Who was “Peiping Lil”?

So we all know who Shanghai Lil was – many a song about her. But who was “Peiping Lil”, sometimes referred to as “Peking Lil” though as she operated after 1927 was technically in Peiping. She is described in the scant articles about her as “Lily Lee”, a “beautiful Chinese Mata-Hari”, a glamorous dance-hall hostess in Peking who doubled as a super-spy. After the Japanese invasion she apparently used her beauty and access to inveigle secrets out of senior army officials. However, the stories are all a bit incomplete – Japanese or Chinese secrets? In 1938 she was arrested and taken to Chungking, the then Nationalist capital. However, she was released on bail and transported to Hong Kong after her trial on espionage charges in December 1938. It is claimed she had been arrested on spying charges many times and it had been rumoured that she had been executed. The questions are too many?

Who was she really?

Who did she spy for?

If she betrayed the Nationalists why did they let her leave after her trial for Hong Kong?