Gu Shunzhang (; 1903 – 1934), born Gu Fengming was an early leader,

spymaster A spymaster is a leader of a group of spies or an intelligence agency An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, Intelligence analysis, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforce ...

, and defector of the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

(CCP). Sent to

Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

to train in espionage, Gu was chosen by Zhou Enlai to lead the CCP's first intelligence service, the Central Special Branch (). After he was captured by the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

(KMT), Gu defected and revealed to the KMT intelligence all he knew of Zhou Enlai's underground communist spy network earning him a reputation as "the most dangerous traitor in the history of the CCP." Early in his life, Gu worked at Nanyang Tobacco Factory, where he became an active participant of workers' movement, then of the Shanghai Trade Union and finally of the CCP. In 1926 Gu was sent to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

(Vladivostok) for training as a spy. After his return he participated thrice in the armed uprisings in Shanghai. In 1927, after the

12 April Incident The Shanghai massacre of 12 April 1927, the April 12 Purge or the April 12 Incident as it is commonly known in China, was the violent suppression of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) organizations and leftist elements in Shanghai by forces support ...

, he became an active member of the underground communist movement together with

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai ( zh, s=周恩来, p=Zhōu Ēnlái, w=Chou1 Ên1-lai2; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman, diplomat, and revolutionary who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China from September 1954 unti ...

, held numerous posts and finally became the Head of the Chinese Politburo's security service. Known as a magician, in fact he personally participated in physical extermination of the CCP betrayers and thus became famous as a party activist. On 24 April 1931, while giving a performance in Wuhan. Gu was identified from a photograph by the KMT special service. After the arrest he was persuaded to defect, thus causing the execution of several thousand communists over the next three months (according to the estimation of the French intelligence bureau in Shanghai). Among those shot was

Xiang Zhongfa Xiang Zhongfa (1879 – 24 June 1931) was a Chinese socialist who was one of the early senior leaders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Early life Xiang was born in 1879 to a poor family living in Hanchuan, Hubei. He dropped out of elemen ...

, the General Secretary of CCP. As retribution, members of his family were killed, except his young daughter Gu Liqun (顾立群) and nephew Zhang Changgeng (张长庚), allegedly on the orders of Zhou. In the following years Gu was an effective coach of the Nanjing intelligence service, secretly organized a "New Communist Party" in 1934. However, he was captured and executed by intelligence services under the KMT. The execution took place in

Suzhou Suzhou is a major prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce. Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the ...

in December 1934 (June 1935).

See also

References

Further reading