books/about/...
books.google.com/books/about/...
books.google.com/books/about/...
www.mentalfloss.com/article/5...
The most amazing parts of this:
1) she realized she would lose before actually losing, something no megalomaniac can manage to do
2) she included saving regular people in her negotiation, not just herself and some elites
Well
She was OG badass
She was a genius
comments on why these happened
1) she was a woman, testosterone wasnt there to make her blind to the facts
2) again, she wasnt a man and didnt have testosterone to make her violent and borderline evil
No i dont hate men, i just know we are more impulsive
She also was big on women's rights, kind of, in a weird not really moral backhanded way.
"Quit while you're ahead" might be the best lesson we can learn from her.
The lesson, the casino doesn't want you to know.
Touche lol.
@@benalor1973 A friend of mine always wins at the casino.
He gives his entry-chips to a friend and hits the free buffet and bar.
@@benalor1973 well that's right, the pirate business was bigger gamble than casino
I mean as far as mob movies go (Goodfellas, Casino, and The Godfather) she has a good ending ‘cause she quit while she still had it all.
This lady had it goin' ON!! I like that, if one of her men started a relationship with a female captive, she required them to be faithful. And that if one of her men raped a woman captive and it was proven, the offender was executed. I just learned of her and she truly rocked. I'm glad to see pirate ladies getting their due.
How empowering!
Hollywood - “we need female heroes“
me -“how about Ching Shih, famous female pirate”
Hollywood -“who?”
FTFY: "Let's cast Scarlett Johannson for the lead role"
She wasn't really a hero tho 😅
@@apollofateh324 she is at Least real, not some silly outfit nerds fap on
@@apollofateh324 you want a gritty anti-hero, though? look no further.
@@apollofateh324 it’s honestly the age of anti hero
By far the happiest ending I've ever learned about a pirate getting to enjoy. What an absolute legend! This was such an interesting story and it would make a great movie, thank you for sharing.
She pull it off at her early thirty.
The greatest pirate of all time was actually a Chinese woman! Took on the navies of 3 countries and lived to die comfortably of old age.
china rocks
And if going by standard of famous pirates' ending, then Ching definitely managed to have a happy ending unlike some of her piratical brethren who died in battle or whatever.
Dying comfortably of old age means you’re not as famous as Blackbeard, despite being stronger.
@@lalehiandeity1649 sometimes yeah, kinda unfortunate that no matter who you are as being a combatant goes. Land generals and admirals does have chances of being remembered, but as a pirate your death will definitely cause some buzzes verses being alive.
@@lalehiandeity1649 Not only was she strong, she was smart. Plus, if I have die young and violently just to be famous than the hell with fame! I'd rather die rich, comfortably and of old age just like she did.
A Netflix series should be made out of this story
@Wolong Gong wow damn, chill
@Wolong Gong Even if that's the case, she was still incredibly successful. And why should the others get a series first? Most already have had a bunch of films made about them. I also notice a subtle sexism here, could just be me.
@Wolong Gong There's no argument at all to be made that she wasn't a justifiable badass though, ship size be damned. She made the right decisions, put herself into a place of power, and maintained it through successful diplomacy, strategy and business acumen. Plus it's ridiculous to say that China was 100's of years behind the western powers when half the technology of the west at the time stemmed from Chinese inventions and innovations. A difference in culture and priorities is not the same as a difference in development.
@Wolong Gong I literally did refute what you said immediately after that statement. Lol
@Wolong Gong dude she literally the most successful priate in history. Did you watch the video? Sad incel life you got there
Ching Shih is literally the definition of a Boss, a Bae and a Beast 😈
...Wait, the blind Chinese lady from Pirates Of The Caribbean was real? Awesome.
🤣🤣🤣
Was she blind?
I don't think she was blind.
@@STAROMEGA54 A- for you then buddy. 🤣
She wasn’t blind. But yeah that Chinese granny was real and the most successful pirate in the world
YES!!! I'm so glad Ching Shi was finally featured, because she really is the greatest pirate EVER. She needs more recognition!
@john bloggs 😂😂😂
🙏💜🙏
Agreed. Been waiting on this episode for ages.
Lol
Ughhhhhhh
I think that one female Chinese pirate lord in Pirates of the Caribbean 3 was actually her or based off her.
She addressed herself as "Mistress Ching", so that was definitely her.
Yep. Definitely was her because she truly deserved to be called a Pirate Lord
I think all the pirates in the movies were based off real pirates, or pirate legends
Everyone at the Pirate Lord’s Table were based on real & legendary pirates.
@@JJ-fq4nl facts. I realised that a long time ago but I didn't know about Ching Shih at the time so I had trouble placing Mistress Ching (I thought she called herself Mistress Chang)
The exploits of this woman and her Red Fleet are certainly worthy of a premium channel/streaming service series. To be able to live as a crime lord, earn not only a pardon but military and civilian administrative roles for her sailors, and live out the rest of her days in luxury is astonishing. She puts any other male criminal figure one could name off the top of their heads to shame.
"How many bloody channels do you have?"
"How high can you count?"
1:25 - Chapter 1 - The little girl of kwantung
4:10 - Chapter 2 - A match made in naval heaven
8:30 - Chapter 3 - The widow's law
12:20 - Chapter 4 - A monopoly of violence
17:10 - Chapter 5 - The conflict expands
19:15 - Chapter 6 - The widow's proposal
Yes! One of my favourite historical personalities. Thank you for covering her.
3:03 When was Uncle Iroh going to tell us about this?!
hah yea i though that too
Lol was thinking the same thing and had a lowkey fan girl moment 😁
When you Zaheer was right about the White Lotus
Great job! She was most definitely the "Napoleon of Pirates". She commanded such a powerful fleet. Also lived out her days in relative peace. Unlike most of history's pirates. Thank's for this.
Simon, you absolute legend! I've been hoping for this one for a long time.
I want him to do Bill the Butcher.
If you want more females, then i can also recommend Raziya al-Din and Lakshmibai.
Grace O'Malley (Grainne Mhaol) is another interesting pirate Queen. I was near sure Simon done a video on her, but i can't seem to find it, I must've imagined it lol
Cool to see some more historical figures from Asia, still waiting for Saigō Takamori, the last samurai =D. *Edit, one of her greatest abilities was clearly knowing when to quit ^^.
looking back at the time period ，it amazes me that as potential candidate entertainers of the social Elite，young girls sold into brothels(highly stylised guest houses) who received favourable review from her retainers were given an education and taught high society etiquette with mastery of some musical instruments，much akin to what your typical aristocratic household could provide for their sons ，back in the day when only the very rich gave their girls proper education；today we have mandatory 10+years education for every child and almost every one has heard of Luffy and his pirates
I'm sorry, what's Luffy got to do with this
i have been waiting for someone to do a story on her! thank you it was so worth the wait
I swear his content gets better every video. Keep up the fantastic work!!!
This is far and away my absolute favorite of your channels.
This video was AMAIZING, I can't emphazise enough your tremendous work, thank you !
I have literally been waiting for this video since the channel started, she is so insanely badass.
One of the nine pirate lords
I never understood how Jack and her meet.
That is “Captain Jack”, Shipmate.
This was wonderful and enlightening. Thanks you. I couldn't find the link to your other channel. Cheers
Business Blaze
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I may have missed one
I imagine the opium wars would have gone differently had she still been around.
No, sorry she still would have been operating with an obsolete fleet. She would not have been able to deal with British weapons and tactics of the mid 1800s .
@@chuckhitter5541 That's the same kind of limited thinking that we Americans had going into both the Vietnam and Afghan wars and we've seen how those have turned out.
You have to take into account home field advantage. Her navy knew all the good hiding places and she already had supply lines set up for her ships. The government had shown in the past a willingness to work with her so she may have seen support in the form of even more ships and men.
Granted it's likely that the Dutch, British, and Americans would have put things aside briefly to deal with the issue collectively. But you never know. That's one of the fun things about history. Pondering the alternates.
The memory of Ching shih's reign was one of the reasons China lost the Opium Wars. The Qing Dynasty actually won the first phase of the Opium Wars decisively. At the time of the Opium Wars Chinese military technology disparity vs. Western opponents was not yet so large. Chinese naval ships had fairly modern guns and the bigger war junks were built like floating fortresses with more layers of guns than on available Western ships. The smaller junks on their part far outnumbered the Western navies. It was a navy perfectly suited for defense.
The problem was that the successful commanders of the first battles of the Opium Wars petitioned the Qing government to allow them to recruit naval militias and build up localized navies in the south, which was historically the original genesis of the colored flag pirates. The plan was to turn the same kind of force against the foreigners, this time under the command of the Empire.
This was a perfectly reasonable strategy leveraging the resources of the state and the people and one that would have succeeded in the long run against the Western powers simply thanks to numerical and home territory advantage. It was also a suggestion that immediately rang alarm bells in the minds of the court who still remembered the humiliations brought upon them by Ching Shih two decades past. The Qing additionally did not trust their Han officers and still remembered the long war with Koxinga. The commanders were recalled and their proposed strategy was rejected outright. The Qing navy was forced to fight more advanced and experienced Western navies with one hand tied behind their backs and no chance of leveraging the overwhelming numerical advantage they possessed. The end result was obvious.
@@grimdolo918 that is not the same thing in anyway naval warfare is very different to land warfare the British navy was unmatched on the sea you sink a ship u can’t replace it very quick a man with a rifle is a man with a rifle regardless of where they come from China wouldn’t stand a chance on the seas
That’s a ridiculous statement, you are saying she could beat the largest, best equipped, best trained, most advanced navy in the world with what? Some outdated vessels?
I’d say she is both a crime boss and a role model. She was by no means a saint, however I think she wasn’t completely heartless and did some amazing things that should be respected.
Wow she is the real womanin history that have a power.
Great job on the video and thanks for the upload!
Been waiting for this one
Hey Simon, you should do a Biographics of Claire Lee Chennault. He is the founder of the Flying Tigers from WW2 in China.
I can see where the inspiration for Big Mom came from 👀
Oda knows his pirate history
Master criminal or role model?
How about just straight up badass!
@Wolong Gong well I was gonna reply to the main comment in agrement till I saw the same username. It's easy to marry into power. But not so much to maintain it after that marriage. Come on, what's your problem with her?
@Wolong Gong You don't have to be actively running around swinging your sword to be successful you know. She still managed to hold on to power, maintain it after the death of her husband, build it up even further, and then give her men a get out of jail free card that included legit jobs, and live a comfortable life herself. That's badass. The chick you described sounds badass, too. They can both be awesome at the same time, you know. Lol
Suggestion for a BIOGRPAHICS EPISODE of ; willem van oranje (William of Orange) is known as the founding father and hero of The Netherlands. he made his fame when he led the Dutch uprising against the rule of the Spanish Habsburgthe (The Spanish where in the Netherlands) ,
The uprise led to the 80-year war (1568-1648) between the Dutch states and Spain
There is a English page on wikipedia "William the Silent" that's his nickname.
Beetje jammer dat zijn nazaten de boel zo naar de kloten geholpen hebben we hebben nu geen Nederland meer maar nederstaat van de EU ik zeg dan ook weg met Nederland en terug met Frisia en dan heb ik het niet over Friesland
@@e1mok75 de Verenigde Staten van Amerika , dat is echt een voorbeeld van hoe wij in Europa straks ook kunnen zijn . Europa met een bruto nationaal product (bnp) van ;
$ 18.140.000.000.000 , dat is zooo veel geld ! Europa is het sterkste op economisch gebied van de wereld , als er ooit een leger is dat ons wil verslaan kunnen we gewoon India de V.S. , en Zuid Amerika betalen en hun helpen ons of wij kunnen fabrieken buiten het conflict zone bouwen en zelf een leger opbouwen , Europa landen groot en klein waar we allemaal er voor elkaar zullen zijn ! met Europa in het plan kan iedereen vrij zijn en dat is van belang
Don't forget the Glencoe massacre
@@traviskopplinger3515 The Glencoe Massacre in the Scottish Highlands on February 13, 1692 was a massacre that took place on the occasion of the abdication in Great Britain (A very interesting piece of history only i guess that it is more suited to be proposed on the channel highlight history , also a channel from SIMON W. )
As always, excellent video by Biographies. On a different matter, Simon, do you sleep at all? At this rate of starting new channels, we are expecting a Biographics video of Mr. Simon Whistler very soon. You are a CZcams legend already!
Gonna share , friends will love this .
This has probably been covered elsewhere, but what happened with the podcast-version? They’re great when I’m out and about, but there hasn’t been a new one for a while, and I miss them.
Otherwise, great stuff, keep it up 👍🏻
YES!!!! I recall requesting this a couple months ago. Glad to see Biographics is looking at the comments.
IDEA for a future BIOGRPAHICS EPISODE ; Anne Frank a Jewish girl famous in the Netherlands who died during the holocaust in a concentration camp at age of 15 . she wrote in her diary which has given insight of her life , and is one of the most sold books in the world . There is also a Anne Frank house in amsterdam that you can visit .
Who?
Her lot is now committing a genocide.
Great video! This is really informative. Ching Shih was legit!
Great documentary
I love your videos 💖
I’m glad Simon finally listened and is doing more Asians biographies
Awesome story! Thank you. Great content. Now, looking for books or solid history on this area and characters. The people think it is morally ambiguous, but I don't. You pay your taxes, and get protection. You pay insurance, and you are helped. "Crime boss"? Come on! Rule of law can deteriorate, justice is relative. I see this as the human condition, and has always fluctuated.
The ending of this story is pure gold. She negotiated the right way, and died in her sleep. Feel certain she earned every moment of her life. A pirate life for me.....
You cant be a role model if you sell people into slavery and prostitution...
Awesome thanks 😊
i'm a simple man i find out Simon hosts a channel i hit subscribe
thanks for the intriguing story! mixing Mandarin and Cantonese names gets confusing, eh? for clarity you could try common modern ways, like Guangdong, Zhejiang, etc. Shi Yang definitely changed history's course
Thank you!
Not sure if this is the right channel for it (Simon, you have many) but could we get a video about the Angolo-Boer War? My father served and this is a good chance for me to learn a little from it :P
Good video 👍
This video was AWESOME! What a fascinating woman.
Great video, though I know her more as Ching I Sao, I recommend the Extra history article on her for another fun video.
Shi Xianggu was her name before marriage to Zheng Yi (using modern Pinyin for names.)
source: Dian Murray, “Piracy and China’s Maritime Transition, 1750-1850,” in Maritime China in Transition 1750-1850, ed. Gungwu Wang and Chin-Keong Ng. I would also high rec checking out both David Cordingly and Robert J. Antony for their brilliant work in maritime China and Chinese pirates.
cause yeah I did half of my BA in History's senior thesis on her. Because she's awesome. Let's face it everyone - she won at being a pirate. She wasn't captured, she negotiated her own terms. It wasn't a surrender at all, and in fact, a major sticking point was the fact that she refused to bow to Bai Ling to seal the agreement - he should be bowing to *her* instead, as she was in the position of strength. They got around this by Bai Ling officially marrying Zhang Bao and Zheng Shi in the agreement, as they would actually bow to him in gratitude. It allowed both parties to keep their pride. (Everything I have said is easily found via one of those three authors mentioned above.)
You don't upload these episodes on Spotify anymore do you? :(
I first learned about her at a pirate themed putt-putt course in Michigan.
Isn't this the ONLY way?
ANOTHER CHANNEL!!!!! Simon, you (and your colleagues) go easy on your self 😰😰😰. BTW awesome vid as usual 👍.
This is my favourite pirate, none can be considered any more successful then Ching Shih.
Henry Every, John Taylor, Samuel Bellamy, Bartholomew roberts left the chat
O M G!!!
A Simon channel i didnt know about before this?!
Business Blaze
Mega Projects
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Top Tenz
Today I Found Out
Biographics
Geographics
Highlight History
Visual Politik EN
The Brainfood Show
The Simon Whistler Show
I may have missed one
I just found out also, never imagined they did history too!
@@BygoneChina he has his hands in many things. Part of Sam and Danny's plan to control CZcams. Allegedly
@@sandybarnes887 Im pretty sure Simons goal is taking over CZcams from within, kinda like agent Smith in the Matrix
please do one on Yi Sun Shin!! he really deserves one
Loved the video! Speaking of famous historical people from China, will you please cover Ip Man in a Biographic? Martial Art Action movie just don't do justice to the mentor of Bruce Lee like Biographics would. Thank you in advance! -A Loyal Subscriber
I don't recall if you've done an episode on Pirate Queen Grace O'Malley yet but if not would you please do so?
I would love a biographie about the Swiss founders. I'm a huge fan of you content
Apparently, the best way to shatter a glass ceiling is with several hundred cannons. What a top-tier badass.
Since you were able to feature Ching Shi, can you please also do a video on Ann Bonnie?
This is what BG does best; a serious take on females. Great content!!
During her time she was seen as a pirate I guess but history is context. Humans are rarely only 1 thing. She was likely focused on making sure to feed herself and the crew and building a security for herself. Very normal behaviour. She is a role model and I’m sure there are many females and males that were able to break out of suffocating gender roles that we have forgotten or not even recognised because let’s face it, to much is still on the traditional heterosexual male in history. What we know about history is rapidly changing to research. We know that the women in Viking communities were anything but home farming mothers. They were fierce warriors to and I would love to see more about female Vikings here. 🍷
Simon: This video is brought to you by...
Me: SKIP
High production value = Viewers know exactly how far to skip forward when they need to.
Great story.
She sounded more like a triad boss than pirate. I don't know any other pirate that engaged in other types of criminal activities besides stealing.
stealing can only make you so much money, and eventually gets you killed. the real profits are in running a crime syndicate with your own personal navy.
Protection Money; something I usually associate with Insurance Companies. You wouldn't want something bad should happen to yous.
Awesome
The way my mouth dropped when he started on about their “son”. 😮
I could have sworn they've already done an episode this topic before.
the real red queen... "off with his head!"
how many more channels do you need Simon?! 😲😅
Aaaand I need a series of this gals life.
Hi Simon I would like to request a bio graphic about yourself because you seem very interesting I hope you see this
Simon! You should do a biographics on Gary Gygax!
I say both. I admire her survival skills
Full list of your channels please it's getting hard to keep up
That three way relationship is perverse.
Really? What part do you deem perverse? The two males, the three way or her marrying the 2nd male once widowed? Because I can assure you any of those positions are maybe the LEAST perverse things she had been asked to do as a prostitute.
@@angelsunshine9620 the fact that she was having a sexual relationship with a man she raised is absolutely disgusting and appalling. How are you just glossing over that?
after watching this channel for years i’ve saw the month of July more than any month, either Simon loves July (cancer szn👑) as much as BB or if more historical events happen in July 🧐
She even made a cameo in Pirates of the Caribbean after the "Hoist the Colours" speech...
Next you gotta do Mariya Oktyabrskaya.
I seemed to noticed a theme. If one becomes exceptional regardless of of whether it is infamous or famous, one seems to transcend the moral spheres of society and become more legend than person transgressing boundaries and are given pardon for these activities. In summary, achievement seems to be valued more than moral/ethical standing.
So she was essentially the original 👑BOSS BIH/BAD BIH‼ It was impossible to not smile while watching this the whole way through. Just AMAZING!!❣🖤🖤🖤
I love how you call out Freud. That man 😖
Damn Simon how many channels do you have
Please do Dietrich Bonhoeffer next
She is both!
Chill, Sigmund...he was adopted. ❤
Oh you need to do Charles of Khartoum or lord Kitchener! U may have alreadt those
The Pirate Queen??? Oh...I thought it was going to be about something...else.
Shih was amazing
She was ruthless but no overly so, created working government like structure and did not treat her men like pawns which assured low chances of betrayal unlike some people kh, kh Nobunaga.
Is it possible to add closed captioning to your videos?
Ching Shih is a certified LEGEND.
Queen Emma in New Britain provided employees to chinese traders and became wealthy enough to own
a Rolls Royce in which she could ride on the1.5 miles of road.
Her story is very interesting and she started out as a Samoan princess and died in Germany.
Please do a video on Cao Cao or Guan Yu 😍
Liu bei and Sun quan too
@@mrlaidback83 how you just gonna add them and forget about Zhang fei? 😭