Bizarre love triangle of a ruthless warlord

Cheung Po Tsai was a famous Hong Kong pirate who was the inspiration of the Sao Feng character played by Chow Yun-fat in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

He was born a fisherman's son who lived in Xinhui, Jiangmen, in Guangdong, but was kidnapped by the pirate Zheng Yi and his wife Ching Shih when he was 15. He was adored by the pirate king and queen and became a lover to them both. The kidnappers also adopted him as their son.

After Zheng Yi died, he married his adoptive mother, Ching Shih, and was made her lieutenant. When she died, he took control of the pirate empire of 50,000 men and 600 ships. In 1810, Cheung Po Tsai worked with the Chinese government and became a captain in the Qing imperial navy.