![Hu Di](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Hu_Di.jpg)
Hu Di (; 1905 – September 1935) was a Chinese filmmaker and Communist secret agent during the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
era. After the
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
(KMT) began its
suppression of the Communists in 1927, Hu worked as a mole in the Kuomintang secret service, together with
Qian Zhuangfei
Qian Zhuangfei (; 1895/96 – 1935) was a Chinese doctor, film director and Communist secret agent. After the Kuomintang (KMT) began its suppression of the Communists in 1927, Qian infiltrated the KMT secret service, and in 1931 intercepted a t ...
and
Li Kenong
Li Kenong (; 1899–1962) was a Chinese general and politician, one of the creators of the security and intelligence apparatus of both the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Liberation Army. Notably, he served as Director of the Ce ...
. Chinese Premier
Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 J ...
called them "the three most distinguished intelligence workers of the Party." Hu was executed in September 1935 by the renegade Communist commander
Zhang Guotao
Zhang Guotao (November 26, 1897 – December 3, 1979), or Chang Kuo-tao, was a founding member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and rival to Mao Zedong. During the 1920s he studied in the Soviet Union and became a key contact with the Comi ...
during the
Long March
The Long March (, lit. ''Long Expedition'') was a military retreat undertaken by the Chinese Red Army, Red Army of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the National Revolut ...
.
Life and career
Hu was born Hu Baichang () in 1905 in
Shucheng County
Shucheng County () is a county in the west-central part of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China. It is located in the southeastern corner of the prefecture-level city of Lu'an and is its easternmost county-level division
The administr ...
,
Anhui
Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...
Province. He also used the names Hu Beifeng () and Hu Ma ().
In 1923, he was admitted to China University in Beijing, where he befriended
Qian Zhuangfei
Qian Zhuangfei (; 1895/96 – 1935) was a Chinese doctor, film director and Communist secret agent. After the Kuomintang (KMT) began its suppression of the Communists in 1927, Qian infiltrated the KMT secret service, and in 1931 intercepted a t ...
and his wife Zhang Wenhua.
[ In 1925, the three secretly joined the ]Communist Party of China
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...
, and they worked closely together. They established the Guanghua Film Company, using filmmaking as a cover for their underground activities.[ After the ]KMT
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
's April 1927 massacre of the Communists in Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
, and the execution of Communist leader Li Dazhao
Li Dazhao or Li Ta-chao (October 29, 1889 – April 28, 1927) was a Chinese intellectual and revolutionary who participated in the New Cultural Movement in the early years of the Republic of China, established in 1912. He co-founded the Chinese ...
by Fengtian clique leader Zhang Zuolin
Zhang Zuolin (; March 19, 1875 June 4, 1928), courtesy name Yuting (雨亭), nicknamed Zhang Laogang (張老疙瘩), was an influential Chinese bandit, soldier, and warlord during the Warlord Era in China. The warlord of Manchuria from 1916 to ...
in Beijing, the three moved to Shanghai, where Hu found work at the Shanghai Film Company.[ He met the experienced Communist underground worker ]Li Kenong
Li Kenong (; 1899–1962) was a Chinese general and politician, one of the creators of the security and intelligence apparatus of both the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Liberation Army. Notably, he served as Director of the Ce ...
and introduced him to Qian.
In 1929, Qian successfully infiltrated the KMT's secret service and was appointed the chief coordinator of the central intelligence headquarters in Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
, in charge of recruiting more special agents. This created opportunities for Hu Di and Li Kenong to join the KMT secret service as moles. Hu was made the chief of the KMT's Tianjin
Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...
secret service unit, disguised as the Great Wall News Agency, while Li ran the Shanghai unit, ostensibly the Broadcast News Service. Their intelligence reports helped the Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
in the Jiangxi Soviet
Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north into hi ...
thwart the first two of Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...
's Encirclement Campaigns
Encirclement campaigns (), officially called in Chinese Communist historiography as the Agrarian Revolutionary War were the campaigns launched by forces of the Chinese Nationalist Government against forces of the Chinese Communist Party during the ...
.
On 24 April 1931, Gu Shunzhang
Gu Shunzhang (; 1903 – 1934), born Gu Fengming was an early leader, spymaster, and defector of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Sent to Soviet Russia to train in espionage, Gu was chosen by Zhou Enlai to lead the CCP's first intelligenc ...
, Zhou Enlai's security chief and head of the Communist Party's dreaded Red Brigade, was arrested in Wuhan
Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...
while on a mission to assassinate Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...
. To save himself, Gu defected to the KMT, and disclosed his extensive knowledge about Communist organizations. Qian Zhuangfei intercepted a telegram sent by the Wuhan police to the Nanjing headquarters, and delivered the message to Li Kenong in Shanghai, who in turned informed Zhou Enlai and telegraphed Hu Di, who immediately boarded a foreign ship and left Tianjin for Shanghai. In August 1931, Hu Di and Qian Zhuangfei left Shanghai for the Jiangxi Soviet
Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north into hi ...
, the Communist base area in Jiangxi
Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...
Province.[
]
Death and legacy
In 1934, the Communists were forced to evacuate the Jiangxi base area and begin the Long March
The Long March (, lit. ''Long Expedition'') was a military retreat undertaken by the Chinese Red Army, Red Army of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the National Revolut ...
. In June 1935, the Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
arrived in Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
Province, where the commanders Zhu De
Zhu De (; ; also Chu Teh; 1 December 1886 – 6 July 1976) was a Chinese general, military strategist, politician and revolutionary in the Chinese Communist Party. Born into poverty in 1886 in Sichuan, he was adopted by a wealthy uncle at ...
and Zhang Guotao
Zhang Guotao (November 26, 1897 – December 3, 1979), or Chang Kuo-tao, was a founding member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and rival to Mao Zedong. During the 1920s he studied in the Soviet Union and became a key contact with the Comi ...
disagreed on the direction to continue. Zhu wanted to go north to Yan'an
Yan'an (; ), alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several counties, including Zhidan (formerly Bao'an ...
but Zhang ordered his soldiers to head south. Hu Di opposed Zhang's move. In revenge, Zhang labelled Hu a KMT spy and had him executed in September.[
Zhou Enlai later called Qian Zhuangfei, Li Kenong, and Hu Di "the three most distinguished intelligence workers of the Party," and said that he and other Communist leaders owed their lives to them.][ Li, the sole survivor of the three who lived to see the founding of the ]People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, was awarded the military rank of general (''shang jiang
(; ja, 将, Shō; ) is the rank held by general officers in some East Asian militaries. The ranks are used in both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China on Taiwan. The People's Liberation Army and the People's Armed Police use ...
'') in 1955, despite having no combat experience.[
]
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hu, Di
1905 births
1935 deaths
Chinese communists
People from Lu'an
Chinese spies
People of the Chinese Civil War