Lo Hon-cho

Lo Hon-cho or Lo Honcho was a 20th-century Chinese pirate. Lo was married to a powerful pirate leader and took command of his fleet after his death in 1921. Under her leadership, the fleet expanded to encompass 64 junks. Lo raided in southern China, in the vicinity of Beihai, and earnt a terrifying reputation on account of her ruthlessness. Her career came to a sudden end in October 1922 when she was captured by the Chinese military.

Biography Lo Hon-cho was married to a powerful pirate. After the death of her husband in 1921, she took command of his fleet, much in the same way as the previous Chinese woman pirate leader Zheng Yi Sao (1775–1844). She was probably at least in her mid-20s at the time. Lo eventually commanded 64 junks, a greater number of ships than her husband had led. She raided the countryside in southern China, most frequently operating in the vicinity of Beihai. Lo is described in surviving sources as being young, beautiful and ruthless. Together, Lo and Wong collected a ransom from Beihai to prevent the city being looted.

Little is known in detail about Lo's life due to the very scant source material available outside of China. No study on Lo Hon-cho has yet been made based on potential Chinese-language source material. Stories of Lo's brief pirate career were still being told and shared with outsiders in southern China in the 1930s.