It began in the crowded harbors of Guangdong, where intelligent woman, Zheng Yi Sao, worked aboard a floating brothel. Through strategy, negotiation and an unshakable understanding of power, she went on to become the leader of 70,000 pirates, command hundreds of ships and take control over trade in the South China Sea—making her one of the most feared pirates ever recorded in history. Sources: History of the Pirates Who Infested the China Sea From 1807 to 1810 Royal Museums Greenwich Great Explorers: Zheng Yi Sao Cheng Yi Sao, Female pirate extraordinaire Zheng Yi Sao: The most successful pirate you’ve never heard of Chinese piracy in the late 18th and 19th centuries Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Over 2,500 years ago in ancient China, friends would come together and enjoy the beloved game of Weiqi, that is better known in the West as Go. The game is played on a grid, with two players each taking turns placing black or white stones onto the intersections.
the aim of the game is to surround your opponent's stone and capture them establishing control over areas of the board go isn't about a single moment of attack it's about the entire board and how the stones interact and evolve as the game progresses the stones create a complex web of relationships some areas are contested others are dominated and every move builds upon the last
For centuries, Chinese generals, scholars, and emperors studied Go's lessons. They understood that in Go, as in life, victory isn't about winning quickly, it's about winning wisely. It's a game of influence over force, patience over pride, and sacrifice for the sake of something larger. Generals used it to sharpen their minds, philosophers to teach balance, and emperors to refine their leadership.
In a world where every move mattered and where the outcome was shaped by foresight and patience, one woman would rise to master the game of strategy, not on a board, but across the seas. This is Watch Her Cook.
Hello, everyone. I'm Cassie.
And I'm Danielle. welcome back to watch her cook a podcast dedicated to sharing the incredible lives of women who have taken their power back throughout history i know that go is not chess but it reminds me of the story you just shared that it's so cute you and al play chess when you're what making dinner or eating dinner
Yeah, every night. Yeah, it is true. Every night we sit down and we have dinner together at our dining table. And while we eat dinner, so we're not like on our phones or distracted or anything like that, we play a game of chess. So we like eat dinner and play chess. And I always lose. Always? Almost every time. I've won one time in the past six years we've been playing.
Are you getting better though? Like is your game getting better even though you keep losing?
Um, no, no. The last game I played with him, I did fantastic. I didn't strategize or anything. I kind of strategized, but I brought my queen on the other side of the board and I took almost all of his pieces out.
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