Kong Ergou - Triads & Turbulence - Volume 4: Once Upon a Time in Northeastern China

Ergou once read futurist Alvin Tofflers Powershift , which says that violence, wealth, and knowledge constitute the cornerstones of social authority. Within this power triad, violence is the most basic, money is in the middle, and knowledge is the highest form of power. As society advances, the form of dominant power gradually rises with it.

So, do organized crime groups have a similar power triad as the foundation of their power? If so, what are the forms of power, and how much do they resemble or differ from those that Toffler describes? Is it possible to analyze organize crime syndicates using Tofflers power triad?

Ergou believes that Chinas organized crime gangs are founded on a power triad of violence, money, and corrupt officials. All three of these elements are essential. As in Tofflers analysis, violence is the lowest level of power, money comes second, and corrupt officials are highest. As Chinese society has advanced, organized crime gangs have become larger and more powerful, and their main source of power has risen.

In other words, criminal gangs first established themselves through violence. After gaining notoriety that way, they were able to make serious money. They were then able to use this money to gain access to corrupt officials and the power those officials wielded. As gangs gradually increased in size and power, they needed to resort to violence less and less. The power of corrupt officials became their main weapon.

For example, in the 1980s Liu Haizhu was known as the King of the one on one. He went around with a shovel in his hands, leading a roving band of street toughs. He was seemingly invincible, but he always wielded the lowest form of power violence. Violence can only be used to threaten and punish. This is why Liu Haizhu never got anything from these adventures apart from the reputation of a knight errant, and was always finding himself in prison.

In the 1990s, Zhang Yue was the most famous gangster in town, with muscle unequaled before or after. However, he only managed to use violence to make money and never gained access to the power held by corrupt officials. As a result, he always came under heavy attack during the Strike-hard campaigns, and eventually ended up before the firing squad; money only took him to the mid-level of power.

As the twenty-first century began, Zhao Hongbing, Li Wu, and others like them learned to make use of the highest form of power. They learned to make friends with corrupt officials and then to make use of the power those officials possessed. So even though Li Wu never enjoyed the resounding fame of a Liu Haizhu or a Zhang Yue, there was no denying that his gang was not only of a higher caliber than Liu Haizhus, but also of a higher caliber than Zhang Yues.

Li Wu was a true gangster at the most advanced stage of organized crime. At this point in time, he was the person mixing things up the most, not Zhao Hongbing, Lisi, or Prince Shen. Thats because Hongbing and the others had bloodied themselves enough that they had nothing left to prove.

The process of powershift also reflects the transformation from classic hooligan to money-worshipping thug through to organized crime boss. In the course of this transformation, Zhang Yue fell and Hongbing survived.

In 2003 the entire city seemed to have turned into an enormous construction site, with buildings going up everywhere. A five-minute walk in any direction was sure to reveal the sight of a new development. One new road after another was being built, and new buildings were springing up all over. Ergou, who returned home only occasionally, often felt lost in his own city.

As they approached the age of forty, Zhao Hongbing and Prince Shen finally broke out of their cocoons. That didnt mean fluttering away to paradise like the Butterfly Lovers, but rather finally becoming part of mainstream life, and mixing with the great and good of polite society as equals. Although theyd enjoyed fame in the past, it was as worms rather than as butterflies.

A general builds his success on 10,000 bleached bones. Worms have always outnumbered butterflies in the gangland world.

People used to say, Prince Shen never changes. No matter how old he gets, he just keeps running his mouth. Hongbing, on the other hand, spoke less and less in regular company, although he was still happy to talk with old friends like Prince Shen, Lisi, and Liu Haizhu. Some even said, Zhao Hongbing is becoming more like his dad, not only in the way he acts, but even in the way he looks.

Zhao Hongbing was starting to go gray. The hair at his temples was pure white. No one knows exactly when this started, but people remember that his hair was still pitch-black right after Zhang Yues passing. What had happened in the two or three years since then to turn him gray?

Prince Shen said, Hongbing used to see Zhang Yue every day, and it helped him relax. But now he has to spend all his time wining and dining officials. It drives him crazy.

Hongbings response was, Fuck off! Its you whos driving me crazy.

Prince Shen took care of everything that came up in their business, large or small. All Zhao Hongbing had to do was make the final decision and chat up officials over dinner. Was that enough to make his hair go gray?

Early on the first morning of the Lunar New Year in 2003, the sky was gray and overcast, with no sign of light. Piles of white snow lined the asphalt roads swept clean by sanitation workers. The snow was littered with fragments of red paper wrappers from the firecrackers set off to welcome the New Year, and scattered explosions still rang from various corners of the city. Hardly anyone was walking along the street at that moment who would be out strolling at five oclock in the morning?

But there was someone.

A tall, erect and sturdy man walked at a fast clip along the right side of the road, puffs of white vapor issuing from his mouth. There was a sense of urgency in his pace, but the expression on his face gave the impression that nothing important was going on. The hair at his temples was almost pure white. His face was etched by the vertical lines of a man of a certain age, but his eyes still showed a boundless vitality.

People in the Northeast have to wear down coats in the winter, but this man was wearing an old but tidy quilted khaki army jacket. Each hand was inserted into the sleeve of the other. Chinese people associate this posture with the Northeastern peasant, but this man was clearly no laborer he was the citys top gang boss. He probably learned this posture from his grandfather, who was in fact a peasant. Of course, it was also possible that he adopted it in order to cover his almost completely crippled right hand.