Ching Shih: Captain of the S.S. Hardcore
/Who the Fab Lady Is
Nothing is known of Ching Shih before she was married to the notorious pirate Zheng Yi. Together they ruled the sea with their Red Flag Fleet, and when Zheng Yi passed away, Ching Shih decided that she really liked what she did and wanted to rule it some more. Once a prostitute, you never would’ve thought that she would amass an army of over 1500 ships and 80,000 pirates. After raiding small towns and bombarding the government’s laughable attempts to stop her (a captain committed suicide to prevent capture by her), Ching Shih decided, “eh, I’ve had my fun, I think I’ll spend the rest of my days rolling around in my plunder now.”
The Kick-ass Things She Did
First of all, when Zheng Yi proposed to her, she told him she’d only tie the knot if she got to share his power with him. The Red Flag Fleet was already pretty dang huge at this point, and he could’ve easily taken her anyways, but instead she became prostitute to pirate queen in a day. You have to admire a woman with goals.
Ching Shih ruled with an iron fist after her husband died. Every punishment was basically “head chopped off and body thrown into the sea.” I don’t know about you but if it were me I’d be scrubbing that deck until you could see golden teeth in the reflection.
I think it was good enough for everyone else too, judging by her 80,000 record.
How She Fought the Patriarchy
If you were a part of the Red Flag Fleet and you wanted to get touchy-freaky with a lady, Ching Shih made sure that that probably wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. A rule that was punishable by decapitation and disposal was rape. If pirates claimed a captured woman as his own, he was expected to treat them like wives and not like plunder. Okay, maybe that’s not 100% feminist but as far as pirates go, that’s pretty damn good.
She was pretty hardcore, yes, but she also did what not a whole lot of ladies did in the days of 1800’s China. She’s almost like some kind of crazy Mulan with a boat. A lot of boats. And a posse.
God forbid Disney tries to make a princess out of this queen.
Guess a cameo will just have to do.
Erin Chambers
When she is not on the internet blogging or chatting with buddies, Erin often finds herself consumed by paper, through drawing, reading or doodling and planning out ideas. She also enjoys playing video games, watching old cartoons and throwing sarcastic remarks at her siblings. Her motivation stems from her interests and her friends, and she enjoys turning them into characters and letting them run wild in her fantasy worlds.
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