Speaking of Du Yuesheng, we can most people can be said to be familiar with him, we all know that he was a veritable "earth emperor" in Shanghai Beach in the early twentieth century, and Jin Jinrong and Zhang Xiaolin can be called the "three big men" who turned their hands into clouds and covered their hands for rain at that time. In fact, he was originally just a young man selling Laiyang pears at the Sixteen Shops Pier, but step by step he developed into a gang boss who was in the limelight by his own efforts, it can be said that his life is very legendary, let's briefly understand his life experience.
Orphans, buying and selling fruits
On July 15, 1888, Du Yuesheng was born in a poor family in Gaoqiao Town, Pudong, Shanghai, and since he was a child, he has suffered from hunger and cold, often eating a meal without eating, plus he was not yet eight years old, his parents died one after another, which forced their small family to a dead end, and Du Yuesheng had to start wandering.
When he was twelve years old, he accidentally came to the Hongyuansheng Fruit Shop at the Sixteen Shop Pier and became a young man selling pears (the situation was basically similar to Ding Li in the film and television drama "Shanghai Beach", the only difference was that Ding Li still had a mother, and his parents died).
Here, Du Yuesheng also practiced the unique skill of cutting pears with one hand, according to witnesses who have seen him cut pears, Du Yuesheng held the pear in one hand and the knife in the other, only to see the pear spinning rapidly, the knife was as stable as Mount Tai, and after a while, the pear was cut clean, and what was even more surprising was that not only was the peel of the pear continuously cut, but even a little meat on it would not be stained, but only a thin layer of skin.
Finally, with the love of hand skills, Du Yuesheng lived a life of food and clothing without worry. Leaning on the casino owner and opening the "open and hanging mode" although he no longer had to starve, the ambitious Du Yuesheng gradually hated this ordinary and monotonous day, and finally, he put his full enthusiasm into the casino.
On the way to and from the major casinos on the beach, he met a casino owner named Chen Shichang (this person ranked in the Green Gang "Tong" character, but also a gangster-level figure), in order to lean on this thigh, Du Yuesheng found someone to trust the relationship and worshiped him as an "old man", so he also began to officially enter the Green Gang and became the big brother of the "Tong" generation of the Green Gang.
Dissatisfied with the status quo, he climbed the golden glory
Not long after becoming a "Green Gang member", Du Yuesheng set his sights on the body of Jin Rong, the number one person in the Green Gang, who knew that Golden Rong was a source of left and right in both black and white, and if he wanted to develop in Shanghai, he must rely on the power of Golden Rong.
After painstaking efforts to make some connections, Du Yuesheng came to the Huang Mansion where Jin Rong was located to do things. Du Yuesheng, who entered the Huang Mansion, seemed to be extra cautious and cautious, walking on thin ice step by step, and he had been looking for opportunities.
In the end, he found a perfect opportunity to soar: Mrs. Huang Lin Guisheng. For a long time, Du Yuesheng found that although Jin Jinrong had unlimited scenery in front of outsiders, he was indeed a "wife who was strict", and it was his wife who had the final say when he returned home. So the delicate Du Yuesheng began to slowly and consciously move closer to Lady Huang (once Lin Guisheng was seriously ill, Du Yuesheng did not even sleep in order to show his love for the lord, and took care of the master mother all night).
Finally, his careful care impressed Lin Guisheng, and Du Yuesheng was gradually reused.
Take aim at opium and start to stand alone
After becoming Lin Guisheng's right and left arm, Du Yuesheng still felt insufficient, and he wanted to achieve a bigger career. Eventually, observant, he discovered the lifeblood of Golden Rong: opium.
Not long after that, Du Yuesheng, who had a clear intention, came to the fore in the action of robbing the tobacco merchants for Jin Rong, and Jin Jin Rong finally remembered this daring, clever and loyal young man.
Soon, Du Yuesheng went from a maid to a top-secret opium delivery plan, and in addition to letting him run the Gongxing Club, one of the three major casinos in the French Concession.
At the same time, with the strong support of Jin Jinrong, Du Yuesheng also began to follow the example of the old man of the Qinggang, opening the Xiangtang and collecting disciples, so that his strength gradually developed, and eventually became the head of the Qinggang in the first generation (in 1918, Du Yuesheng, together with Jin Rong and others, established the largest drug company in the country at that time: Sanxin Company) in Shanghai.
Only two or three years later, Sanxin's scale has grown to a rather frightening scale, and its turnover has reached 2/3 of the financial revenue of the Beijing Municipal Government.
In his later years, he left Shanghai and died in Hong Kong
In April 1949, Chiang Kai-shek met alone with Du Yuesheng and expressed the hope that he would go to Taiwan with him, while the CCP contacted him and hoped to stay in Shanghai and use his influence to deal with some post-war matters.
In the end, Du Yuesheng chose Mingzhe to protect himself, went to Hong Kong alone, and died of illness on August 16, 1951, at the age of 63. But we know very little about his descendants, so let's take a look at it.
After Du Yuesheng's death, he left behind eight sons and two daughters, but fortunately, none of his sons and daughters followed his old path, and all of them were far away from gang vendettas and political strife, and lived a relatively peaceful and stable life.
Among them, his youngest son Du Weishan is the most commendable. After going to Australia to study geology, he became a subway engineer, perhaps familiar with the English environment, so he did not return to China, but settled in Canada.
However, living in a foreign country, he always pays close attention to the situation at home and is always ready to serve the country with a sincere patriotic heart. Later, in order to assist the Shanghai Museum in supporting the work, he also donated the ancient coins he had collected for many years free of charge, and decisively gave up his collection hobby that he had insisted on for many years, and this patriotic feeling could not help but make people moved.
(Text/History Talk Jun, Xiao ShiShi)