Du Yuesheng

“Big Ears” Du: Shanghai’s Al Capone

Whip-thin, jug-eared, yellowed teeth, and eyes half-closed in a dreamy gaze – in 1925, aged 37, with four wives (each relegated to a wing or floor of his sprawling French Concession mansion), an addiction to illegal narcotics, and a penchant for outrageous gestures, Du “Big Ears” Yuesheng could be found at any up-market gambling den or nightclub in Shanghai, a bevy of sing-song girls or tittering female admirers draped on both arms – and over a dozen bodyguards (Russian and Chinese) one step behind. Westerners respected him; police looked the other way; and rival gang-bosses feared him. Those who upset him died horribly: at least one was buried alive.