01 Pirate Character Design
海盜形象設計
1-1 Female Pirate - Ching yi sao 女海盗鄭一嫂
During the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty in China, piracy was rampant along the southern coast.
The Red Flag Gang, led by the "Pirate Queen", Ching yi sao, was very powerful, occupying Lantau Island and constantly robbing homes in Hong Kong, Macau and the coastal areas of Guangdong. Even the Emperor Jiaqing sent troops to fight against them, but they were repeatedly defeated.
During the feudal period, it was legendary for a woman to lead a group of 70,000 male pirates and 1,000 pirate ships. Ching yi sao's group kidnapped an English merchant, Mr. Glasspool, who witnessed the daily life of the Red Flag Gang and wrote his memoirs after he was ransomed back to London. As a result, the story of Ching yi sao became popular in the West, and she has been featured in movies and novels ever since. In addition, the distinctive red-flagged ship Cheung Po Tsai still plies the Victoria Harbour today (Ching yi sao married Cheung Po Tsai and then they commanded the Red Flag together).
Jorge Luis Borges' short story " The Widow Ching-Pirate " is based on the historical female pirate Ching yi sao. The painting utilizes some metaphors from the novel, such as describing the battle between the pirates and the emperor as "a battle between the fox and the dragon". The last paragraph of the novel reads: "The women sing behind the screen..." - after the female pirates have been recruited, will they by chance recall the days when they were so powerful at sea that they could fight with dragons? Or, has her voice been rubbed into soft sand by the calm years and become a shadow of singing behind the screen?
清朝嘉慶年間，南方沿海地區海盗猖獗。
以“海盜女王”鄭一嫂為首的海盜群紅旗幫十分壮大，佔據了大嶼山以及不斷在香港、澳門、廣東沿海地區打家劫舍。甚至连嘉慶皇帝多次派遣軍隊前往抗擊亦屢次戰敗。
在封建時期，一介女流能統領七萬男性海盜群體以及千艘海盜船，簡直就是傳奇。鄭一嫂的海盜隊伍曾綁架過一位英國商人格拉斯普爾，這位商人親眼目睹了紅旗幫的日常生活，並在之後被贖回倫敦後寫成了回憶錄。因此鄭一嫂的故事在西方反爾廣為流傳，其後電影、小說都會出現過她的身影。此外，極具特色的帶有紅色旗幟的張保仔號船當今仍在維港上穿梭（鄭一嫂後嫁張保仔，一起統領紅旗號）。
波赫士（Jorge Luis Borges）的短篇小說《女海盜清寡婦》(The Widow Ching—Pirate)即是以鄭一嫂作為原型。畫面運用了一些小說中的隱喻，比如將女海盜與皇帝的戰爭形容為“狐狸與龍的戰爭”。小說的最後一段寫道：“婦女在屏風後歌唱…”——在女海盜被招安後，是否偶然回憶起過去在海上叱侘風雲、可以和龍搏鬥的日子？還是，被平靜歲月摩挲成了細軟的嗓音，隔江猶唱後庭花？
1-2 Male Pirate - Cheung Po Tsa 張保仔
Accessories - Hats / Hat / eye patch / scars.
Costumes
Source from: https://had18.huluhk.org/article-detail.php?id=305&lang=tc
02 The Emperor (Dragon) Character Design
皇帝（龍為象徵）形象設計
Porcelain ｜ Jiaqing period of the Qing dynasty
Source by : the Palace Museum collection
03 Scene Design
場景設計
Qing Dynasty Royal Officers and Soldiers Round Up Pirates
Source: Hong Kong Maritime Museum
Cities： Shenzhen/Hongkong
04 Whole Painting
05 Thinking | Trying to respond to a question of the moment
Can AI replace the hands/thinking of image creators?
A I
Generation
OR
HUMAN
PAINTING?
After the creation, I tried to use ai for keyword creation.
(Input keywords: female pirate, screen, porcelain, dragon, battle...)
But the result is not good. The feeling is more like a game of vision, and the lack of human connotation and visual particles.
So I put my own work to ai, want to let AI as a reference. But the result was not good.
I then went and used another AI drawing program.
It even crushed my chart outright.（？？？）
ai can't replace my ideas or my skills for now. So what is the point of his existence with me?
In the end I decided that the next time I create an image that requires historical research I will still rely on my own drafts first. Maybe ask the AI again for specific single items.
Tools can only help with technology.
Maybe Good ideas, Decision-making power & Aesthetic judgement still have to be brought by people.
06 Publication
