Li Shoon
Encyclopedia
Li Shoon is a fictional villain of Chinese
ethnicity created by H. Irving Hancock
, first published in 1916.
As common in the pulp
fiction of the times, the depiction of Li Shoon had considerable racial stereotypes. He was described as being "tall and stout" and having "a round, moonlike yellow face" topped by "bulging eyebrows" and "sunken eyes". He has "an amazing compound of evil" which makes him "a wonder at everything wicked" and "a marvel of satanic cunning."
Li Shoon is the absolute master of a secret society known as "Ui Kwoon Ah-How" whose membership numbers in the thousands or tens of thousands - not only Chinese like himself but also other Asian peoples including Filipinos as well as Malays, India
ns, Japanese
and various other "Oriental" ethnic groups. Members of the group kill unhesitatingly at his command, and he frequently gives such commands. Li Shoon is not a mere criminal, but a fanatic Chinese nationalist of a sort. He engages in numerous lucrative criminal activities, but these are not a goal in itself but a means to make the society under his control "the wealthiest and most powerful body on earth" and thereby "rousing China from her centuries of sleep" to "take over mastery of Asia". There is no explanation given why the other Asians involved (especially, the Japanese, whose own imperial ambitions were far more manifest at the time) would be so eager to achieve that goal.
Li Shoon has numerous ingenious weapons at his disposal, such as the "gas gun", which leaves no trace and keeps detectives puzzled, and the "lachesis venom" whose victims' bodies become monstrously bloated. He has two trusted helpers and lieutenants, the Chinese Weng-yu and the Mongolian
Ming who deals with torture and executions.
Li Shoon's arch-enemy is an American "gentleman adventurer" named Donald Carrick, nicknamed "The Human Hound". Pulp fiction
researcher Jess Nevins
noted that Carrick is "vain, self-satisfied, supernaturally lucky and supernaturally aggravating.(...) Rarely has one 'good guy' been so capable of driving a reader into the arms of the story's putative 'bad guy'." In the end, as was invariable in this sub-genre, Carrick managed to kill Li Shoon after numerous daring adventures, chases by car and plane, explosions and acts of piracy on the open sea. However, Hancock brought Li Shoon back in a sequel and then killed him off once again. Altogether, it seems no accident that the series was named for Li Shoon and not for Carrick.
As Nevins notes, "Li Shoon was a chip from the Fu Manchu
block". It should also be noted that the stories appeared shortly after the publication of Jack London
's The Unparalleled Invasion
, in which Chinese expansion over Asia was presented as "a major threat to the world" ultimately justifying a complete genocide
.
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
ethnicity created by H. Irving Hancock
H. Irving Hancock
Harrie Irving Hancock was an American chemist and writer, mainly remembered as an author of children's literature and juveniles in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and as having written a fictional depiction of a German invasion of the USA....
, first published in 1916.
As common in the pulp
Pulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
fiction of the times, the depiction of Li Shoon had considerable racial stereotypes. He was described as being "tall and stout" and having "a round, moonlike yellow face" topped by "bulging eyebrows" and "sunken eyes". He has "an amazing compound of evil" which makes him "a wonder at everything wicked" and "a marvel of satanic cunning."
Li Shoon is the absolute master of a secret society known as "Ui Kwoon Ah-How" whose membership numbers in the thousands or tens of thousands - not only Chinese like himself but also other Asian peoples including Filipinos as well as Malays, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
ns, Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
and various other "Oriental" ethnic groups. Members of the group kill unhesitatingly at his command, and he frequently gives such commands. Li Shoon is not a mere criminal, but a fanatic Chinese nationalist of a sort. He engages in numerous lucrative criminal activities, but these are not a goal in itself but a means to make the society under his control "the wealthiest and most powerful body on earth" and thereby "rousing China from her centuries of sleep" to "take over mastery of Asia". There is no explanation given why the other Asians involved (especially, the Japanese, whose own imperial ambitions were far more manifest at the time) would be so eager to achieve that goal.
Li Shoon has numerous ingenious weapons at his disposal, such as the "gas gun", which leaves no trace and keeps detectives puzzled, and the "lachesis venom" whose victims' bodies become monstrously bloated. He has two trusted helpers and lieutenants, the Chinese Weng-yu and the Mongolian
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
Ming who deals with torture and executions.
Li Shoon's arch-enemy is an American "gentleman adventurer" named Donald Carrick, nicknamed "The Human Hound". Pulp fiction
Pulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
researcher Jess Nevins
Jess Nevins
John J. Nevins, MA/MS, is an American author and librarian, born 30 July 1966 and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. He is the author of the World Fantasy Award-nominated Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana , and other works on Victoriana and pulp fiction...
noted that Carrick is "vain, self-satisfied, supernaturally lucky and supernaturally aggravating.(...) Rarely has one 'good guy' been so capable of driving a reader into the arms of the story's putative 'bad guy'." In the end, as was invariable in this sub-genre, Carrick managed to kill Li Shoon after numerous daring adventures, chases by car and plane, explosions and acts of piracy on the open sea. However, Hancock brought Li Shoon back in a sequel and then killed him off once again. Altogether, it seems no accident that the series was named for Li Shoon and not for Carrick.
As Nevins notes, "Li Shoon was a chip from the Fu Manchu
Fu Manchu
Dr. Fu Manchu is a fictional character introduced in a series of novels by British author Sax Rohmer during the first half of the 20th century...
block". It should also be noted that the stories appeared shortly after the publication of Jack London
Jack London
John Griffith "Jack" London was an American author, journalist, and social activist. He was a pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction and was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone...
's The Unparalleled Invasion
The Unparalleled Invasion
-Plot:"The Unparalleled Invasion" begins in 1910s China. Under the influence of Japan, China modernizes and has its own Meiji Reforms. In 1922, China breaks away from Japan and fights a brief war that culminates in the Chinese annexation of the Japanese possessions of Korea, Formosa, and Manchuria...
, in which Chinese expansion over Asia was presented as "a major threat to the world" ultimately justifying a complete genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
.
Appearances
- "Under the Ban of Li Shoon", Detective Story MagazineDetective Story MagazineDetective Story Magazine was an American magazine published by Street & Smith from October 15, 1915 to Summer, 1949 . The first pulp magazine devoted to detective fiction, it consisted of short stories and serials....
, Vol. 4, No. 3, cover date August 5, 1916. - "Li Shoon's Deadliest Mission", Detective Story MagazineDetective Story MagazineDetective Story Magazine was an American magazine published by Street & Smith from October 15, 1915 to Summer, 1949 . The first pulp magazine devoted to detective fiction, it consisted of short stories and serials....
, September 5, 1916 - Other Li Shoon stories were published in that magazine in 1917