Du Yuesheng
| Du Yuesheng | |
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| Born |
22 August 1888 Gaoqiao, Shanghai, Qing Empire |
| Died | 16 August 1951 (aged 62) Hong Kong |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Occupation | Criminal |
| Du Yuesheng | |||||||||||||
| Chinese | 杜月笙 | ||||||||||||
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| Du Yong | |||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 杜鏞 | ||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 杜镛 | ||||||||||||
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| Du Yuesheng (original name) |
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| Chinese | 杜月生 | ||||||||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Dù Yuèshēng |
| Wade–Giles | Tu4 Yüeh4-sheng1 |
| Yue: Cantonese | |
| Yale Romanization | Dou Yut-sang |
| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Dù Yōng |
| Wade–Giles | Tu4 Yung1 |
| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Dù Yuèshēng |
| Wade–Giles | Tu4 Yüeh4-sheng1 |
Du Yuesheng (22 August 1888 – 16 August 1951), nicknamed "Big-Eared Du", was a Chinese mob boss who spent much of his life in Shanghai. He was a key supporter of Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang in their battle against the Communists in the 1920s, and was a figure of some importance during the Second Sino-Japanese War. After the Chinese Civil War and the Kuomintang's retreat to Taiwan, Du went into exile in Hong Kong and remained there until his death in 1951.
Du was born in Gaoqiao, a small town east of Shanghai, during the reign of the Guangxu Emperor in the late Qing dynasty. His family moved to Shanghai in 1889, a year after his birth. By the time he reached nine years old, Du had lost his immediate family — his mother died in childbirth, his sister was sold into slavery, his father died, and his stepmother vanished — so he went back to Gaoqiao and lived with his grandmother. He returned to Shanghai in 1902 and worked at a fruit stall in the French Concession but was fired for theft later. He wandered around for some time before becoming a bodyguard in a brothel, where he became acquainted with the Green Gang. He joined the gang at the age of 16.
Du was soon introduced by a friend to Huang Jinrong, the highest-ranked Chinese detective in the French Concession Police (FCP) and one of Shanghai's most notorious gangsters. Huang's wife was a notable criminal in her own right, and she favoured the young Du. Even though Huang was not a member of the Green Gang, Du became Huang's gambling and opium enforcer. A stickler for fine clothing and women, Du was now cemented; he wore only Chinese silks, surrounded himself with White Russian bodyguards, and frequented the city's best nightclubs and sing-song houses. Du was also known for having a superstitious streak — he had three small monkey heads, specially imported from Hong Kong, sewn to his clothes at the small of his back.
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Wikipedia