? Which country did pirates first originate from? ? Who was the most famous pirate in ancient China?

Ancient Greece. . .

In 1350 BC, the ancient Greeks left their anger and helplessness on clay tablets. This is the first officially recorded pirate incident in human history. Greek merchants were occasionally attacked by pirates while trading in Mediterranean ports like Phoenicia and Anatolia. In the following three thousand years, from the Mediterranean Sea to the east coast of Africa, from the Caribbean Sea to the Strait of Malacca, the skull and crossbones flag looming between low clouds and waves became a nightmare for all sailors.

Sun En, the "Founder of Pirates"

In the late Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Great Maritime Uprising led by Sun En and Lu Xun lasted for 13 years from 398 to 411 AD. The pirate army of nearly one million people moved to the vast area south of the Yangtze River, spanning the East China Sea and the South China Sea. Such a magnificent armed uprising at sea is rare in the history of Chinese piracy.

Sun En has a beautiful character. The world is honored with five buckets of rice. During the reign of Emperor Xiaowu of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, his uncle Sun Tai was the leader of the Five Pecks of Rice Taoism. He was prestigious among the people and respected him like a god. His followers were distributed throughout the south. When Sun Tai was killed, Sun En fled to the sea and gathered together to escape at sea, determined to take revenge. In 399 AD, he commanded his party from the island, killed Yu Ling, and took advantage of the victory to capture Kuaiji. His troops rapidly expanded to hundreds of thousands. Sun En moved to Shaoxing, Ningbo, Zhoushan, Taizhou, Wenzhou, Nanjing, Yangzhou and other places.

Lu Xun, whose courtesy name was Yu Xian, was "gorgeous, elegant and talented". He was good at writing and playing chess. He was an elegant man. In 402 AD, Sun En failed in the battle and committed suicide by throwing himself into the sea. The remaining troops, led by Lu Xun, fought in Guangzhou, Changsha, Nanchang, Nanjing and other parts of Guangdong, but failed in 411 AD. Sun En and Lu Xun's maritime rebellion is known as the "beginning of pirate pirates in the Central Plains" and provided experience for later generations of piracy activities. Later generations often called pirates Sun En, and Sun En became synonymous with pirates. This is the origin of Sun En, the founder of pirates.

Fang Guozhen, the "Haijing" in eastern Zhejiang

Fang Guozhen is a native of Yangshan'ao, Huangyan County, Taizhou, eastern Zhejiang, and was born in poverty. History books say that he was "seven feet long, burly in appearance, black in face and white in body, resolute and courageous, and able to chase galloping horses". There was a ballad "Yang Yuqing, the master of going to sea" to prepare public opinion for Fang Guozhen's uprising. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, in 1348 AD, Fang Guozhen raised troops at sea and fought in Zhejiang and Jiangsu. For twenty years, he lived in three counties in eastern Zhejiang. He marched on the sea to block grain shipments and played a major role in the armed struggle to overthrow the Yuan Dynasty. Fang Guozhen later surrendered to Zhu Yuanzhang and was praised by Zhu as a hero who traveled the sea with great power.

The private business leader in the southeast—Wang Zhi, King of Jinghai

Wang Zhi, a native of Shexian County, Huizhou, is a young man and a wise man. As we all know, the Ming Dynasty closed the country and implemented a maritime ban. Wang Zhi has been engaged in overseas smuggling trade for a long time and opened up Ningbo Shuangyu Port. He is both the leader of the maritime business group and the leader of pirates. At that time, pirates at sea in Jiangsu and Zhejiang were divided into groups and parties, and the situation was complicated. Wang Zhi, who is "known for his bravery in sinking aircraft" relied on his strong strength to defeat many groups of pirates, and thousands of miles of sea territory was under Wang Zhi's control. Wang Zhijinghai had meritorious service. He repeatedly petitioned the imperial court to open maritime trade, but was rejected. Instead, he was besieged by the government navy. Wang Zhi broke through the siege and fled to Japan, where he regrouped. In the 31st year of Jiajing, that is, in 1552 AD, he led a large armed fleet to invade the southeast coast and captured cities and territories. Jiangsu and Zhejiang were shaken, and the officers and soldiers were invincible. Wang Zhi occupied Dinghai and called himself "King of Jinghai" and later "King of Hui".

The Ming Dynasty failed in its military conquest, so it changed tactics and arrested Wang Zhi's wife, children, and mother from his hometown in Huizhou as hostages. They sent Japanese troops to deceive Wang Zhi into agreeing to lift the maritime ban and open the market for trade, and designed to trap Wang Zhi. , two years after Wang Zhi was imprisoned, he was ordered to be executed by the imperial court at the entrance of Guanxiang, Hangzhou. He remained unyielding until his death. At that time, people said that Wang Zhi used his authority to dominate the sea and had no other charges, so his killing was unreasonable. Xu Guangqi complained for him and said: "Wang Zhi has never invaded the island personally. He has recruited his envoys and given them a position so that they can eliminate the pirates and be effective." It is obvious that killing Wang Zhi is unpopular. Before his death, Wang Zhi predicted: "If I die, the people of Zhejiang and Zhejiang will suffer." Wang Zhi was a Huizhou merchant and a representative figure of Southeast Sea merchants during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty. He was the most legendary figure among the heroes of the East China Sea.

Zheng Zhilong, the "King of the Sea" in the late Ming Dynasty

Zheng Zhilong, courtesy name Rijia, was a native of Shijing Township, Nan'an County, Fujian Province. He was a famous pirate and sea merchant in the late Ming Dynasty and the father of Zheng Chenggong. After decades of hard work at sea, he performed a unique trilogy: he left his hometown in his early years and ventured into the world; then he became a pirate, engaged in maritime business, and was both a merchant and a thief; and finally he became an official from a thief, both a merchant and an official. There are very few people like him in Chinese history who have three identities and experiences: businessman, thief, and official.

Zheng Zhilong was engaged in a wide range of maritime business activities, from sea to land, from domestic to foreign countries, and had contact with the Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch. In the overseas business competition, he was good at doing business, made great profits, and became a wealthy merchant. When he was a pirate, he had thousands of ships and 100,000 tribesmen. After entering the Ming Dynasty, he controlled 10,000 ships of all kinds and was able to assemble 3,000 ships. He can be called the first shipping king in the history of the world. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Zheng Zhilong led an armed fleet across the sea to attack the closed-door Ming Dynasty. He repeatedly defeated the officers and soldiers, repelled the Dutch colonists who invaded the Fujian coast several times, eliminated other pirate groups, unified the oceans, and shocked the southeastern sea; later he became an official in the maritime areas. The general, "sitting on the throne of the sea, has several counties on the verge of death", monopolizing the seaside and monopolizing overseas trade.

Cai Qian, a Fujian pirate who roamed the southeastern sea

Cai Qian, a native of Xipu Township, Tong'an County, Fujian Province, was born in poverty. In the fifty-ninth year of Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty (AD 1794), he was forced to go to sea. For stealing. By the time of Jiaqing, the number of the tribe had grown to more than 20,000, and there were more than 200 ships on the sea. Cai Qian sailed across the sea for fifteen years, and once conquered Taiwan, becoming the Mighty King of Zhenhai.

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