Dameisha Beach (大梅沙海滨公园) is located on the northern shore of Mirs Bay, along the Yantian District coastline of Shenzhen.
Mirs Bay, along with other waterways near Hong Kong, was once home to various coastal defences used against pirates during the Ming Dynasty.
The Pirates of the South China Coast (华南海盗) reached the height of their power between 1790 and 1810, preying on traders, defying the Qing Dynasty, the Portuguese and the British.
Lieutenant Turner and the crew of the ship Tay, made prisoners by the Ladrone Pirates
After the death of her husband, pirate commander Zheng Yi, in 1807, Ching Shih took control of the formidable Red Flag Fleet. At her peak, she commanded an estimated 80,000 pirates and nearly two thousand ships, effectively taxing global cargo and coastal villages.
Ching Shih was born poor and sold to a brothel. And yet, arguably, she became the most powerful pirate that ever lived.
Some 80 years after Ching Shih’s death in Portuguese Macau, the UK’s most notorious pirate (spawn of a Grantham greengrocer), also a lady (one that was famously not for turning), burst onto the scene.
But being a fearsome pirate is where the similarities end. Ching Shih enforced a revolutionary and ruthless disciplinary code that dictated the split of plunder, banned unauthorized theft, mandated severe punishments (including execution) for disobeying orders, and strictly protected female captives.
Margaret Thatcher was not so principled… equality was not for her. Being northerners, we remember well Thatcher’s deployment of her stormtroopers to silence the voice of the workers as she ruthlessly pursued her brazen policy of Trades Union dismantlement…
The May 1982 cover of the Argentine magazine El Porteño featured a striking satirical illustration of Prime Minister Thatcher portrayed as a pirate leading the Royal Navy during the Falklands War. Argentine propaganda, yes, most certainly, but a bit close to the mark don’t you think?
And, I really must stress, here, that no disrespect is meant to the many brave servicemen and women (on both sides) involved in the Falkland/Malvinas conflict.
Moving on, away from the coast and the potential threat of pirates, if, indeed, we secretly sought them, we jumped on the Metro at Dameisha, and headed for downtown Shenzhen.
All very modern, clean and spacious. And off at Futian… all made very easy, much as it was in Japan…
One word: cavernous!
Anyone for tennis?! Or Pool…
And to our rendezvous point…
And there she (aka Alex) is, G5644, West Kowloon Hong Kong > Futian!
We tracked back to Dameisha and, later, headed down the coast to Xiaomeisha, in search of pirates.
Talking of pirates…
À la Yan Guifei, Emperor Xuanzong’s (Tang Dynasty) consort and her modern day interpretation – more in Day X blog here …
…. so for Ching Shih… In mainstream Chinese media, she is frequently adapted into a powerful figure in video games, television dramas, and web novels. Rather than a historical villain, she is romanticised as a fiercely independent maritime queen.
And, guess what…
Ching Shih featured in the Easter 2022 Easter Special, Doctor Who, ‘Legend of the Sea Devils’, played by actress Crystal Yu.
Ching Shih also made an appearance as the fearsome Mistress Ching, one of the Nine Pirate Lords of the Brethren Court who appears alongside Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.
Xiaomeisha is pleasant enough but exceedingly quiet, even for us…
More your Morecambe than Blackpool , we thought.
No offence meant, Eric!
No pirates in Xiaomeisha, so back to Dameisha. Much more your Blackpool, come Bournemouth, with a quirky, artistic twist…
And then, further inland, we picked up the scent once more…
Spotted them?
The Black Swan (1932) is an historical adventure novel by Rafael Sabatini set during the Golden Age of Piracy in the Caribbean.
The Black Swan (1942) was a Hollywood swashbuckler film directed by Henry King, starring Tyrone Power and Maureen O’Hara.
Things began to look so much more promising. We stopped for a coffee (plus cheesecake, of course, as it is someone’s birthday) and revisited the evidence. Sometimes you don’t see what is in front of you, do you? We pieced it together, in true Pink Panther style…
… plain as your nose, it was…
Thank the lord we tried out Xiaomeisha – for, in the Metro Station…
Your Man Friday was a bit of a pirate wasn’t he? Even if, in typical old British paternalistic style, Robinson converted him to Christianity. That’s if we are to trust Daniel Defoe and all that he has to say in his 1719 novel, Robinson Crusoe.
And then the final piece…
Pirates enjoy a good old-fashioned scrap, don’t they? The trail is definitely leading us further inland. Shenzhen tomorrow. We will keep you posted.
Endnote:
For more on Ching Shih, from a promising young writer – an interesting piece
Was Ching Shih a brutal renegade or a visionary feminist?
Previous China daily blog posts here
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