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China: Du Yuesheng, Green Gang mobster and Shanghai godfather (1887-1951) as a young man

Du Yuesheng (Tu Yüeh-sheng), commonly known as 'Big-Ears Du' (1887–1951) was a Chinese gangster who spent much of his life in Shanghai. He was a key supporter of the Kuomintang (KMT; aka Nationalists) and Chiang Kai-shek in their battle against the Communists during the 1920s, and was a figure of some importance during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

After the Chinese Civil War and the KMT's retreat to Taiwan, Du went into exile in Hong Kong and remained there until his death in 1951. According to a contemporaneous description:

Du Yuesheng is short and slender, with long arms, a shaven head, large yellow teeth and large ears that stick out. He is always accompanied by armed bodyguards, and his home is a fortified drug depot, well stocked with guns and ammunition. Upon entering, the visitor finds the entrance hall lined on both sides with stacks of rifles and sub-machine guns. The house has three floors - on each floor he keeps one of his three wives. He speaks no foreign languages, yet is always keen to meet people of all nationalities, for he gleefully collects gossip and information, no matter how seemingly trivial.

Du employs four bodyguards: an ill-tempered blacksmith called Fiery Old Crow, a gardener, a former waiter from the Shanghai Club who speaks English and a former chauffeur from the American consulate called Stars & Stripes. Du never goes anywhere without being accompanied by two carloads of armed men. If going out on the town to teahouses and nightclubs, one car always goes ahead to check the place out first. Du follows in his bullet proof car with a second car full of his enforcers. Only when his men have surrounded the car door does he get out. Once inside the club, his guards all sit around him with their guns in plain sight to everyone.