Du Yuesheng

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Du Yuesheng, commonly known as "Big-Eared Du", (1887-1951) was a gangster who spent most of his life in Shanghai, China. He involved his gang in the conflict between the Communists and Nationalists, eventually going into exile in Hong Kong prior to his death in 1951.

He joined the Green Gang, the most powerful secret society in Shanghai, and eventually made his way to the top as the ringleader of the gang. He soon became known as the "Jung Shi" or "Boss of the Underworld."

Under Du's leadership, the gang controlled gambling dens, prostitution, and protection rackets; and amassed more wealth than the empire of famed American gangster Al Capone. They also were a leading opium trading group (opium dealing had been a profitable business since the British introduced it to the China in the 1830s).

Chiang later hired Du and the rest of the Green Gang to execute all pro-communists in Shanghai, as his government was continually finding itself at odds with the Communist faction of the Kuomintang. This massacre became known as the 1927 Shanghai Purge. As a reward for his service, Chiang appointed him to the Board of Opium Suppression Bureau.

Du also supported the Nationalist government with funding, and the aforementioned teaching of his kung fu at Whampoa Military Academy. In return, he was allowed to run labor unions and continue with his drug-dealing business. Due to the division in China during the Warlord era, the central nationalist government of Chiang Kai-shek only nominally controlled most of China, including Shanghai, and Chiang had to rely on the local gangs such as that of Du to have any actual and effective control. When the Nationalists declared war on the Japanese in 1937, Du, a strong patriot, smuggled supplies from occupied Chinese territory.

The relationship between Chiang and Du soured after World War II because by then the Nationalist government of Chiang was able to have actual and effective control over Shanghai, and Du's help was no longer needed. Furthermore, the corruption and crimes committed by Du's associates (including his own relatives) were causing great problems for the Kuomintang. When Chiang Kai-shek launched his anti-corruption campaign in Shanghai in the late 1940s, Du's relatives among the first to be jailed. Although Du had successfully managed their release by threatening to expose Chiang's own relatives' crimes which were much more serious, the jailing of Du's relatives effectively end the honeymoon between Chiang and Du.

Disillusioned with Kuomintang and Chiang Kai-shek, Du started to establish contacts with the communists and one of the tasks required by the communists was to have their undercover agents to join the Green Gang and thus have better protection, and Du did his part well. When Chiang's Nationalist government fled to the island of Taiwan in 1949, Du refused to follow the nationalists and escaped to Hong Kong because he was still doubtful that the communists would forgave him for what he did in 1927 despite his later help to the communists. After all of mainland China fell into communist hands, Du was convinced that it was safe to return to China. However, before he undertook his return trip, Du died in 1951 due to illness.