Zheng Yi

Zheng Yi (also romanised as Cheng Yud or Cheng I; born Zheng Wenxian, courtesy name Youyi; 1765 – 16 November 1807) was a powerful Chinese pirate operating from Guangdong and throughout the South China Sea in the late 1700s.

Early life He was born Zheng Wenxian in 1765 in Xin'an County (modern Shenzhen and Hong Kong), South China. His family, including his father Zheng Lianchang and his younger brother Zheng San had been pirates for generations, he and other pirates were recruited as mercenaries by Tây Sơn dynasty up until 1801.

Marriage and children In 1801, he met a 26-year-old Cantonese pirate known as Shi Xianggu . Either due to infatuation with her or purely as a business move, Zheng Yi made a proposal of marriage to Shi Xianggu to consolidate power, which she is said to have agreed to under a formal contract that granted her a 50% control and share. Shi Xianggu was known as "Zheng Yi Sao" (. They adopted Cheung Po as their step-son, making him Zheng's legal heir. She also bore him two sons; Zheng Ying Shi and Zheng Xiong Shi .

Around 1798 to 1801, Zheng Yi kidnapped Cheung Po Tsai , a 15-year-old son of a Tankan fisherman and pressed him into piracy. Cheung Po's talent helped him adapt well to his new and unplanned career, as he rose swiftly through the ranks. Zheng Yi then appointed Cheung Po as a captain of one of his Red Flag ships. Cheung Po eventually became both Zheng Yi's adopted son.

Around 1805, Zheng Yi rose to become the leader of a group of six Asian pirate chiefs. This coalition was a formidable force, and one of the most powerful pirate fleets in all of China. They were known as the Red Flag Fleet. Most of his fleet, which numbered over 200 ships, consisted of junks. These were sizable ships capable of holding 800 tons of cargo and armed with as many as 40 cannons. Those ships were manned by at least 20,000 sailers, and the total number of men under his leadership could have reached as many as 40,000.

By 1806, virtually every Chinese vessel along the coast paid the pirates for ostensible protection.