Wang was born in Hefei, Anhui Province. In his early years, Wang joined the Tongmenghui. After the
Wuchang Uprising, he and fellow villagers Li Yuanfu and Wang Chuanzhu attempted an uprising in
Luzhou in support of the revolution, but it failed, forcing him to flee to
Shanghai. In 1913, Wang became associated with anarchist circles and adopted the concept of "
propaganda by the deed". Chinese scholarship notes that anarchist ideology influenced radical activism in the late Qing and early Republican period. In 1921, he organised an association of Anhui natives in Shanghai "Anhui Labor Union Federation" () and later merged another association "Anhui Compatriots Association in Shanghai" () into a single union, which competed with underworld figures such as
Huang Jinrong and
Du Yuesheng. The group became known as the "
Axe Gang" () because they are armed with small axes commonly carried by dockworkers for cutting ropes. During this period, Wang mentored
Dai Li, who would later become
Chiang Kai-shek's spymaster and chief of the
chinese secret police. In 1923, Wang orchestrated the assassination of Xu Guoliang, the Shanghai Songhu Police Department Chief appointed by Jiangsu warlord
Qi Xieyuan; an event linked by historians to the escalation of tensions leading to
Jiangsu–Zhejiang War. Wang subsequently developed ties with
Zhejiang military governor and
Anhui clique warlord
Lu Yongxiang, as Xu Guoliang had been a close associate of
Jiangsu military governor and
Zhili clique warlord
Qi Xieyuan. In 1924, Lu Yongxiang’s forces were defeated by those of Qi Xieyuan during the Jiangsu–Zhejiang conflict. Following this defeat, Wang subsequently worked with elements of the Nationalist-aligned
New Guangxi clique. Historians note that assassination and irregular violence were common tools in warlord-era politics. During the
January 28 Incident, Wang supported the
19th Route Army and reportedly organised attacks against Japanese naval forces using his Axe Gang. After the ceasefire, he contacted Korean nationalist leaders in exile. In cooperation with Korean activist
Yun Bong-gil,
a bombing was carried out on 29 April 1932, at Hongkew Park in Shanghai during a Japanese celebration. The attack killed and injured several high-ranking Japanese officials, including General
Yoshinori Shirakawa, who later died of his wounds. Research highlights the role of transnational anti-Japanese cooperation in this attack. In 1933, Wang joined the
Fujian Rebellion against the Nationalist government. After its failure, he continued to be associated with plots targeting
Chiang Kai-shek and other Nationalist leaders. Wang was sometimes described in contemporary accounts as the "King of Assassins" for his reported involvement in multiple assassination plots targeting Japanese military personnel and individuals associated with Japanese interests, as well as Chinese govenment officials in the context of opposition to Nationalist government's policies of appeasement towards Japan. He was reported to have been involved in an assassination attempt against
T. V. Soong in 1931. In November 1935, an associate of Wang attempted to assassinate
Wang Jingwei, seriously injuring him. He was assassinated in
Guangxi in 1936. Scholarly accounts differ on whether the killing was ordered by the Nationalist
Juntong or rival political actors. ==Legacy==