Introduction
In a cooperation programme, the National Palace Museum (NPM) worked with the City University of Hong Kong to publish the National Palace Museum's Compilation of the Historical Accounts Regarding the Subjugation and Pacification of Cheung Po Tsai. According to the Jinghai Fenji (Records of the Events at Jinghai) written by Yuan Yonglun (a writer from the Daoguang Era, Qing Dynasty), Cheung Po Tsai was born into a fisherman family. At the age of 15, Cheung was abducted by a private by the name of Cheng I while going on a fishing trip with his father; Cheung subsequently became a member of Cheng's crew. After Cheng's untimely death in 1807, his wife Ching Shih took over the pirating business and promoted Cheung to commander of the pirate crew. Cheung's crew subsequently became rampant in the Pearl River Delta area and his name became well known. As Cheung's operation was based in Hong Kong, many of the historical relics left behind are claimed to have been his. For example, legends about Cheung's gold possession are still widely talked about in various regions of Hong Kong such as Cheung Chau, Tap Mun, Lamma Island, and Chung Hom Kok.
The NPM houses more than 600,000 Qing dynasty records and antiquarian books, providing a wealth of books, literature, and maps about the Qing dynasty's coastal defense. The National Palace Museum's National Palace Museum's Compilation of the Historical Accounts Regarding the Subjugation and Pacification of Cheung Po Tsai was published by the NPM to complement a new media art exhibition called the "Rebuilding the Tongan Ships," which is hosted by the NPM and the City University of Hong Kong. The goal of the exhibition is to serve as valuable information about Hong Kong's maritime history.