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Description: | Said to be the flag of the Chinese pirate Shap Ng Tsai but more likely to be a shrine hanging from one of the junks in his fleet. Most Chinese vessels had a small shrine on the poop dedicated to T?ien Hou. The characters say 'T'ien Hou Sheng Mu' (Empress of Heaven, Holy mother). T'ien Hou was regarded as a calmer of storms and protectoress of marine commerce, fishermen and sailors. The flag is painted with a depiction of Ziwei Dadi, one of the four Emperors of Heaven who assist the Jade Emperor. Ziwei Dadi is regarded in Cantonese communities as a major deity in his own right. He is seated on a mythical beast with a pillar behind him, holding a taijitu symbol surrounded by eight trigrams. The bats at the side of the hanging are a punning reference to good luck. A hoist (possibly a later addition) is placed on the right hand side.
Shap Ng Tsai's fleet of 27 junks was destroyed in a joint action by an Anglo-Chinese squadron under Captain John Charles Dalrymple Hay and Major General Hw�ng on 20 October 1849. Shap Ng Tsai succeeded in escaping, although his ship and its flag were burned in this action.
caption: Chinese Pirate Flag
caption: Chinese Pirate Flag, reputed to have been captured from the pirate Admiral Shap-ng-Tsai in 1849 | Publisher: | "http://collections.rmg.co.uk/" | Rights holder: | "Royal Museums Greenwich" | Subjects: | Flag flags Hou Standardizing the gods: the promotion of T'ien Hou ('Empress of Heaven') along the South China Coast 960-1960 John Charles Dalrymple Chinese Flags in the Collections of the National Maritime Museum Hay Capt T'ien Shap Ng Treasures of the National Maritime Museum piracy Tsai | Source: | Royal Museums Greenwich | Identifier: | http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections... | Go to resource |
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