Du Yuesheng often said: “One can be a person even without literacy, but not without understanding of reason.” When handling any matter, he would first decide on the best strategy, the medium strategy, and the worst strategy. He also considered the possible outcomes—how good things could get and how bad they could turn. He usually listened silently while others spoke, and by the time they finished, he had already made his decision.
Du Yuesheng often said: “One can be a person even without literacy, but not without understanding of reason.” When handling any matter, he would first decide on the best strategy, the medium strategy, and the worst strategy. He also considered the possible outcomes—how good things could get and how bad they could turn. He usually listened silently while others spoke, and by the time they finished, he had already made his decision. 薛观澜 stated that the events he wrote about were, in nineteen out of twenty cases, personally experienced by him. He said that the three essential qualities of an author are “credibility, clarity, and elegance.” As for readers of his book, they could only expect the quality of “credibility.” 《What I Personally Witnessed of Mei Lanfang》 is a remarkable late-life work by the author, revolving around Mei Lanfang and discussing the stories of performers of the time and memorable plays, making it an important historical source in the history of Peking Opera. Shortly after completing the manuscript, the author passed away in Hong Kong, and the book was not published in his lifetime. More than half a century later, it was republished—not only to honor the author but also to contribute valuable material to the study of Peking Opera.
It can supplement the shortcomings of official history
Xue Guanlan moved to Hong Kong in 1949 and lived there until his death in 1964. In his later years, he wrote a column titled “Guanlan’s Random Essays” for the Hong Kong newspaper 《Astronomical Observatory》, and also contributed many memoir pieces to the Hong Kong magazine 《Spring and Autumn》. As the son-in-law of Yuan Shikai, he had in-depth interactions with key figures of the Beiyang warlords, such as Duan Qirui, Zhang Zuolin, Feng Yuxiang, and Yang Yuting. He was especially close to Xu Shuzheng, knowing him intimately over a long period. Therefore, he wrote multiple accounts about Xu Shuzheng, particularly the incident where Xu was assassinated in Langfang, which he witnessed firsthand. He wrote two lengthy articles on this topic, published separately in 《Astronomical Observatory》 and 《Spring and Autumn》. Though differing in detail, both were based on his personal experience and serve to supplement the shortcomings of official history.
In the preface, Xue Guanlan wrote: “Since returning from studying in the United States and traveling around for thirty-six years, I grow older day by day yet remain ceaselessly busy. What I have felt and seen is moving and inspiring. Whenever inspired, I would put pen to paper.” Despite this, he emphasized that these memoirs were written with “truth intact, without embellishment,” giving them considerable historical value and importance for historians. Xue Guanlan also said: “The writing styles vary widely, following my thoughts freely, but fundamentally organized around customs and historical anecdotes, with drama, chess, sports, and phonology as threads—all of which are related to our national heritage and are by no means trivial.” This refers to the content, which includes politics, history, drama, Go, and more. For the convenience of readers, these have been divided into two books: 《Observations on the Beiyang Political Scene》 and 《Xue Guanlan Talks About Peking Opera》. Neither had been published during his lifetime, and some articles were released posthumously as “posthumous works.”
Although Du Yuesheng’s name is well known, most people still have the stereotypical impression of him as merely a gang boss from the Green Gang, living a life full of violence and bloodshed. This perception has been greatly influenced by media portrayals and popular books about Du Yuesheng, resulting in a rather biased view. Admittedly, Du Yuesheng was once a gang leader, involved in the opium trade and running gambling dens. But his life was far from limited to those activities. To reduce him to just that is a gross oversimplification. Du Yuesheng was one of the most legendary figures in modern Chinese history. He was a master of social maneuvering, treating former Qing loyalists, warlord-politicians, high-ranking Nationalist officials, celebrities, and prominent business and financial figures with utmost respect. He appeared humble and deferential, skillfully navigating elite circles, exchanging pleasantries with dignitaries, earnestly cultivating relationships—even forming sworn brotherhoods or accepting disciples, providing financial support, or offering monthly stipends to keep them as retainers. High-ranking members of the Chiang family, such as Kong Xiangxi, T. V. Soong, and Dai Li, were all close friends with him. With such a powerful network capable of influencing both political and business-financial spheres, and the backing of the French Concession, Du Yuesheng was able to thrive in Shanghai, manipulating situations with ease, commanding respect everywhere, and becoming a towering figure of his time.
Du possessed the virtue of humility
Liu Shaotang, the late editor-in-chief of 《Biography Literature》, commented on 《The Biography of Du Yuesheng》: “Du himself claimed to be ‘plain and unlettered’ because he came from a poor background and lacked formal education. Throughout his life, no letters or diaries were left behind. Although he became prominent in midlife and had significant influence on the politics and political figures of the early Republican era, and managed many large enterprises, there are almost no official historical records about him. One reason is Du’s humble nature—he resolved many issues but preferred not to be mentioned afterward. Another reason is that those who benefited from Du often harbored a subtle psychological reluctance—afterward, they were unwilling, afraid, or even disdainful to openly acknowledge their connection to him.”
Writing a biography under such circumstances of ‘relying solely on spoken words’ is both the easiest and the hardest. It’s easy because ‘there are no witnesses to contradict you’; it’s hard because opinions vary, each claiming to be correct, making selection difficult.” When publishing 《The Biography of Du Yuesheng》, compiled and expanded from detailed oral accounts by Du’s disciples, relatives, and close friends collected by Zhang Jun?, Liu Shaotang already expressed such sentiments. How much more so for other biographers?
As a result, although numerous biographies or legends about Du Yuesheng have been published, they all suffer from a serious flaw: they are filled with speculative tales, fabricated stories, and embellishments for dramatic effect. Some go even further, using titles like “lost anecdotes,” “untold stories,” or “exposés” to spread slander and criticism, serving certain political agendas. Their content often consists of recycled clichés, hearsay, and even distorted facts—far removed from historical truth.
“Biography” may not be entirely equivalent to “history,” but it must remain at least somewhat faithful to it. If a biography is not faithful to history, then it is not a biography but a novel. As the eminent historian Meng Sen (also known as Xinshi) stated: “When writing fiction, one may create freely, but distorting historical facts is morally wrong. Even if one draws parallels with historical events and adds color, or weaves them into the narrative, such a style does exist. However, one should not fabricate events, use rumors to obscure facts, exaggerate the bizarre nature of events with flowery language, or add branches to the story by deliberately misrepresenting facts to recklessly distort history and undermine the credibility of records.”
And today’s so-called 《Biographies of Du Yuesheng》 are mostly exaggerated accounts by later writers, many of whom never even met Du Yuesheng in person. Even the famous journalist Xu Zhucheng’s 《The True Biography of Du Yuesheng》 is based on just a single encounter with Du, raising serious doubts about its reliability. The lower-quality writings about Du Yuesheng are simply unbearable to read.
Chen Cunren, a “medical genius” who had considerable interaction with Du Yuesheng, once said: “Du was not the ideal image of a heroic figure; he was more like a frail scholar—truly, ‘even heroes become ordinary when seen too often.’” What Chen admired most was Du Yuesheng’s judgment. Du often said: “One can be a person even without literacy, but not without understanding of reason.” When handling any matter, he would first decide on the best strategy, the medium strategy, and the worst strategy. He also considered the possible outcomes—how good things could get and how bad they could turn. He usually listened silently while others spoke, and by the time they finished, he had already made his decision, usually saying something like: “Alright, that’s settled,” or “This can’t be done this way.” His judgment was extremely sharp, and once he made a decision, he never changed it. (to be continued)