The First Gang of Republican-Era China

A history of the Green Gang, and an accessible history of Republican-era China! In ancient China, secret societies were organized, disciplined groups within society. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the government gradually restricted trade and cracked down harshly on associations, driving secret societies underground. The Green Gang formed during this period and later flourished amid the turmoil of modern China. This book offers an in-depth account of the Green Gang's history, combining documentary research with a lively narrative to create an engrossing popular history. Its topics include the ties between the three major gang leaders of Republican-era China, Huang Jinrong, Du Yuesheng, and Zhang Xiaolin, and their respective gangs; the tangled relationship between the Green Gang and the Hongmen; the bonds between masters and disciples and internal gang feuds; the gang's structure and political ambitions; and the Green Gang's influence over the Kuomintang. Though the Green Gang was an underworld organization concerned only with its own interests, it nevertheless affected the entire Republican era, even if unintentionally.