Cheung Po Tsai

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Cheung Po Tsai (in Cantonese) or Chang Pao Tsai (in Wade-Giles) (Traditional Chinese: 張保仔; Simplified Chinese: 张保仔; pinyin: Zhāng Bǎozǎi) was a 19th century Chinese pirate. He was also know as Cheung Po/Chang Pao/Zhang Bao ('Cheung Po Tsai' literally means 'Cheung Po the Kid').

He was a fisherman's son who lived in Xinhui of Jiangmen but was kidnapped by pirate Cheng I and his wife Ching Shih at fifteen years of age. He became the pirate's lover and was adopted by the kidnappers as their son. After Cheng I died, Ching Shih fell into a love affair with their adopted son and soon married him, having already made him her lieutenant. He later took over the pirating business from his adopted parents.

Cheung Po Tsai was active along the Guangdong coastal area during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). His followers are said to have reached forty thousand and they had up to six hundred ships. He capitulated to the Chinese government in 1810 and became the captain of the Qing government's imperial navy. Chang Pao spent the rest of his life in a comfortable government position.

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 treasure
Cheung Po Tsai built several temples dedicated to Tin Hau and seafaring activities: in Ma Wan, Cheung Chau and Stanley.

In the movie Pirates of the Caribbean 3, the character Sao Feng is based on Cheung Po Tsai.