A SEA-MONSTROUS HĂI GUÀI ATTACKS CHING SHIH’S PIRATE SHIP

A SEA-MONSTROUS HĂI GUÀI ATTACKS CHING SHIH’S PIRATE SHIP, by Kendall Evans, with artwork by Simon Walpole

I.

Hand-carved, a distinctive figurehead perched
High upon the prow of Ching Shi’s Chinese junk:
Proud wooden dragon, ready to breathe fire
Eyes scanning for foes, teeth long as short swords
Green scales like markings upon turtle’s shell

In battle, some of her pirates insist,
Its nostrils emit smoke, its mouth spits flames
As the bright-painted dragon’s azure eyes roll
Quickened to life by Ching Shi’s magic charms—
And who could say Ching Shi is not charming?

Picture pony-tailed Ching Shi standing tall[i]
On her junk’s deck there in South China Sea.
Small woman at the center of it all
Commander of the entire Red Flag Fleet[ii]
As she pursues a loaded merchant ship

II.

Difficult to resist such easy prey
Heavy cargo ship with no armed escort
Shih ordered sails adjusted, maximum speed
And began her battle preparations
Practiced rituals and protective spells

Chanted within her cabin’s privacy
With her pet monkey Youling by her side
Dancing to the rhythms of enchantments—
For Youling[iii] was her familiar spirit;
His presence helped augment her sorcery

She donned her fighting clothes, her favorite vest
Then made her way up on the deck and to the helm
Where Youling leapt up onto her shoulder
Poised in his allotted battle station—
Erect and wide eyed; ready for the fray

Dark clouds above slowly came together
The sky entire the colors of dark bruises—
Then rain began, drops immense and heavy
Slant-driven by swift-rising arctic winds—
What pirate likes to fight in stormy weather?

Despite the storm, Ching Shih was determined
To overtake and board the merchant ship—
The mastheads of Shih’s junk glowed fiery blue;
The goddess Tianfeir’s Divine Lantern
Or harbinger of total disaster?

Blinding lightning forks zig-zagged thru the sky
Thunder rolled across the ocean’s surface
Bright distant bolts, unseen, made dark clouds glow—
Everyone on deck was drenched to the bones
And swiping at salt spray stinging in their eyes

Youling abruptly fell from Ching Shih’s shoulder
Writhing there before her, upon the deck
Only the whites of his eyes visible
His spindle-thin limbs, his tail twitching—
Mind lost in throes of events imminent

Ching Shih gathered Youling up into her arms
Never had she seen him in such a state
She fretted for her pet and felt alarmed
Not only wondering what caused him this harm
But knowing this an omen must be too

III.

In shadowed seas off China’s fractal coast
Beneath the chop and sway of dancing waves
In depths that never were by man explored
Where crevices are etched by Vulcan heat
There dwells a giant creature, eight of limb

The beast that could not be colossal squid
Nor yet an ordinary octopus
More like unlikely mating of the two
Alive so long it’s grown gigantic sized—
Behold the  Hǎi Guài’s dire awakening[v]

An ugly ancient deity reborn                                                                                                                                                         Unholy spawn of forces best ignored
The monster stirs from slumber; surfaces
A long trek up from ocean cavern depths—
The  Hǎi Guài sighted Ching Shih’s ship above

Ship’s silhouette much like that of a whale—
Mayhap the monster in a monstrous mood
So ravenous from having slept so long—
Or did the  Hǎi Guài hate these frail creatures
Who sailed upon its seas in wooden ships?

It twined Shih’s pirate junk in tentacles
As if eight separate serpents had attacked
One coiled about the sails and broke a mast
So many tentacles that swung and thrashed—
Such chaos in the midst of pouring rain

Two pirates trapped within the Hǎi Guài’s coils
Weaved overhead in writhing tentacles[vi]
Efforts to win free completely failed—
Hacking with longswords, to no avail
While dying in The  Hǎi Guài’s strangling grip

IV.

Ching Shih sank to wet decks, posed in lotus
Attempting to direct coursing events
With sorcerous intent and spoken spells
The gestures of her hands swift-intricate—
Her mind locked deep within fierce-focused trance

Youling, cradled in lotus-folded legs,
Gradually recovered his lost thoughts
And leapt upon a  Hǎi Guài’s thrashing limb
Scampering, as if along a tree branch—
Scratching and biting, clawing viciously

Doing his best to torment the monster
Fast-agile Youling eluded capture
His scruff coat of fur all wet and matted—
and yet he could cause the  Hǎi Guài
small harm;
Bites not deep enough, scratches far too shallow

Shih watched Zau Ming,[vii] who wielded his axe
The galley cook a brawler of great skill
Axe biting deep into the muscled tentacles—
Shen Dho,[viii] meanwhile, also joined into the fray
And Chen Lu too, his saber skills displayed

V.

Shih brought the dragon figurehead to life
Blooded veins of anger in those wooden eyes
Its serpent-neck flexing as it turned its head
Face to face with the Hǎi Guài, there at the stern
The dragon roared forth bright gold-red flames

Hǎi Guài at the stern, dragon at the prow;
Difficult to burn this mighty  Hǎi Guài
Yet avoid killing a few pirates too
Or setting the sails of Shih’s ship ablaze—
Still, some flames charred the monster’s flesh

One tentacle lashed close to the figurehead
The dragon’s strong jaws severed it in two—
The detached part lashed like a lizard’s tail
And fell into waters of South China Sea
Roaring in triumph, the dragon spat out fire

 

 

One Hǎi Guài limb struck hard the dragon’s brow,
Wood splintering, the dragon’s head staved in—
Horrified, Shih watched her dragon’s sad demise
Pain fierce and piercing spread all through her skull—
Dragon connection severed then, and broken

Ching Shih, reeling, shook off the stunning pain;
The dragon figurehead hung low and lifeless
Snout dipping, now and then, into the sea
Her most potent spells failed to revive it—
Shih’s mind clenched up in silent howls of rage

VI.

Two other ships in Shih’s fleet lingered near
Seeking to interfere and save the day—
But cannons are not accurate in storms;
The first three blasts missed entirely their target
The fourth struck home; enraged the Hǎi Guài more

VII.
A pirate’s scream came from one direction
The storm’s roar, from all distances at once;
She could barely perceive Dho thru the downpour
Uplifted in constricting  Hǎi Guài limb
Waved all about and tossed into the sea

Her ship rolled, not only in the rainstorm’s waves,
But lurched about in  Hǎi Guài’s crushing grip
Too much happening too fast all around her
A juggling act of spells and dancing magic—
Exhausting efforts failed to quell the  Hǎi Guài

Hull timbers shivered, splintered, fractured
Some pirates, out of fear, leapt overboard
Despite the raging storm and choppy seas;
Shih watched her crew diminish one-by-one—
I must do more than sit weaving my spells

One limb tossed down a body near her feet
Her cook Zau Ming, his dead eyes wide and open—
Ching Shih felt such outrage she was reckless
She charged the creature’s waving tentacles
Without heed for flesh nor blood

Her saber deeply slashed one Hǎi Guài limb—
She ducked below the Dragon’s fallen mast
Then tunneled aft beneath collapsed sails
Emerging to launch a surprise attack;
And yet the Hǎi Guài was not caught off guard

A tentacle raised up helpless Guang Xu
Ching Shih charged in fast, attempting rescue—
Chen Lu fell from a hard blow to his chest,
Coughing up blood, his lungs pierced and ribs broken—
Ching Shih could not help so many men at once

The tentacle dropped Guang and took Shih up;
Swung her thru pale blue sky – It’s like I’m flying!
It lifted her above the tallest mast;
Her ship, so far below, looked small and frail—
The Hǎi Guà lowered her to meet its gaze

Shih sensed the mind behind the Hǎi Guài’s eyes
Intelligence cold as far distant stars—
The  Hǎi Guài loomed all round, and so immense
A multi-storied temple of dread flesh
Its eyes the size of full moons in the sky

The Hǎi Guài’s suckers acid-etched Shih’s flesh
The pain, although intense, she overcame—
She hovered there, before that monstrous face;
Thoughts intricate and odd gave Ching Shih pause;
Boundless, this labyrinth of thoughts penumbral

Vast intellect, unlike any other
A mind malign, yet not truly evil
Long, wandering trails of concepts alien
A timeless mystery, a conundrum—
Beyond her, to completely comprehend

—The Hǎi Guài gently set Shih on the deck
And still their gazes met, their thoughts entwined—
The sea monster withdrew its tentacles
Slowly; and with the most deliberate intent,
Sank beneath the surface of South China’s sea

Ching Shih stood there swaying on the Dragon’s deck
Weary, entranced, and feeling hypnotized
Exhaustion made her doubt the sensed connection—
Yet which one of the two was truly mesmerized
The Hǎi Guài, or the Pirate Queen Ching Shih?

Nor could Shih explain, not ever, her release—
Did the Hǎi Guài know her ship was slowly sinking?
Had she achieved unfathomed compromise?
Shih felt too tired for solving complex riddles—
Or was the answer ever to be found?

VIII.
Sprays of saltwater streamed into the vessel
Desperate pirates bailed to keep the ship afloat
Long chain of striving men and sloshing buckets
Leading upward from their ship’s flooded holds—
All wondering: Will we safely reach the shore?

Far less than half of Shih’s pirates now remained
Ninety-four before, now less than thirty-three
Some far too injured to be of any use—
Shen Dho had survived; he called out orders
Per instructions from their absent captain—

Spent Ching Shih reclined within her cabin
Flesh burning here and there where  Hǎi Guài
suckers touched her
Her wounds tea-saucer shaped; tea-saucer sized;
The dark round scars would be with her forever—
Exhaustion made Ching Shih delirious

Zau Ming, the man Shih’d sworn to protect: dead
The dragon figurehead, forever dead
Her lover, Lu,[ix] was wounded grievously—
Though Shih had survived, she felt defeated;
For one weak instant, she craved death’s reprieve

—No! I do not wish to die, not ever!
Her contradictory thoughts immediate;
I’ll fight my way beyond this brief despair—
Shih contemplated spells that she might weave
To stay afloat and reach calm island ports

Youling came gently to Ching Shih’s bedroll
Lay down beside her; chittered sympathy
Stroked her soft shoulder and petted her strong thigh
Consoling his mistress with tenderest intent—
Shih hugged him to her; tears wept from her eyes

She still sensed Hǎi Guài’s deep and  brooding presence
There, in the ocean depths of her own mind
Strong links had formed, never to be broken
Unsought connections with most ancient forces
To be spoken to, perhaps, come one someday—

Or would Ching Shih be summoned to the aid of ancient Hǎi Guài?

 

NOTES:

[i] Ching Shih standing tall: This is a figurative statement as opposed to being literal. Although she might have loomed large in the minds of the pirates, Ching Ching Shih was actually only four feet and eleven and three-quarter inches in height.

[ii] Red Flag Fleet: Ching Shih did indeed command an entire fleet, which at one point included as many as 600 ships, or perhaps closer to 900. This depends on the references one consults.  For instance, Frank Li tells us, on page 194 of his scholarly work A Brief Biography of Ching Shih (Ditto Press, 1999) that the fleet at its peak, consisted of 670 ships.  Most other sources give a figure somewhere in the nine hundreds, but there is little consitency.

[iii] Youling: Pronounced Yow Ling. Originally he was an ordinary monkey, born to normal simian parents.  Ching Shih’s magic enhanced his intelligence and abilities, and transformed him into her familiar spirit.

[iv] The goddess Tianfeir’s Divine Lantern: From a Chinese legend The glow of the goddess’s lantern is equated with St. Elmo’s Fire.

[v]  Behold the Hǎi Guài’s dire awakening: Initially I thought the author of the poem had erred here in his translation of海龙, or Hǎilóng, meaning sea dragon. After all, how far more likely that a pirate ship would encounter a sea dragon in the middle of South China Sea.  And, to, the author of the Ching Shih series of poems has erred so frequently in his writing and research, one begins to expect it of him.  However, when I checked more closely, and did further research, I discovered that is is indeed an eight-limbed sea monster, which of course translates as 海怪, or Hǎi guài. This has to be the accurate answer, due to the descriptions historical researchers have discovered in both Ching Shih’s and Shen Dho’s journals, as well as in the rumors of the monstrous encounter spread by the crew of her ship and eventually, as word spread, by the pirates in her Red Flag Freet of, at that time, well over eight hundred pirate ships.  Eventually, she commanded over nine hundred ships.  As for Ching Shih’s account, it is well known that she was always obsessive about accuracy in he details and choice of words, and in her journals the only references to the monster always state clearly that is is a Hǎi Guài.

The Kraken is a giant sea monster, sometimes said to resemble an impossibly immense octopus on steroids. The monster is known for consuming men whole, the timbers of ships broken in the grasp of its tentacles, and downing dolphins, tuna, and even killer whales (which are actually members of the oceanic dolphin family).  All the known historical sightings have been off the coasts of Norway and Greenland.  One might ask: what is a Kraken doing in the South China Sea?

 

[vi] The squid’s tentacles contain a piston-like structure inside an interior chamber, coupled so that when something tries to pull away from the sucker, it lifts the piston, further decreasing pressure inside and strengthening its grip—like a Chinese finger-trap, the more you struggle, the harder it is to get away.

 

[vii] Zau Ming: One of the best tellings of Zau Ming’s life appears in “Ching Shih Covets Another Pirates Treasure”, from the collection of stories Tales of the Notorious Ching Shih, And Her Adventures on the South China Sea.” Edited by Jason Wiley, Mendocino Press, 2010.

[viii] Shen Dho: Ching Shih’s favorite and most loyal pirate. Although Shih had a lover, he was far from her favorite, and certainly not her most loyal pirate.

 

[ix] Chen Lu: Ching Shih’s aforementioned lover. Ching Shih would soon expend many exhausting efforts and hours to heal Chen Lu’s wounds and ensure his survival following the Kraken’s attack.  It should also be noted, however, that at a later date in history, after her new lover, a female selkie, had replaced Chen Lu, he plotted mutiny against Ching Shih.

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Kendall Evans’ stories and poems have appeared in most of the major science fiction and fantasy magazines. He has several books available, including the novel The Rings Of Ganymede, the novella Bring Me The Head Of Philip K. Dick’s Simulacrum, from Alban Lake Publishing, and also a collection of poetry, Entanglement, written in collaboration with David C. Kopaska-Merkel. A novel-length collection of Ching Shih poems is due out in late 2019.