I would like to ask for the personal profiles of Huang Jinrong, Zhang Xiaolin, and Du Yuesheng, and also want to know the specific period of time that old Shanghai refers to.

1. Huang Jinrong (1867-1953) was born in Yuyao, Zhejiang, with the courtesy name Jinyong. In his early years, he worked as an apprentice in Shanghai. In 1900, he worked as a patrol officer in the patrol house of the French Concession in Shanghai. Later, he colluded with imperialists, bureaucrats and politicians to develop the power of feudal gangs, and became the largest leader of the Shanghai Youth Gang, with more than 1,000 disciples, operating opium trafficking, gambling and other criminal activities. In 1927, he organized the Chinese Communist Party, participated in the April 12 counter-revolutionary coup, and massacred communists and revolutionary masses. In the same year, he resigned from the post of Inspector General of the French Concession Patrol Room. In 1928, he was appointed by Chiang Kai-shek as a major general counselor of the National Government and a counselor of the Executive Yuan. During the Anti-Japanese War, he lived in Shanghai and refused to hold a pseudo-official position. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, he resumed gang activities, but his power declined and his position was replaced by Du Yuesheng. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he confessed his crimes to the People's Government and died of illness in Shanghai in 1953.

Rogue tycoons are a unique product of colonial and semi-colonial old Shanghai. Those gangsters who come from poor backgrounds but are uneducated use the power of gangs to recruit disciples and become local tyrants. These people were pervasive, and they had combined power in the three hundred and sixty circles of old Shanghai. They had every influence on both sides, and became famous in Shanghai along the way. For these people, the common people give them a nickname called "Rogue Tycoons"! Among the tycoons in old Shanghai, the number one tycoon should be Huang Jinrong.

Huang Huangrong (1868-1953), also known as Jinyong, nicknamed Monk, and nicknamed Mapi Jinrong, was born in Yuyao, Zhejiang, and was born in Suzhou, Jiangsu. He was the famous leader of the Youth Gang in old Shanghai and the leader of the "Three Tycoons" of gangsters (the other two were Du Yuesheng and Zhang Xiaolin). In the 18th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1892), he served as a sub-inspector of the patrol house in the French Concession. He was later promoted to inspector, inspector, and finally became the only Chinese inspector-general of the police force. Relying on the power of imperialism, he recruited many disciples in Shanghai and oppressed the people. In 1927, he, Du Yuesheng, Zhang Xiaolin and others actively supported and participated in the "April 12" coup launched by Chiang Kai-shek. After the establishment of the Kuomintang government in Nanjing, he served as a major general and councilor of the Executive Yuan.

Huang Huangrong didn't like reading since he was a child, and he spent a lot of time hanging out with local gangsters. In order to strengthen the security in the concession, the French Consul General in Shanghai Bai Zaituo and the General Director of the Public Affairs Bureau Bai Er decided to recruit 120 Chinese patrolmen. Huang Huangrong once worked as a framer, and later worked as a policeman in the Shanghai County Yamen for a while. At this time, Huanghuangrong heard that joining the patrol room as a patrolman would lead to great success and a bright future. He was unwilling to be lonely, so he decided to give it a try. luck. This year, he was only 22 years old. He came to the General Patrol Room of the French Concession located on Gongguan Road to register for the exam. Perhaps his strong body took advantage of him and he was actually hired. After entering the patrol room, Huang Huangrong followed the French policeman from house to house to collect "land donations" and "housing donations", and also went to cross-border road construction areas to book concession house numbers for newly built houses. In these tasks, he performed particularly hard, and also participated in the suppression of farmers who were unwilling to relocate, grave owners, and small proprietors who protested against increased donations. As a result, he was favored by the police chief and was promoted from a Chinese arrester to a cheap one, that is, a spy. After being promoted, Huang Jinrong was sent to work in the Shiliupu area. At this time, he was dressed in casual clothes and spent all day long in teahouses, drinking tea, bragging, collecting intelligence and contacting informants, which was also considered a job. Don't look at Jin Rongren, who looks tall and thick, but has a very quick mind. He used the methods of "eating the black" and "one code can overcome one code" to recruit a group of "three-light coders", that is, those who are habitual thieves, habitual thieves, and habitual cheaters to provide him with various types of information and solve some cases. In addition, he also created false impressions and used the method of calling thieves to catch thieves to enhance his prestige. One day, a gold-lettered signboard of a salty goods store across the street from the French police station suddenly disappeared. The boss was so anxious that he lost his mind. At this time, someone told the boss that Huang Huangrong, who was on the other side, "had the aura" to solve the case. When the boss entered the patrol room, he directly called Huang Jinrong by name to solve the case. Unexpectedly, before Huang Jinrong ran out of the patrol room, a group of young men beat gongs and drums and brought the sign back. From this, Huang Jinrong became famous. In fact, this was all a scandal planned and directed by Huang Huangrong behind the scenes.

Soon Huang Jinrong was promoted to concurrently serve as the foreman of the Criminal Field Service Unit and the Robbery Squad. However,

Huang Huangrong really solved several major cases during his tenure. Once, Verdy, the secretary of the French Consul General, and his wife went to visit Taihu Lake. Unexpectedly, he was kidnapped by bandits there. After hearing the news, the French Concession sent Huang Jinrong to the rescue. Huang Jinrong recruited his minions and found the leaders of the Taihu bandits, "Taibao Asi" and "Zhuang Amei", and easily released the pair of "French meat tickets". Another time, Yang Zhihou, chief of staff of Fujian Provincial Supervisor Zhou Yinren, brought six boxes of antiques, calligraphy and paintings to Shanghai. Unexpectedly, it was stolen as soon as it came out of the pier. For this reason, He Fenglin, the Songhu military envoy, asked Huang Jinrong to assist in the investigation. As a result, Huang Huangrong recovered all the original items in less than half a day. In his career as a spy, Huang Jinrong was most proud of solving the kidnapping case of a French Catholic priest. For this reason, the French Orthodox Minister Plenipotentiary awarded Huang Jinrong a first-class gold star. The French police station promoted him to the only Chinese detective chief inspector and assigned eight Annan police officers to serve as his bodyguards. From then on, Huang Huangrong became even more domineering and bold, becoming a local hegemon.

Although he has never worshiped an old man or opened an incense hall, and is a "vacant", he relies on his great power and calls himself the "Tian Zi Generation" and the boss of the Youth Gang. At that time, the highest generation in Shanghai’s Tang Gang was the “big” generation. In that era of confusion between black and white, Huang Jinrong used the power in his hands to sell opium, open casinos, and jointly run dog farms. Within a few years, he became the number one tycoon in Shanghai. Huang Jinrong served as the Inspector General of the French Police Department for more than 20 years, and did not resign until after his 60th birthday. Even so, the French Police Department continued to employ him as a consultant.

In the 36th year of the Republic of China,

for Huang Jinrong’s 80th birthday, Chiang Kai-shek personally came to the Huang Family Garden to celebrate his birthday. Chiang Kai-shek once worshiped Huang Jinrong as his teacher. Funds were often insufficient at that time. In order to make money, some of them opened the securities exchange "Hengtai" in Shanghai. Chiang Kai-shek was also one of the participants.

In the early days, the exchange's business was pretty good. However, in 1921, a "letter exchange storm" broke out in Shanghai, which was similar to today's small-scale financial crisis. For a while, the exchanges closed down one after another, and the stock value was like waste paper. After barely holding on until 1922, the "Hengtai" completely collapsed. Many shareholders took their stocks and demanded cash. Zhou Junyan, the supervisor of the exchange, was forced to commit suicide by jumping into the Yellow River twice. The creditors even hired some thugs to threaten Chiang Kai-shek and others into paying back the money. When he was desperate, after being introduced by Yu Qiaqing, who had a high status in the business world, Chiang Kai-shek came to the famous Huang Jinrong family in the French Concession to seek "protection".

Choose an auspicious day, and on the second floor of the Huang family mansion, Chiang Kai-shek presented a red apprenticeship post to Huang Jinrong, who was sitting on the chair of the imperial master, and wrote: "In front of Mr. Huang's stage, my disciple Jiang Zhiqing ". Zhiqing was a commonly used name by Chiang Kai-shek at that time. Then kowtow and salute.

Afterwards, Huang Huangrong entertained his creditors at the hotel. During the banquet, Huang Huangrong pointed at Chiang Kai-shek and said, now Zhiqing is my apprentice, everyone can come to me to claim Zhiqing's debts. Only then did the creditors realize that Huang Huangrong had hosted the Hongmen Banquet. Seeing that the money would not come back, everyone might as well go with the flow and give Huang Jinrong some face. Therefore, Huang Huangrong solved the matter that had forced Chiang Kai-shek into a panic with just one sentence.

Before the liberation of Shanghai, Li Zhiqing, Huang Huangrong's daughter-in-law, took away Huang Huangrong's gold and silver jewelry and left Shanghai for Hong Kong, and then to Taiwan. Someone advised Huang Huangrong to go to Hong Kong. The 82-year-old Huang Huangrong faced the last choice of his life-either go to Taiwan or stay in Shanghai. In the end, Huang Jinrong stayed. "Remain unchanged in response to all changes" is his creed in life. Anyway, there is not much time left, so just let fate take its course. But Huang Jinrong knew in his heart that he was already over 80 years old, so it didn't matter if he died in Hong Kong. It would be terrible if he got suddenly ill and died on the way. He told people: "I am already about to enter the coffin. I have lived in Shanghai all my life. I don't want to leave my bones in a foreign country and die in a foreign place."

In the early days of Shanghai's liberation, Huang Jinrong lived in seclusion at home. Regardless of foreign affairs, many people thought that Huang Huangrong had already fled to Taiwan or Hong Kong, or had been arrested and imprisoned by the people's government.

Therefore, when Huang Huangrong's confession (statement of repentance) was published, the response from the people was extremely strong. They all said that they did not expect that this tycoon was still alive and received such leniency from the Communist Party, and calls for killing him suddenly resounded. Cloudy sky.

Faced with the severe situation, even some of Huang Jinrong's disciples rose up to expose the situation, demanding to move closer to the Communist Party and draw a clear line with Boss Huang. At this time, Huang Huangrong really became a street rat, and everyone shouted to beat him.

In the early days of liberation, there were many things waiting to be done, and the people's government had no idea what to do. Huang Huangrong also lived a comfortable life. Taking smoking as an example, although the government has explicitly banned it, he pretends to be ignorant and continues to smoke. He also has a large amount of fine tobacco stashed in his home, which is reported to be "enough for him to smoke for the rest of his life."

Huang Huangrong enjoys three things every day: smoking, playing mahjong, and going to the bathhouse. He told people that this "three-piece suit" was his greatest enjoyment, whether it was the Kuomintang in power or the Communist Party, and it would accompany him until he grew old and died. He can stay in Shanghai and not leave, and this "three-piece suit" is also half of the credit.

At that time, there were more than 20 members of the Huang family,

all living at No. 1 Junpeili, Longmen Road. This is a three-story house with dozens of rooms built after Huang Huangrong became successful. Huang's room is at the east end of the second floor. Most of the nearby houses are rented by his disciples, so they can communicate with each other and make it easier to move around. Huang Huangrong has always lived here except for a period of time when he went to Caohejing Huangjia Garden to escape the summer heat. At this time, the people's government also allowed Huang Jinrong to operate his properties as usual, such as the Great World, Huanghuang Theater, Rongjin Theater, etc., earning a large amount of income every month.

In early 1951, after the suppression of counter-revolutionary movements began, Huang Huangrong's life began to become difficult. Citizens even spontaneously flocked to the door of Huang's house and demanded that he accept criticism. Letters of accusations and reports flew into the city government and public security organs like snowflakes, imploring the government to take the decision and avenge the people.

Reasons for not moving Huang Huangrong

In fact, on the eve of the liberation of Shanghai, the Party Central Committee had a clear plan on how to do a good job in Shanghai's gang members and make them useful to me. The policy is that as long as they do not cause trouble, do not interfere with the social order of Shanghai after liberation, and accept reform honestly, they will not be moved. Especially for gang leaders such as Huang Jinrong and Du Yuesheng, "we will wait and see for a period of time" (Liu Shaoqi's words). The purpose is to "strive to stabilize Shanghai" (Zhou Enlai's words). This will be beneficial to the overall situation of the country and restore Shanghai's economic development. favorable.

Mayor Chen Yi and Vice Mayor Pan Hannian, who is in charge of political and legal work,

both faithfully implemented this correct principle and policy. The Shanghai Municipal People's Government summoned Huang Jinrong and explained to him that the previous policies remained unchanged, but hoped that he could write a "letter of repentance" and publish it publicly in the newspaper to further explain to the people and confess his crimes honestly, so as to gain some understanding from the people. .

On May 20, 1951, Shanghai News and Wen Wei Po published "Huang Huangrong's Confession". Instead of calming the anger of the masses, it caused even greater turmoil. As mentioned earlier, the slogan "Huang Huangrong can be killed but not retained!" resounded throughout Shanghai. In his "confession," Huang Jinrong claimed to "surrender and reform," "redemption for his crimes," and "ask the government and people for forgiveness." The "confession" of Shanghai's number one tycoon caused a sensation at the time. Needless to say, it played a great role in stabilizing social order and deterring the remaining gang forces. Subsequently, Huang Huangrong responded to the government's call for reform and began to sweep the streets.

The news of "Golden Wing sweeping the streets" spread like wildfire and spread all over the world. Du Yuesheng, another tycoon in old Shanghai, learned the news in Hong Kong and was secretly glad that he did not stay in Shanghai and escaped the disaster. Considering the repercussions at home and abroad, this "reform" measure for Huang Jinrong was only symbolic and was not continued. After all, he was an old man who was in his final years. Two years later, this once prominent figure in Shanghai fell ill due to fever. He was in a coma for a few days and then closed his eyes. He was 86 years old...

2. Zhang Xiaolin

Zhang Xiaolin (1877-1940), nicknamed Ahu, originally named Xiaolin, later changed his name to Yin, Cixi Zhuangqiao (today's Belongs to Jiangbei District) people. In the 23rd year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1897), he moved to Hangzhou.

In his early years, he was idle, fighting and causing trouble, and associated with gangsters, becoming a local gangster. Later, he went to the Military Academy to study and met Zhang Zaiyang. In the early years of the Republic of China, he met Ji Yunqing, a gangster from the British Concession in Shanghai. He followed Ji to Shanghai and later became the "Old Man" to Fan Jincheng, the "Big" member of the Shanghai Youth Gang. In 1920, the three jointly established the "Sanxin Company", selling opium, forcing girls into prostitution, and running rampant. During the April 12 counter-revolutionary coup in 1927, he organized the "China Communist Party Association" and led a "death squad" to pretend to be workers and attack workers' pickets. He was appointed by Chiang Kai-shek as an adviser to the General Headquarters of the Army, Navy and Air Force and as a major general to the Military Commission. In 1932, he was recommended by Du Yuesheng and served as a supervisor of Shanghai Huashang Gauze Exchange. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, the apostles organized the "New Asia Peace Promotion Association" to purchase military supplies to support the enemy and greatly enriched the country. In 1939, he defected to the enemy, planned to establish the puppet Zhejiang Provincial Government, and planned to serve as the puppet governor. However, he was assassinated by the Kuomintang military commander (failed to succeed). In January of the following year, Lin Huaibu, a personal bodyguard bribed by the military commander, was assassinated in Shanghai.

3. Du Yuesheng (1888-1951) is the most famous figure in the Shanghai Youth Gang in modern times. His original name was Yuesheng, and later he was renamed Yong and given the name Yuesheng. He was born in Chuansha, Jiangsu (now part of Pudong New District, Shanghai). Takahashi Nandu's house. Before the age of four, his mother and father died one after another, and he was raised by his stepmother and uncle. At the age of fourteen, he went to Shanghai Shiliupu Hong Yuansheng Fruit Shop as an apprentice. He worked with gangsters and gangsters day and night, and was addicted to gambling. He was soon expelled and transferred to Pan Yuansheng Fruit Shop as a clerk. Later, he worshiped Chen Shichang of the Youth Gang as the old man. Chen Shichang is the gangster leader in the Xiaodongmen area, nicknamed "Tao Yu Fusheng". He belongs to the "Tong" generation in the Qinggang, and Du Mengmeng ranks in the "Wu" generation. Due to the relationship between Chen Shichang and others, Du Yuehuan got the opportunity to enter Huanghuangrong Mansion. He was clever, cunning and considerate, and soon gained the appreciation of Huang Jinrong, the leader of the Chinese Concession and the leading underworld figure in the French Concession at that time, and became his confidant. He was promoted from a servant to an opium transporter, and was responsible for operating one of the three major casinos in the French Concession - —Gongxing Club.

Because he was good at gathering partners and colluding with warlords, he became the most powerful person in the opium transportation. In July 1925, Du Yuesheng established the "Sanxin Company" under the protection of the concession and the warlord authorities, monopolizing the opium transportation in the French Concession, and became increasingly powerful, becoming one of the "Three Tycoons of Shanghai" along with Huang Jinrong and Zhang Xiaolin. In the same year, he served as chairman of the General Federation of Chambers of Commerce in the French Concession and as supervisor of the Chinese Taxpayers Association. Among the three tycoons in Shanghai, there is a saying that "Huang Jinrong is greedy for money, Zhang Xiaolin is good at fighting, and Du Yuesheng is a good man." Compared with Huang and Zhang Lai, Du Yuesheng is indeed smarter. He is good at coordinating the relationship between the various factions in the underworld, and is good at handling the relationship with the warlords of various factions. He is good at collecting money and dispersing it. He sells opium and opens gambling tables. Through such activities, a large amount of money was amassed, and then, with these ill-gotten gains, they used these ill-gotten gains to win over various figures in society, from political dignitaries, literati to gang backbones. Because he treated the outgoing president Li Yuanhong kindly in Shanghai, Li Yuanhong's secretary-general specially wrote a couplet: "There are three guests under Chunshen's family, and the sky is five feet south of Xiaodu City." Therefore, he was touted by his party members as the "contemporary Chun Shenjun". Du Yuesheng also did things to win people's hearts. He has been buying potions to prevent infectious diseases for many years and delivering them to his hometown in Pudong, distributing them free of charge to each household. Whenever a disaster occurs in Shanghai and nearby areas, he will definitely come forward to organize relief. He sometimes pretended to protect the interests of workers and intervened in labor disputes. He changed from the traditional dress of a man wearing a bun, with rings on his hands, and rolled-up sleeves. Instead, he wore a long gown and dressed neatly in all seasons, giving people a gentle and elegant image. He is arty and has many celebrities. The great scholar Zhang Taiyan, the famous scholar Yang Du, and the famous lawyer Qin Liankui are all his guests. As a result, Du Yuesheng's social status continued to improve.

In April 1927, Du Yuesheng, Huang Jinrong, and Zhang Xiaolin organized the Chinese Communist Party to help Chiang Kai-shek suppress the revolutionary movement. On the evening of April 11, he designed and killed Wang Shouhua, the leader of the Shanghai workers' movement, and then ordered the Communist Party to suppress the workers' pickets. He thus gained support from Chiang Kai-shek. After the establishment of the Nanjing government, he served as an adviser to the General Headquarters of the Army, Navy and Air Force, a major general counselor to the Military Commission and a counselor to the Executive Yuan. Although this was a false title, it helped to improve his social status.

In September of the same year, he was appointed as the temporary Chinese director of the French Concession's public affairs bureau. In 1929, he was appointed as the Chinese director of the public affairs bureau. This is the highest position for Chinese in the French Concession.

In 1929, Du Yuesheng founded Zhonghui Bank and became involved in Shanghai's financial industry. By making friends with famous figures in the financial world such as Xu Xinliu, Chen Guangfu, and Tang Shoumin, his banking business was quite prosperous.

Since 1930, Du Yuesheng bought 50 acres of land in his hometown, carried out extensive construction work, and built the Du family ancestral hall. From June 8 to 10, 1931, the inauguration ceremony of the family sacrifice and "the dedication of the Lord" were held. ceremony. The honor guard, which consisted of five people, set out from the Du Mansion in the French Concession and stretched for several miles. They patrolled the way and played drums and music. Du Temple held banquets for three days and cooked tables every day. Party and state dignitaries including Chiang Kai-shek, Songhu Garrison Commander Xiong Shihui, Shanghai Mayor Zhang Qun, etc. all presented plaques. The ostentation was huge, the expense was huge, and it was a great moment. In 1932, Du Yuesheng began to organize Hengshe, and the opening ceremony was held on February 25, 1933. Du Yuesheng appointed himself as honorary chairman. The name of the society is taken from the allusion of "Eternal as the Moon". It is a civil society in name, with the purpose of "promoting morality, advocating morality and righteousness, trusting and helping each other, serving the society, and being loyal to the country". In fact, it is a gang organization. Du Yuesheng used this to recruit many disciples and extend his influence to all aspects of society. When Hengshe was first established, there were more than 130 people. By 1937, it had more than 520 people. It was the Shanghai Party Headquarters of the Kuomintang and the Shanghai Social Bureau. People from the press, film industry and many other fields participated. In 1934, Du Yuesheng served as president of the local association.

In July 1937, the Japanese imperialists launched the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, and in August, they launched the August 13th Incident to attack Shanghai. The people of Shanghai, like the people of the whole country, are engaged in the heroic and tragic struggle for independence. Driven by the requirements of the National People's Congress, Du Yuesheng participated in the Shanghai Anti-Enemy Support Association from all walks of life, serving as a member of the presidium and director of the fundraising committee. He participated in labor force activities, raised a large amount of towels, cigarettes, and canned food and sent them to the Anti-Enemy Support Association. He obtained some communication equipment and armored insurance vehicles that were urgently needed in the army and gave them to the Japanese generals. At the request of Pan Hannian, the representative of the Eighth Route Army in Shanghai, he donated one thousand gas masks imported from foreign countries to the Eighth Route Army for use.

After the fall of Shanghai, Du Yuesheng refused the temptation of the Japanese and moved to Hong Kong in November 1937. In Hong Kong, he used his gang connections to continue his activities. He served as the vice president of the Red Cross Society of China, a standing member of the Relief Committee, and a chairman of the Shanghai Party and Government Unification Working Committee. He was engaged in activities such as intelligence and planning to assassinate Han Chinese. The most famous one is that his disciples in Shanghai assisted the military reunification agents to kill Fu Jian'an, the Han leader and pseudo-mayor of Shanghai, with a sword. In 1940, he organized the People's Action Committee, a joint organization of various gangs in China with the support of the Kuomintang. Du Yuesheng was the main person in charge, thus effectively becoming the overall leader of Chinese gangs.

After the outbreak of the Pacific War in December 1941, Du Yuesheng moved to Chongqing and established the Hengshe Headquarters to develop his power in the rear area. He organized China Trading Trust Company, Tongji Company, etc. to exchange materials with occupied areas and enrich himself. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Du Yuesheng returned to Shanghai in early September 1945, harvested his old troops and regrouped. At this time, since the concession had been taken back and the Kuomintang forces could operate openly, the role of gangs was no longer as important as before. In December 1946, the Shanghai Senate elected the speaker. After many activities, Du Yuesheng was elected speaker with the highest number of votes. However, because the Kuomintang did not support him, he resigned immediately after being elected. Since then, he has devoted himself to developing his power in various industries such as industry and commerce, finance, transportation, culture, education, journalism, etc., and has served as various chairman, president, managing director, and school director for sixty or seventy times.

In 1948, in order to save the serious financial crisis, Chiang Kai-shek sent Chiang Ching-kuo to Shanghai to implement market value reforms, issued gold yuan coupons, and required the public to exchange all legal foreign currencies and gold and silver they held into gold yuan coupons. Du Yuesheng's son Du Weiping did not fully comply with the instructions and was arrested by Chiang Ching-kuo for speculation and was later sentenced to six months in prison. After this incident, Du Yuesheng understood that his situation in Shanghai was over. In April 1949, the People's Liberation Army won consecutive victories in the Liberation War, and the liberation of Shanghai was just around the corner. On May 1, Du Yuesheng fled to Hong Kong with her family in panic.

Died of illness in Hong Kong on August 16, 1951.