Happy international women’s day! This is a perfect moment to highlight stories from the past about inspiring women that are often absent in history books.

The story of Ching Shih (1755-1844) is one of them. She was born in Guangzhou and rose from humble beginnings to become a pirate queen commanding a fleet of over 1800 junks crewed by around 70 000 pirates. Her pirates terrorized and dominated the Chinese seas often coming into conflict with major players at that time such as the East India Company.

Ching Shih was a great leader who introduced a strict code of laws to keep the pirates under control. After retiring as a pirate and receiving amnesty, she worked as military advisor during the first opium war.

Why would you make a remake of Mulan as Disney when you’ve got these real inspiring stories from the past? 

Originally posted on Instagram on March 8, 2021 (Women’s day)