Editing Fu Manchu (section)

== Characters ==
=== 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.

=== Sir Denis Nayland Smith and Dr Petrie ===
[[File:Denis Nayland Smith in The Mask Of Dr Fu Manchu.png|thumb|Denis Nayland Smith in The Mask Of Dr Fu Manchu (1951), art by [[Wally Wood]].]]

Opposing Dr Fu Manchu in the stories are Sir [[Denis Nayland Smith]] and, in the first three books, Dr Petrie. Petrie narrates the first three novels. (The later novels are narrated by various other characters allied with Smith right up to the end of the series.) Smith carries on the fight, combating Dr Fu Manchu more by sheer luck and dogged determination than intellectual brilliance except ''in extremis''. Smith and Dr Fu Manchu share a grudging respect for one another, as each believes that a man must keep his word, even to an enemy.

In the first three books, Smith serves in the [[Indian Imperial Police]] as a police commissioner in [[British rule in Burma|Burma]] who has been granted a [[roving commission]], allowing him to exercise authority over any group who can help him in his mission. When Rohmer revived the series in 1931, Smith, who has been [[knight]]ed for his efforts to defeat Fu Manchu, is an ex-Assistant Commissioner of [[Scotland Yard]]. He later accepts a position with [[Secret Intelligence Service|MI6]]. Several books have him placed on special assignment with the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]].

=== Kâramanèh ===
{{quote box|width=30%|align=right|quote=Many there are, I doubt not, who will regard the Eastern girl with horror. I ask their forgiveness in that I regarded her quite differently. No man having seen her could have condemned her unheard. Many, having looked into her lovely eyes, had they found there what I found, must have forgiven her almost any crime.|source=—''The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu''}}

Prominent among Dr Fu Manchu's agents is the "seductively lovely" Kâramanèh. Her real name is unknown. She was sold to the ''Si-Fan'' by [[Egyptians|Egyptian]] [[Slavery in Africa|slave traders]] while she was still a child. Kâramanèh falls in love with Dr Petrie, the narrator of the first three books in the series, and 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 two later novels, ''Fu Manchu's Bride'' (1933) and its sequel, ''The Trail of Fu Manchu'' (1934). [[Lin Carter]] later created a son for Dr Petrie and Kâramanèh.

=== Fah Lo Suee ===
[[File:The_Mask_of_Fu_Manchu_by_Sax_Rohmer_-_Illustration_by_Ron_Lesser_-_Pyramid_Books_F-740_1962.jpg|thumb|upright|Fah Lo Suee on the cover of ''The Mask of Fu Manchu'' by Sax Rohmer. Illustration by Ronnie Lesser, 1962.]]

Dr Fu Manchu's daughter, [[Fah Lo Suee]], is a devious mastermind in her own right, frequently plotting to usurp her father's position in the ''Si-Fan'' and aiding his enemies both within and outside the organization. Her real name is unknown; Fah Lo Suee was a childhood term of endearment. She is introduced anonymously while still a teenager in the third book in the series and plays a larger role in several of the titles of the 1930s and 1940s. She is known for a time as Koreani after being brainwashed by her father, but her memory is later restored. Like her father, she takes on false identities, among them Madame Ingomar, Queen Mamaloi and Mrs van Roorden. In films she has been portrayed by numerous actresses over the years. Her character is usually renamed in film adaptations because of difficulties with the pronunciation of her name. [[Anna May Wong]] played Ling Moy in ''[[Daughter of the Dragon]]'' (1931). [[Myrna Loy]] portrayed the character (as Fah Lo See) in ''[[The Mask of Fu Manchu]]'' (1932). Gloria Franklin had the role of Fah Lo Suee in ''[[Drums of Fu Manchu]]'' (1940). [[Laurette Luez]] played Karamaneh in ''[[The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu]]'' (1956), but the character owed more to Fah Lo Suee than to Rohmer's depiction of Kâramanèh. [[Tsai Chin (actress)|Tsai Chin]] portrayed Dr Fu Manchu's daughter Lin Tang in the five [[Christopher Lee]] films of the 1960s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Face of Fu Manchu |url=https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/face_of_fu_manchu_the |access-date=2022-05-11 |website=[[The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction]]}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2021-09-25 |title=Why Shang-Chi's Sister Had to Change for the Marvel Cinematic Universe |url=https://www.cbr.com/shang-chi-sister-re-named-marvel-cinematic-universe-fu-manchu/ |access-date=2022-05-11 |website=[[Comic Book Resources]] |language=en-US}}</ref>