Northeast China's Underworld: If You Won't Back Down, Fight

Wufeng City in Heilongjiang Province in the Northeast is “home to” all kinds of underworld figures. From the mid-1980s through the 1990s and into the first years of the new century, one character after another rose to prominence over the course of more than twenty years.

Among the most notable were Lü Zhigang, known as Big Donkey, hot-tempered and bloodthirsty; Fugui, known as the Smiling Buddha, who loved money like his life depended on it and hid a cold heart behind a warm smile; Mi Wei, fiery and sharp-tongued but warm-hearted, who liked to be called “Third Sister”; Yan Zhengming, known as Yan the Seventh, who monopolized the city's thieves and robbers and took a cut of their spoils; Zhang Tao, known as Mute Zhang, a desperate man who would keep going down one path even if he ran straight into a wall; Qi Hui, known as the Movie Director, who monopolized street gambling, protection rackets, and the sex trade around the station; Yu Dongfeng, who rose to prominence in the 1990s and survived a hundred knife wounds, earning the nickname Yu the Hundred-Blade; and He Yilong, nicknamed the Commander, whose father was a high-ranking official and who was eccentric, violent, cruel, and lustful...

These eight men were the most influential figures in Wufeng City's underworld for more than twenty years. Their deeds were known in every household. Some busybodies even came up with a rhyme to sum up their standing in the underworld at the time:

First Donkey, second Fugui, third Mi Wei; fourth Yan, fifth Mute, sixth Qi Hui. Dongfeng rises, the winds of change blow; Yilong takes to the sea, and blades are drawn. Jinying's iron face, a sharp sword held high; demons are vanquished, and the sun shines bright.

This story tells of the bloody street battles, grudges, and vendettas among these underworld figures.