Ching Shih

Cheng I Sao (鄭一嫂; 1775 – 1844), also known as Ching Shih (鄭氏), was a Chinese pirate during the early 19th century. She is considered to be one of the most successful pirates of all time, controlling a large fleet that dominated the and rivaled the navies of some of the world's major powers.
==Biography==
Ching Shih was a former prostitute who married the infamous pirate . After her husband's death in 1807, Ching took command of all his operations, becoming the most important and powerful pirate in China.Assassin's Creed: Initiates – Database: The Widow Ching, Lady Pirate
Ching eventually married her lieutenant and turned her piratical enterprises into a ruthlessly effective organization. At the height of her career, Ching personally commanded a fleet of over 300 junks with a force of 20,000 to 40,000 individual pirates called the Red Flag Fleet. Her power even allowed her to establish hegemony in many Chinese cities, imposing levies or taxes against the citizens as the forces of Qing China and Great Britain struggled against her attacks.
Following several unsuccessful attempts by officials to end her rule, Ching's fleet finally suffered a series of defeats against the Portuguese Navy. Coupled with the Red Flag Fleet's internal rifts, Ching's utter dominance over East Asian piracy was at an end. In 1810, the Chinese government offered amnesty to all pirates who wished to surrender, which she accepted, and she retired from her pirate career having kept all her loot.
==Behind the scenes==
In Assassin's Creed: Pirates, the Red Flag of Ching Shih's pirate fleet is featured as one of several collectible items that the protagonist Alonzo Batilla can find despite the game being set in the early 18th century, decades before Ching Shih was even born.Assassin's Creed: Pirates – Alonzo Batilla's treasures
==Appearances==
*Assassin's Creed: Initiates 
*Assassin's Creed: Pirates 
==References==
zh:郑一嫂
Category:1775 births
Category:1844 deaths
Category:Individuals
Category:Qing people
Category:Han Chinese
Category:Courtesans
Category:Pirates
Category:Pirate captains
Category:Zheng (鄭) lineage