Editing Fu Manchu (section)

=== Dr. Fu Manchu ===
{{quote box|width=30%|align=right|quote=Imagine a person, tall, lean and feline, high-shouldered, with a brow like [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] and a face like [[Satan]],&nbsp;...Invest him with all the cruel cunning of an entire Eastern race, accumulated in one giant intellect, with all the resources of science past and present&nbsp;...Imagine that awful being, and you have a mental picture of Dr. Fu-Manchu, the [[Yellow Peril]] incarnate in one man.|source=—''The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu''}}
[[Supervillain]] Dr. Fu Manchu's murderous plots are marked by the extensive use of arcane methods; he disdains guns or explosives, preferring [[Dacoity|dacoits]] (armed robbers in India), [[Thuggee|Thugs]] (professional robbers and murderers in India) and members of other secret societies as his agents (usually armed with knives) or using "[[Pythonidae|pythons]] and [[cobra]]s&nbsp;... [[Fungus|fungi]] and my tiny allies, the [[Bacillus|bacilli]]&nbsp;... my black spiders" and other peculiar animals or natural chemical weapons. He has a great respect for the truth (in fact, his word is his bond), and uses torture and other gruesome tactics to dispose of his enemies.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Young|first=Ian|url=http://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1228548/racist-curse-fu-manchu-back-spotlight-after-chevrolet-ad|title=The racist curse of Fu Manchu back in spotlight after Chevrolet ad|work=South China Morning Post|date=3 May 2013|access-date=2018-03-15}}</ref>

Dr. Fu Manchu is described as a mysterious villain because he seldom appears on the scene. He always sends his minions to commit crimes for him. In the novel ''The Insidious Dr Fu-Manchu'', he sends a beautiful young girl to the crime scene to see that the victim is dead. He also sends a dacoit to attack Sir [[Denis Nayland Smith]] and Dr Petrie.

In the novel ''Fu Manchu's Bride'' (1933), Dr. Fu Manchu claims to hold doctorates from four Western universities, while in ''Emperor Fu Manchu'' (1959), he states that he attended [[Heidelberg University]], the [[University of Paris|Sorbonne]] and the [[University of Edinburgh]]. (In the film ''The Mask of Fu Manchu'', however, he states proudly that "I am a doctor of philosophy from Edinburgh, a doctor of law from [[Christ's College, Cambridge|Christ's College]], a doctor of medicine from [[Harvard University|Harvard]]. My friends, out of courtesy, call me 'Doctor{{'"}}.) At the time of their first encounter (1911) Dr. Petrie believed that Dr Fu Manchu was more than 70 years old. That would mean that he studied for his first doctorate in the 1860s or 1870s.

According to [[Cay Van Ash]], Rohmer's biographer and former assistant who became the first author to continue the series after Rohmer's death, "Fu Manchu" was a title of honor, which referred to "the warlike [[Manchu people|Manchu]]".{{citation needed|date=May 2023}} Van Ash speculates that Dr. Fu Manchu was a member of the [[Emperor of China|imperial family of China]] who backed the losing side in the [[Boxer Rebellion]].{{citation needed|date=May 2023}} In the early books (1913–1917), Dr. Fu Manchu is an agent of a Chinese [[Tong (organization)|tong]], known as the ''Si-Fan'', and acts as the mastermind behind a wave of [[assassination]]s targeting Westerners living in China. In the later books (1931–1959), he has gained control of the ''Si-Fan'', which has been changed from a mere Chinese tong into an international criminal organization under his leadership. In addition to attempting to take over the world and restore China to its former glory (Dr. Fu Manchu's main goals right from the beginning), the ''Si-Fan'' now also tries to eliminate [[Fascism|fascist]] dictators and halt the spread of [[communism]] around the globe, for its leader's own selfish reasons. Dr. Fu Manchu knows that both fascism and communism present major obstacles to his plans for [[world domination]]. The ''Si-Fan'' is largely funded through criminal activities, particularly the [[Illegal drug trade|drug trade]] and [[human trafficking]]. Dr. Fu Manchu has extended his already considerable lifespan by use of the [[elixir of life]], a formula that he has spent decades trying to perfect.