Ep. 287 | China’s Himmler, Dai Li (Part 1)

In this Part 1 episode covering the life and times of Dai Li, we look at his early beginnings, living the thug life in Shanghai and falling in with all the right people. We look at his quick rise up the ranks of Chiang Kai-shek's formidable spy agencies. He was often called "China's Himmler" due to his slavish devotion to his boss, Chiang Kai-shek, and for his role in setting up Chiang's secret police and spy agencies.

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Terms in Episode

Pinyin/Term	Chinese	English/Meaning
Dài Lì	戴笠	1897-1946, KMT spymaster, a.k.a. Chiang Kai-shek's Sabre, headed the Nationalist government's secret police and spy organizations
Sūnzǐ	孙子	Also known as Sun wu 孙武, 544-496BC, military general and tactician who wrote The Art of War
Dài Chūnfēng	戴春风	Dai Li's birth name
Wáng Yàqiáo	王亚樵	1887-1936, Shanghai gangster, leader of the Anhui Gang and famed assassin
Lú Yǒngxiáng	卢永祥	1867-1933, Anhui Clique warlordwho served as the military governor of Zhejiang, Zhili (Hebei) and Jiangsu
Ànshā Dàwáng	暗杀大王	The King of Assassins, Wang Yaqiao's nickname
Huáng Jīnróng	黄金荣	1868-1953, also known as Pockmarked Huang, both a Shanghai detective and head of the Green Gang
Dù Yuèshēng	杜月笙	1888-1951, also known as Big Eared Du, Chinese mob boss and hardcore Chiang Kai-shek supporter
Dài Jìtáo	戴季陶	1891-1949, Journalist, KMT charter member and Chiang supporter
Chén Guǒfū	陈果夫	1892-1951, KMT politician, brother of Chen Lifu, also served in the Nationalist government. CC Clique member
Chén Lìfū	陈立夫	1900-2001, brother of Chen Guofu, KMT politician, later headed up the Investigation Section of the Organization Department of the KMT
Chén Qíměi	陈其美	1878-1916, Green Gang leader, mentor to Chiang Kai-shek, early KMT founder, assassinated in 1916
Yuán Shìkǎi	袁世凯	1859-1916, Qing dynasty military strongman, also called, "The First Warlord". Threw it all away when he tried to become emperor in 1915
Xiǎo Biēsān	小瘪三	"Little Brat” or “Little Tramp.”
Hángzhōu	杭州	Capital of Zhejiang Province
Hú Zōngnán	胡宗南	1896-1962, Nationalist general, one of Chjiang Kai-shek's most trusted generals
Jiāngshān	江山	Southern Zhejiang city where Dai Li was born
Zhèjiāng	浙江	Province in Eastern China
Máo Rénfèng	毛人凤	1898-1956, Nationalist general and spymaster who (as we'll see in Part 3) succeeded Dai Li as head of the KMT spy agency
jiāxiāng rén	家乡人	Someone from the same hometown as you
Hú Jìng’ān	胡静安	Secretary of Chiang Kai-shek
Zhōngshān Warship Incident	中山舰事件	The Canton Coup of 20 March 1926, also known as the Zhongshan Incident or the March 20th Incident, was a purge of Communist elements of the Nationalist army in Guangzhou
Táng Shēngzhì	唐生智	1889-1970, Chinese warlord during the Warlord Era and general during the Second Sino-Japanese War
Kāng Shēng	康生	1898-1975, Communist official best known for having overseen the work of the CPC's internal security and intelligence apparatus during the early 1940s and again at the height of the Cultural Revolution
Lìxíng Shè	力行社	The Society for Vigorous Practice
Gù Shùnzhāng	顾顺章	1903-1934, major CCP figure in the 1920's
Wǔhàn	武汉	Metropolitan area in Hubei consisting of the cities of Hankou, Hanyang and Wuchang
Jiāngxī	江西	Province in eastern China
Zhū Dé	朱德	1886-1976, PRC general, military strategist, politician and Red Army founder
Yán’ān	延安	City in northern Shaanxi where Mao setup his revolutionary base during the 1930's and 40's
Shǎnxī	陕西	Province in northern China
Lǎo Hǔ Dèng	老虎凳	Tiger Bench, a torture device favored by Dai Li's goons
Dǎo Gàngzi	蹈杠子	Treading on a Stick, another torture device used by the KMT's secret police organizations
Chén Chéng	陈诚	1897-1965, One of the main NRA generals and later a KMT politician and official
Tāng Ēnbó	汤恩伯	1898-1954, another major NRA general
H.H. Kǒng	孔祥熙	1881-1967, Chinese financier married to Song Ailing. Also a major KMT politician and official and close comrade of Chiang Kai-shek
T.V. Sòng	宋子文	Known as Soong Tse-vung, 1894-1971, a major figure in Nationalist China politics

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