# Fame.am profile — machine-readable export
# Canonical URL: https://fame.am/person/ching-shih
# Generated: 2026-08-31T17:33:49.226Z

schema: https://schema.org/Person
url: "https://fame.am/person/ching-shih"
name: "Ching Shih"
slug: "ching-shih"
description: "She commanded the largest pirate fleet in history — hundreds of ships, tens of thousands of fighters — and when the empires came for her, she negotiated her way out, retired on her terms, and died prosperous in old age."
tagline: "Influential female Chinese pirate"
image: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/%E9%84%AD%E4%B8%80%E5%AB%82.jpg"
gender: "female"
country:
  name: "China"
  isoCode: "CN"
category:
  name: "Historical Figures"
  slug: "historical-figures"
profileType:
  name: "Historical Figure"
  slug: "historical-figure"
  entityType: "https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q2798645"
birthDate: "1775"
deathDate: "1844"
livingStatus: "DECEASED"
scores:
  popularity:           58.6
  momentum:             1.26
  historical:           25.01550533333334
  currentAttention:     8.964285714285715
  sourceConfidence:     65
  profileCompleteness:  75
  trendDirection:       "FALLING"
ranks:
  global:   null
  country:  null
  category: null
tags:
  - name: "Historical Figures"
    slug: "historical-figures"
  - name: "Historical Figure"
    slug: "historical-figure"
  - name: "Early Modern Era"
    slug: "early-modern-era"
platforms:
  - platform:  "IMDB"
    url:       "https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5080543/"
    handle:    "nm5080543"
sources:
  - url: "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q266715"
    title: "Wikidata"
    type:  "WIKIDATA"
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ching_Shih"
    title: "Wikipedia"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://pantheon.world/profile/person/Ching%20Shih"
    title: "Pantheon 2.0"
    type:  "DATABASE"
  - url: "https://ast.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ching_Shih"
    title: "Ching Shih"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bcl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zheng_Yi_Sao"
    title: "Zheng Yi Sao"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A7%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B3_%D0%A8%D0%B8"
    title: "Чинг Ши"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A6%9A%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%82_%E0%A6%B6%E0%A7%80"
    title: "চিং শী"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://br.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ching_Shih"
    title: "Ching Shih"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ching_Shih"
    title: "Ching Shih"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ckb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%DA%86%DB%8C%D9%86%DA%AF_%D8%B4%DB%8C%DA%BE"
    title: "چینگ شیھ"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%8Ceng_%C5%A0%E2%80%99"
    title: "Čeng Š’"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://cv.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A6%D0%B7%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%8C_%D0%A8%D0%B8"
    title: "Цзинь Ши"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zheng_Yisao"
    title: "Zheng Yisao"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%A4%CF%83%CE%B9%CE%BD%CE%B3%CE%BA_%CE%A3%CE%B9"
    title: "Τσινγκ Σι"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zheng_Yi_Sao"
    title: "Zheng Yi Sao"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zheng_Shi"
    title: "Zheng Shi"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ching_Shih"
    title: "Ching Shih"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shi_Yang"
    title: "Shi Yang"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%DA%98%D9%86%DA%AF_%DB%8C%DB%8C_%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%88"
    title: "ژنگ یی سائو"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ching_Shih"
    title: "Ching Shih"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ching_Shih"
    title: "Ching Shih"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zheng_Yi_Sao"
    title: "Zheng Yi Sao"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ha.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zheng_Yi_Sao"
    title: "Zheng Yi Sao"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A6'%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%92_%D7%A9%D7%99"
    title: "צ'ינג שי"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://hy.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D5%8F%D5%AB%D5%AF%D5%AB%D5%B6_%D5%83%D5%A5%D5%B6"
    title: "Տիկին Ճեն"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ching_Shih"
    title: "Ching Shih"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ching_Shih"
    title: "Ching Shih"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AA%D8%B4%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%BA_%D8%B4%D9%8A%D9%87"
    title: "تشينغ شيه"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://www.themoviedb.org/person/2616622"
    title: "Lin Shih-ching"
    type:  "DATABASE"

# bio (long form, separated for readability)
bio: |
  Born Shi Yang around 1775, she married pirate Zheng Yi in 1801 at age 26 and became known as Zheng Yi Sao among the Cantonese. When her husband died in 1807, she seized control of his confederation with backing from his adopted son Zhang Bao, whom she later married. By 1805 the fleet held roughly 400 junks and between 40,000 and 70,000 pirates, clashing with the British, Portuguese, and Qing forces across the South China Sea. After defeats by the Portuguese Navy, she cut a deal with Qing authorities in 1810: she and Zhang Bao kept 24 ships and over 1,400 crew, faced no charges, and walked away. She lived another thirty-four years in relative peace and prosperity, dying in 1844 at about 68.