Pirate Queen: A Story of Zheng Yi Sao

When people think of pirates, names such as Captain Kidd and Blackbeard may come to mind. Various novels and movies have brought these historical personages to life and entertained numerous viewers. Despite these pirates’ history as people who engaged in lawless and morally questionable activities, a particular allure and fascination with the pirate life persists in popular culture. Treasure hunting, living freely on the high seas, and swashbuckling adventuring have become synonymous with these pirates’ lives, as seen by the widely popular Pirates of the Caribbean movies as well as classics such as Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island which has been frequently dramatized in television, film, and theatre.

In this context, people are not necessarily as familiar with female pirates since they have not been widely represented in popular culture. Written by Helaine Becker and illustrated by Liz Wong, Pirate Queen: A Story of Zheng Yi Sao focuses on one such female pirate who is arguably the most successful pirate in human history. Dramatizing Zheng Yi Sao’s life, Becker shows how Zheng rises to power as a pirate of a formidable fleet, a position that she holds until her voluntary retirement from piracy in 1810.

With over 17,000 pirates and 1800 ships under her command, Zheng Yi Sao dominated the Chinese coast for over a decade. Yet, one of the most intriguing aspects of Zheng’s story is that she does not start out as a pirate and, instead, has come from humble origins. Indeed, readers will be drawn into this tale about a strong Chinese woman who has overcome her difficult circumstances to become a feared powerful leader who plunders wealthy towns to help the poorer ones. At an individual level, this story exemplifies Zheng’s ability to adapt astutely to adverse circumstances, persevere, and thrive. Having been captured from her village by pirates, Zheng Yi Sao boldly asks to be made co-owner of half the fleet when her captor decides that he would like to marry her, a proposal to which he agrees. After he dies, she assumes leadership of the entire pirate fleet and implements measures to assure her squadron leaders’ loyalty. With control assured, Zheng’s power rivals the emperor’s both on land and at sea. However, Zheng eventually decides that it is time to retire from the pirate life, and she negotiates a deal with the governor-general, after which she marries and lives in peace for the rest of her life.

Wong’s illustrations convey the plot’s dynamism and excitement by highlighting important plot developments, such as the pirates’ raid of the Chinese village and their battle with the emperor’s armada. Wong also evokes that historical era with suggestive details, such as a bird’s eye view of a Chinese town in one scene and a detailed representation of a traditional Chinese table in another. In addition, Wong’s illustrations help to develop Zheng as a character by depicting her reactions at various moments, such that readers will feel that they are in the story with her. As a whole, Wong’s illustrations convey a sense that one is reading an older text as they evoke the lines and impressions of Chinese brush painting. In an interview with KidLit411 about her artistic technique, Liz Wong comments that she uses “a combination of watercolor and digital, for the most part painting the characters traditionally and painting the backgrounds digitally and assembling it all” (http://www.kidlit411.com/2016/02/Author-Illustrator-Spotlight-Liz-Wong.html).

Pirate Queen: A Story of Zheng Yi Sao will help schools that are looking to build their collection of Asian-themed literature, stories about historical figures, or picture books that feature strong female protagonists. Aside from its success in bringing a piece of history to life for readers, this story also features an unconventional female character, given her life as a pirate. This, in itself, could be used as a way for teachers to launch a discussion about female historical figures who have achieved significant accomplishments. Although this book’s primary audience is young readers, the story’s topic could also be of interest to anyone who would like to become acquainted with a less familiar aspect of Chinese history.

Although not much about Zheng’s life is known, she could be considered “one of the most successful and least famous pirates of all time” (https://daily.jstor.org/cheng-i-sao-female-pirate/). The book’s last few pages have some biographical and historical context for Zheng Yi Sao to enrich readers’ understanding of the story, along with sources and references that they can consult. Equally interesting for readers will be the details about Becker’s motivation for writing this story and creative choices that she has made in doing so. Becker affirms that she wants to introduce this historical figure’s story to a wider audience. However, as Becker mentioned, the lack of primary documents and detailed information about Zheng’s life meant that she had to fill in the gaps, something which Becker achieved by including facts about the period in which Zheng lived. Additionally, Becker explains her choice of spelling for the people’s names. Spellings for Zheng’s name vary and include alternate spellings such as Cheng I Sao and Ching Shih. Becker mentions her choice to use the pinyin versions of her name.

Award-winning writer Helaine Becker has written over 90 children’s books and has also written for children’s magazines and television. She presents frequently at various schools and events internationally. More information about her work is available at her official website http://www.helainebecker.com. Illustrator Liz Wong was born in Hawaii and developed an interest in art at an early age. She currently resides in Edmonds, Washington and her official website is http://www.lizwongillustration.com/.