Cheung Po Tsai

Cheung Po Tsai (1783 – 1822)(Cantonese, Jēung Bóu Jái in Yale transcription) or Chang Pao Tsai (in Wade-Giles) () 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

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...
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