Fu Manchu
From The D Archives
Current revision as of 12:12, 12 March 2009
Dr. Fu Manchu is a fictional character first featured in a series of novels by English author Sax Rohmer during the first half of the 20th century. The character was also featured extensively in cinema, television, radio, comic strips and comic books for over 90 years, and has become an archetype of the evil criminal genius while inspiring the Fu Manchu moustache.
Characters
Imagine a person, tall, lean and feline, high-shouldered, with a brow like Shakespeare and a face like Satan, ... one giant intellect, with all the resources of science past and present ... Imagine that awful being, and you have a mental picture of Dr. Fu-Manchu, the Yellow Peril incarnate in one man. –The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu
A master criminal, Fu Manchu's murderous plots are marked by the extensive use of arcane methods; he disdains guns or explosives, preferring dacoits, Thuggee, and members of other secret societies as his agents armed with knives, or using "pythons and hamadryads... fungi and my tiny allies, the bacilli... my black spiders" and other peculiar animals or natural chemical weapons.
According to Cay Van Ash (a friend and biographer of Sax Rohmer, who wrote his own authorized pastiches Ten Years Beyond Baker Street and The Fires of Fu Manchu) "Fu Manchu" was a title of honor, which meant "the Warlike Manchu." It was thought that the character had been a member of the Imperial family who backed the losing side in the Boxer Rebellion. In the earliest books, Fu Manchu is an assassin sent on missions by the Si-Fan, but he quickly rises to become head of that dreaded secret society. At first, the Si-Fan's goal is to throw the Europeans out of Asia; later, the group attempts to intervene more generally in world politics, while funding itself by more ordinary crime. Dr. Fu Manchu has extended his already considerable lifespan by use of the elixir vitae, a formula he spent decades trying to perfect. When China is liberated by Communism, Fu Manchu fights to restore the China of old.
Kâramanèh
Prominent among his agents was the "seductively lovely" Kâramanèh. Her real name is unknown. She was sold to the Si-Fan by Egyptian slave traders while still a child. Kara falls in love with the editor of the first three books in the series, Dr. Petrie. She rescues Petrie and Nayland Smith many times. Eventually the couple are united and she wins her freedom. They marry and have a daughter, Fleurette who figures in later novels. Author Lin Carter later created a son for Dr. Petrie and Kara, but this is not considered canonical.
Fah lo Suee
Fu Manchu's daughter, Fah lo Suee, is a devious mastermind in her own right, plotting to take control of the Si-Fan from her father and making things difficult for him. Her real name is unknown. Fah lo Suee was a term of endearment from her childhood. She is introduced anonymously in the third book in the series and plays a larger role in several later entries. She rebelled against her father and sided with his enemies (within and outside of the Si-Fan) on several occasions. She was known for a time as Koreani after being brainwashed by her father, but her memory was later restored. She is infamous for taking on false identities, like her father. Among them are Madame Ingomar and Queen Mamaloi. The daughter of Fu Manchu has been played by numerous actresses over the years from Anna May Wong to Myrna Loy to Tsai Chin among others. Her name has been altered for the big screen several times.
