The Axe Gang

The Axe Gang
Residence	Shanghai, China
Ethnicity	Chinese
Occupation	Gangsters, Criminals, Mobsters

The Axe Gang (Simplified Chinese: 斧头帮 fǔ tóu bāng) is a fictional gang that has appeared in a few Hong Kong martial arts films, the most recent being the Korean film Marrying the Mafia II. There was a real Axe Gang in Shanghai around Japanese Occupation with the head named Wang Ya Qiao. Those in the films are based loosely on this. They also had a very fierce leader they called him Young Seabass because he was just 15 at the time.

Background

The Axe Gang has control over Shanghai and uses axes as a weapon of choice, usually dressed in black suits and sometimes top hats. Boxer From Shantung is perhaps the gang's earliest appearance, though they are not formally called Axe Gang within the film. The Gang also appears in Project A Part II, Drunken Master II, Marrying the Mafia II and Shanghai Affairs.

In Kung Fu Hustle

In the comedy film Kung Fu Hustle, the Axe Gang is run in a way very similar to the Italian crime mafia families or perhaps to the major Chinese Triads. The Axe Gang is led by Brother Sum. Two crossed axes forming an "X" can be seen as their recognizable logo in Kung Fu Hustle, which many if not all members have tattooed on their bodies somewhere, visible or otherwise. The gang is shown doing dance moves in Kung Fu Hustle reminiscent of 50s musicals.

Films

• Boxer From Shantung (1972)
• Project A Part II (1987)
• Drunken Master II (1994)
• Fist of Fury (1995)
• Shanghai Affairs (1998)
• Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
• Marrying the Mafia II (2005)
• Ip Man (2008)