Wang Zhi (汪直) was a Chinese pirate and trader of the 16th century, one of the chief named and known figures among the "wokou" ("Japanese" pirates) prevalent at the time. It is said he was aboard the Portuguese ship of Fernão Mendes Pinto when it landed on Tanegashima, off the coast of Japan in 1543, marking the first contact between Europe and Japan. Wikipedia
The definitive Wikipedia entry for Wang Zhi. Wikipedia is the biggest multilingual free-content encyclopedia on the Internet. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wang_Zhi
