- Li K’o-yung (Turkish-Chinese general)
Li Keyong was a Tang general of Turkish origin who suppressed the great peasant rebellion of Huang Chao (died 884), which threatened the Tang dynasty (618–907) in its last years. Afterward the empire was divided between powerful warlords, and Li became a leading contender for power in North China.
- Li Ka-shing (Chinese entrepreneur and philanthropist)
Li Ka-shing is a Chinese entrepreneur and philanthropist, widely considered one of the most influential businessmen in Asia. His companies were involved in real estate, ports, and infrastructure, among other ventures. Li was born into a poor family who fled mainland China for Hong Kong in 1940
- Li Kan (Chinese painter)
Chinese painting: Yuan dynasty (1206–1368): Li Kan carefully studied the varieties of bamboo during his official travels and wrote a systematic treatise on painting them; he remains unsurpassed as a skilled bamboo painter. Gao Kegong followed Mi Fu and Mi Youren in painting cloudy landscapes that symbolized good government. Wang…
- Li Keqiang (prime minister of China)
Li Keqiang was a Chinese politician and government official who served as premier of China from 2013 to 2023. Li grew up in Anhui province in east-central China, where his father was a local official. His formal schooling was interrupted in 1974–78 during the latter part of the Cultural Revolution
- Li Keran (Chinese artist)
Li Keran was a painter and art educator who was a prominent figure in 20th-century Chinese art. He developed a personal style of landscape painting that was based upon the emulation of both ancient and contemporary masters. Li showed a gift for painting, calligraphy, and music as a child. When he
- Li Keyong (Turkish-Chinese general)
Li Keyong was a Tang general of Turkish origin who suppressed the great peasant rebellion of Huang Chao (died 884), which threatened the Tang dynasty (618–907) in its last years. Afterward the empire was divided between powerful warlords, and Li became a leading contender for power in North China.
- Li Kung-lin (Chinese painter)
Li Gonglin was one of the most lavishly praised Chinese connoisseurs and painters in a circle of scholar-officials during the Northern Song period. Li Gonglin was born into a scholarly home, received the jinshi (“advanced scholar”) degree in 1070, and followed the common career of going to the
- Li Kuo (emperor of Tang dynasty)
Dezong was the temple name (miaohao) of the 10th emperor (reigned 779–805) of the Tang dynasty and the only emperor in the latter half of the dynasty to reign more than 20 years. In spite of his long reign, he never successfully controlled the militarists who commanded the provinces and ignored
- Li languages
Li: …groups, most of whom speak languages distantly related to the Tai language family. Until Chinese linguists created a romanized orthography for their language in the 1950s, they had no writing system of their own.
- Li Li-san (Chinese revolutionary)
Li Lisan was a Chinese revolutionary who was one of the early leaders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Li went to study in Paris in 1919 and returned to China in 1921. He joined the CCP in the same year and became one of the party’s principal labour organizers. After 1928 he became one of the
- Li Lianjie (Chinese actor)
Jet Li is a Chinese film actor noted for his superlative martial arts skills and for his portrayals of virtuous, humble heroes. In 1971 Li entered a summer sports program and was randomly assigned to a wushu (martial arts) class. At the age of nine, he received an award at the first wushu
- Li Lieh-chün (Chinese general)
China: Yuan’s attempts to become emperor: Joined by Li Liejun (Li Lieh-chün) and other revolutionary generals, they established the National Protection Army (Huguojun) and demanded that Yuan cancel his plan. When he would not, the Yunnan army in early January 1916 invaded Sichuan and subsequently Hunan and Guangdong, hoping to bring the southwestern and southern…
- Li Linfu (Chinese minister)
An Lushan: Early life and career: …rule of China’s chief minister, Li Linfu, who was unwilling to appoint native Chinese as generals for fear that they would gain prestige that would enable them to rival his own position at court.
- Li Lisan (Chinese revolutionary)
Li Lisan was a Chinese revolutionary who was one of the early leaders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Li went to study in Paris in 1919 and returned to China in 1921. He joined the CCP in the same year and became one of the party’s principal labour organizers. After 1928 he became one of the
- Li Longji (emperor of Tang dynasty [685–762])
Xuanzong was the temple name (miaohao) of the seventh emperor of the Tang dynasty (618–907) of China, which during his reign (712–756) achieved its greatest prosperity and power. Li Longji was the third son of the Ruizong emperor, who was himself a son of the empress Wuhou. Li Longji was born
- Li Longzhi (Chinese revolutionary)
Li Lisan was a Chinese revolutionary who was one of the early leaders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Li went to study in Paris in 1919 and returned to China in 1921. He joined the CCP in the same year and became one of the party’s principal labour organizers. After 1928 he became one of the
- Li Mi (Chinese rebel)
China: Foreign affairs under Yangdi: …become the various local rebels: Li Mi in the area around Luoyang, Dou Jiande in the northeast, Xue Ju in the far northwest, and Li Yuan (who remained nominally loyal but had established a local position of great power) in Shanxi. At the beginning of 617, Li Yuan inflicted a…
- Li Nangxiao (emperor of Xi Xia)
Li Yuanhao was the leader of the Tangut (Chinese: Dangxiang) tribes, a people who inhabited the northwestern region of China in what are now parts of Gansu and Shaanxi provinces and the Ningxia Hui and Inner Mongolia autonomous regions. Li founded the Xia (or Daxia) dynasty (1038–1227), usually
- Li Ning (Chinese gymnast and entrepreneur)
Li Ning is a Chinese gymnast and entrepreneur, who amassed six medals at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Later he founded Li-Ning Sports Goods, an athletic apparel and shoe company. Li took up gymnastics at age eight and joined the national team in 1980. He made his mark on the international
- Li P’eng (prime minister of China)
Li Peng was the premier of China from 1988 to 1998 and, from 1998 to 2003, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC). The son of writer Li Shuoxun, who was executed by the Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) in 1930, Li Peng from 1939 was cared for by Deng Yingchao, the
- Li Pai (Chinese poet)
Li Bai was a Chinese poet who rivaled Du Fu for the title of China’s greatest poet. Li Bai liked to regard himself as belonging to the imperial family, but he actually belonged to a less exalted family of the same surname. At age 24 he left home for a period of wandering, after which he married and
- Li Peng (prime minister of China)
Li Peng was the premier of China from 1988 to 1998 and, from 1998 to 2003, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC). The son of writer Li Shuoxun, who was executed by the Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) in 1930, Li Peng from 1939 was cared for by Deng Yingchao, the
- Li Po (Chinese poet)
Li Bai was a Chinese poet who rivaled Du Fu for the title of China’s greatest poet. Li Bai liked to regard himself as belonging to the imperial family, but he actually belonged to a less exalted family of the same surname. At age 24 he left home for a period of wandering, after which he married and
- Li Qingzhao (Chinese poet)
Li Qingzhao was China’s greatest woman poet, whose work, though it survives only in fragments, continues to be as highly regarded as it was in her own day. Li Qingzhao was born into a literary family and produced well-regarded poetry while still a teenager. In 1101 she married Zhao Mingcheng, a
- Li Qiuren (Chinese mathematician)
Li Shanlan was a Chinese mathematician who was instrumental in combining Western mathematical and scientific knowledge and methods with traditional Chinese methods. Li was educated by Chen Huan (1786–1863), a famous philologist, and from an early age demonstrated a remarkable talent for
- Li Renshu (Chinese mathematician)
Li Shanlan was a Chinese mathematician who was instrumental in combining Western mathematical and scientific knowledge and methods with traditional Chinese methods. Li was educated by Chen Huan (1786–1863), a famous philologist, and from an early age demonstrated a remarkable talent for
- Li River (river, China)
Ling Canal: …into Hunan province, with the Li River, one of the headwater tributaries of the Gui River (itself a tributary of the Xi River) leading eventually to Guangzhou (Canton). Near the city of Xing’an in northern Guangxi, these two rivers are separated by a low divide broken by a saddle. A…
- Li Rui (Chinese mathematician and astronomer)
Li Rui was a Chinese mathematician and astronomer who made notable contributions to the revival of traditional Chinese mathematics and astronomy and to the development of the theory of equations. Having failed the Chinese civil service examinations several times, Li Rui could obtain no official
- Li Ruigang (Chinese businessman)
Li Ruigang is a Chinese businessman who rose to prominence as president of the state-owned conglomerate Shanghai Media Group (SMG). Li studied journalism at Shanghai’s Fudan University, where he earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees. After completing his master’s degree in 1994, he worked as
- Li sao and Other Poems of Qu Yuan (poem by Qu Yuan)
Qu Yuan: …with the long melancholic poem Lisao (“On Encountering Sorrow”; Eng. trans. Li sao and Other Poems of Qu Yuan, 2001), Qu Yuan’s most famous work, which initiated a tradition of romanticism in Chinese literature. Qu Yuan’s other works available in English include The Nine Songs: A Study of Shamanism in…
- Li Shang-yin (Chinese poet)
Li Shangyin was a Chinese poet remembered for his elegance and obscurity. A member of a family of minor officials, Li Shangyin pursued a generally unsuccessful career as a government official, composing poetry during and between his various posts. Until the second half of the 20th century little of
- Li Shangyin (Chinese poet)
Li Shangyin was a Chinese poet remembered for his elegance and obscurity. A member of a family of minor officials, Li Shangyin pursued a generally unsuccessful career as a government official, composing poetry during and between his various posts. Until the second half of the 20th century little of
- Li Shanlan (Chinese mathematician)
Li Shanlan was a Chinese mathematician who was instrumental in combining Western mathematical and scientific knowledge and methods with traditional Chinese methods. Li was educated by Chen Huan (1786–1863), a famous philologist, and from an early age demonstrated a remarkable talent for
- Li Shao-Chün (Chinese Daoist)
Li Shaojun was a noted Chinese Daoist who was responsible for much of the mystical content of popular Daoist thought. Li was not only the first known Daoist alchemist but also the first to make the practice of certain hygienic exercises a part of Daoist rites. He was also the first to claim that
- Li Shaojun (Chinese Daoist)
Li Shaojun was a noted Chinese Daoist who was responsible for much of the mystical content of popular Daoist thought. Li was not only the first known Daoist alchemist but also the first to make the practice of certain hygienic exercises a part of Daoist rites. He was also the first to claim that
- Li Shih-chen (Chinese scholar)
Li Shizhen was a Chinese scholar of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) who compiled a highly influential materia medica, the Bencao gangmu (Compendium of Materia Medica), which described 1,892 drugs and presented directions for preparing some 11,000 prescriptions. Completed in 1578, the book was in part
- Li Shijen (Chinese scholar)
Li Shizhen was a Chinese scholar of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) who compiled a highly influential materia medica, the Bencao gangmu (Compendium of Materia Medica), which described 1,892 drugs and presented directions for preparing some 11,000 prescriptions. Completed in 1578, the book was in part
- Li Shimin (emperor of Tang dynasty)
Taizong was the temple name (miaohao) of the second emperor (reigned 626–649) of the Tang dynasty (618–907) of China. Li Shimin was the second son of the dynastic founder, the Gaozu emperor. Traditional historians have portrayed him as the driving force behind his father’s uprising against the
- Li Shizhen (Chinese scholar)
Li Shizhen was a Chinese scholar of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) who compiled a highly influential materia medica, the Bencao gangmu (Compendium of Materia Medica), which described 1,892 drugs and presented directions for preparing some 11,000 prescriptions. Completed in 1578, the book was in part
- Li Si (Chinese statesman)
Li Si was a Chinese statesman who utilized the ruthless but efficient ideas of the political philosophy of Legalism to weld the warring Chinese states of his time into the first centralized Chinese empire, ruled by the Qin dynasty (221–207 bce). In 247 bce he entered the state of Qin to begin
- Li Sixun (Chinese painter)
Li Sixun was a Chinese painter who was later seen as the chief exponent of a decoratively coloured landscape style of the Tang dynasty and as the founder of the so-called Northern school of professional painters. Li was related to the Tang imperial family, led an active political life including
- Li Ssu (Chinese statesman)
Li Si was a Chinese statesman who utilized the ruthless but efficient ideas of the political philosophy of Legalism to weld the warring Chinese states of his time into the first centralized Chinese empire, ruled by the Qin dynasty (221–207 bce). In 247 bce he entered the state of Qin to begin
- Li Ssu-hsün (Chinese painter)
Li Sixun was a Chinese painter who was later seen as the chief exponent of a decoratively coloured landscape style of the Tang dynasty and as the founder of the so-called Northern school of professional painters. Li was related to the Tang imperial family, led an active political life including
- Li T’ai-kuo (British diplomat)
Horatio Nelson Lay was a British diplomat who organized the Maritime Customs Bureau for the Chinese government in 1855. In 1854 the Taiping Rebellion had cut off the Chinese trading city of Shanghai from the capital, Beijing, and, because the Western powers in Shanghai were required by treaty to
- Li T’ang (Chinese painter)
Li Tang was a major Chinese painter who lived during both the Northern and the Southern Song dynasties and established a style of painting that became the base for the academy-style landscape of the Southern Song. He earned the highest rank in the academy of painting of Emperor Huizong, and, after
- Li T’ieh-kuai (Chinese religious figure)
Li Tieguai, in Chinese religion, one of the Baxian, the Eight Immortals. He was an ascetic for 40 years, often foregoing food and sleep, until Laozi (also surnamed Li) agreed to return to earth and instruct his fellow clansman on worldly vanities. Returning one day from a celestial visit to his
- Li T’ung (Chinese philosopher)
Zhu Xi: Life: …Tongan, Zhu Xi called on Li Tong, a thinker in the tradition of Song Confucianism who decisively influenced his future thinking. He visited Li again in 1158 and spent several months studying with him in 1160. Li was one of the ablest followers of the 11th-century neo-Confucians who had created…
- Li Ta-chao (Chinese communist)
Li Dazhao was a cofounder of the Chinese Communist Party and mentor of Mao Zedong. After studying at Tianjin and at Waseda University in Tokyo, Li became an editor for Xinqingnian (“New Youth”), the principal journal of the new Western-oriented literary and cultural movements. In 1918 he was
- Li Taibai (Chinese poet)
Li Bai was a Chinese poet who rivaled Du Fu for the title of China’s greatest poet. Li Bai liked to regard himself as belonging to the imperial family, but he actually belonged to a less exalted family of the same surname. At age 24 he left home for a period of wandering, after which he married and
- Li Taiguo (British diplomat)
Horatio Nelson Lay was a British diplomat who organized the Maritime Customs Bureau for the Chinese government in 1855. In 1854 the Taiping Rebellion had cut off the Chinese trading city of Shanghai from the capital, Beijing, and, because the Western powers in Shanghai were required by treaty to
- Li Tang (Chinese painter)
Li Tang was a major Chinese painter who lived during both the Northern and the Southern Song dynasties and established a style of painting that became the base for the academy-style landscape of the Southern Song. He earned the highest rank in the academy of painting of Emperor Huizong, and, after
- Li Tieguai (Chinese religious figure)
Li Tieguai, in Chinese religion, one of the Baxian, the Eight Immortals. He was an ascetic for 40 years, often foregoing food and sleep, until Laozi (also surnamed Li) agreed to return to earth and instruct his fellow clansman on worldly vanities. Returning one day from a celestial visit to his
- Li Tong (Chinese philosopher)
Zhu Xi: Life: …Tongan, Zhu Xi called on Li Tong, a thinker in the tradition of Song Confucianism who decisively influenced his future thinking. He visited Li again in 1158 and spent several months studying with him in 1160. Li was one of the ablest followers of the 11th-century neo-Confucians who had created…
- Li Tsung-jen (Chinese official)
China: Communist victory: Li Tsung-jen (Li Zongren), the problem of holding the government together and trying to negotiate a peace with Mao Zedong. Li’s peace negotiations (February–April) proved hopeless. The Nationalists were not prepared to surrender; they still claimed to govern more than half of China and still…
- Li Tzu-ch’eng (Chinese rebel)
Li Zicheng was a Chinese rebel leader who dethroned Chongzhen, the last emperor of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). A local village leader, Li joined the rebel cause in 1630 following a great famine that had caused much unrest in the northern part of the country. He made his headquarters in the
- Li Xian (emperor of Tang dynasty)
Ruizong: …made Wuhou’s heir, his brother Zhongzong, under the domination of a clique of court officials, succeeded to the throne in 705, after a palace coup overthrew the empress. A further coup led by Ruizong’s son put Ruizong back on the throne in 710. He ruled for two years before abdicating…
- Li Xiannian (president of China)
Li Xiannian was a Chinese politician, one of the eight “revolutionary elders” and a leftist hard-liner who opposed economic reform. Li, a member of the Chinese Communist Party by 1927, was a veteran of the Long March (1934–35), having served as army captain and political commissar. He became
- Li Xiucheng (Chinese general)
Li Xiucheng was a Chinese general and leader of the Taiping Rebellion, the giant religious-political uprising that occupied most of South China between 1850 and 1864. After 1859, when the Taipings were beset by internal dissension, poor leadership, and corruption, Li’s military and administrative
- Li Yaotang (Chinese author)
Ba Jin was a Chinese anarchist writer whose novels and short stories achieved widespread popularity in the 1930s and ’40s. Having been born to a wealthy gentry family, Li Yaotang received a traditional Confucian education as well as training in modern foreign languages and literatures. While in
- Li Ye (Chinese mathematician)
Li Ye was a Chinese mathematician and scholar-official who contributed to the solution of polynomial equations in one variable. Li passed the mandarin jinshi examination (the highest scholar-official title in imperial China) in prose literature at the late age of 38. He was appointed to the
- Li Yeh (Chinese mathematician)
Li Ye was a Chinese mathematician and scholar-official who contributed to the solution of polynomial equations in one variable. Li passed the mandarin jinshi examination (the highest scholar-official title in imperial China) in prose literature at the late age of 38. He was appointed to the
- Li Yi (Chinese musician)
sanxian: …musicians Bai Fengyan (1899–1975) and Li Yi (b. 1932) made the sanxian popular as a solo instrument.
- Li Yi’an (Chinese poet)
Li Qingzhao was China’s greatest woman poet, whose work, though it survives only in fragments, continues to be as highly regarded as it was in her own day. Li Qingzhao was born into a literary family and produced well-regarded poetry while still a teenager. In 1101 she married Zhao Mingcheng, a
- Li Yishan (Chinese poet)
Li Shangyin was a Chinese poet remembered for his elegance and obscurity. A member of a family of minor officials, Li Shangyin pursued a generally unsuccessful career as a government official, composing poetry during and between his various posts. Until the second half of the 20th century little of
- Li Yongfang (Chinese commander)
Nurhachi: …was captured when its commander, Li Yongfang, defected to the Manchu side. This defection was possible only because the Chinese official saw in the Manchu system the opportunity of serving a Manchu ruler without abandoning his Chinese cultural and political experience. He was only the first of a number of…
- Li Yongshun (Chinese artist)
Li Keran was a painter and art educator who was a prominent figure in 20th-century Chinese art. He developed a personal style of landscape painting that was based upon the emulation of both ancient and contemporary masters. Li showed a gift for painting, calligraphy, and music as a child. When he
- Li Youcai banhua (work by Zhao Shuli)
Chinese literature: 1949–76: …early stories, such as “Li Youcai banhua” (“The Rhymes of Li Youcai”), were models of proletarian literature, both in form and in content. As the civil war neared its conclusion, novels of land reform, such as Ding Ling’s prizewinning Taiyang zhao zai Sangganhe shang (1949; The Sun Shines over…
- Li Yu (Chinese poet and ruler)
Li Yu was a Chinese poet and the last ruler of the Nan (Southern) Tang dynasty (937–975). Li Yu succeeded his poet father, Li Jing, as ruler in 961. His country was invaded in 974 by Taizu, founder of the Song dynasty (960–1279). When Li Yu’s capital, Jinling, fell the next year, he surrendered and
- Li Yü (Chinese poet and ruler)
Li Yu was a Chinese poet and the last ruler of the Nan (Southern) Tang dynasty (937–975). Li Yu succeeded his poet father, Li Jing, as ruler in 961. His country was invaded in 974 by Taizu, founder of the Song dynasty (960–1279). When Li Yu’s capital, Jinling, fell the next year, he surrendered and
- Li Yuan (emperor of Tang dynasty)
Gaozu was the founder and first emperor (618–626) of the Tang dynasty (618–907). Although Gaozu claimed to be of Chinese descent, his family was intermarried with nomadic tribes of North China. As an official of the Sui dynasty (581–618), Li Yuan was expected to suppress peasant revolts and prevent
- Li Yüan-hao (emperor of Xi Xia)
Li Yuanhao was the leader of the Tangut (Chinese: Dangxiang) tribes, a people who inhabited the northwestern region of China in what are now parts of Gansu and Shaanxi provinces and the Ningxia Hui and Inner Mongolia autonomous regions. Li founded the Xia (or Daxia) dynasty (1038–1227), usually
- Li Yüan-hung (Chinese leader)
Li Yuanhong was the only president of the Republic of China at Beijing who served for two terms. In 1911 Li was a divisional commander in the army and was stationed in the city of Wuhan (Hubei province), where the anti-imperialist Chinese Revolution of 1911–12 erupted among army units. The
- Li Yuanhao (emperor of Xi Xia)
Li Yuanhao was the leader of the Tangut (Chinese: Dangxiang) tribes, a people who inhabited the northwestern region of China in what are now parts of Gansu and Shaanxi provinces and the Ningxia Hui and Inner Mongolia autonomous regions. Li founded the Xia (or Daxia) dynasty (1038–1227), usually
- Li Yuanhong (Chinese leader)
Li Yuanhong was the only president of the Republic of China at Beijing who served for two terms. In 1911 Li was a divisional commander in the army and was stationed in the city of Wuhan (Hubei province), where the anti-imperialist Chinese Revolution of 1911–12 erupted among army units. The
- Li Yuchun (Chinese singer and actor)
Li Yuchun is a Chinese singer and actress who became one of the country’s top pop stars after winning a nationally televised talent contest in 2005. Li (who calls herself Chris Lee or Chris Li in English) was born and raised in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province in southern China. The daughter of
- Li Yunhe (Chinese politician)
Jiang Qing was the third wife of Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong and the most influential woman in the People’s Republic of China for a while until her downfall in 1976, after Mao’s death. As a member of the Gang of Four she was convicted in 1981 of “counter-revolutionary crimes” and
- Li Zhaodao (Chinese painter)
jinbi shanshui: …Li Sixun and his son Li Zhaodao, who was said to have changed his father’s style, even surpassed it, and who spurred an interest in seascapes. This style was also employed by some conservative artists of later centuries such as the Song painters Zhao Boju and Zhao Bosu and the…
- Li Zhi (emperor of Tang dynasty)
Gaozong was the temple name (miaohao) of the third emperor of the Tang dynasty and husband of the empress Wuhou. During his 34-year reign (649–683) he expanded the Tang empire into Korea. In 649 Gaozong succeeded his father, the Taizong emperor. He continued his father’s foreign campaigns,
- Li Zhi (Chinese monk)
Confucianism: Confucian learning in Jin, Yuan, and Ming: …like-minded, and the radical individualist Li Zhi (1527–1602), who proposed to reduce all human relationships to friendship, broadened Confucianism to accommodate a variety of lifestyles.
- Li Zhi (Chinese mathematician)
Li Ye was a Chinese mathematician and scholar-official who contributed to the solution of polynomial equations in one variable. Li passed the mandarin jinshi examination (the highest scholar-official title in imperial China) in prose literature at the late age of 38. He was appointed to the
- Li Zhizao (Chinese mathematician and astronomer)
Li Zhizao was a Chinese mathematician, astronomer, and geographer whose translations of European scientific books greatly contributed to the spread of Western science in China. Originally from a military family, Li was made a jinshi (the highest scholar-official title in imperial China) in 1598. In
- Li Zicheng (Chinese rebel)
Li Zicheng was a Chinese rebel leader who dethroned Chongzhen, the last emperor of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). A local village leader, Li joined the rebel cause in 1630 following a great famine that had caused much unrest in the northern part of the country. He made his headquarters in the
- Li Zitong (Chinese rebel)
China: Early Tang (618–626): …was occupied by another rebel, Li Zitong, based in Zhejiang. He too was decisively defeated near present-day Nanjing at the end of 621. As had been the case with Xiao Xian’s dominions, the southeast was incorporated into the Tang empire with a minimum of fighting and resistance. A last southern…
- Li Zongren (Chinese official)
China: Communist victory: Li Tsung-jen (Li Zongren), the problem of holding the government together and trying to negotiate a peace with Mao Zedong. Li’s peace negotiations (February–April) proved hopeless. The Nationalists were not prepared to surrender; they still claimed to govern more than half of China and still…
- Li’l Abner (comic strip by Capp)
Li’l Abner, American newspaper comic strip that ran from 1934 until 1977, chronicling the absurdities of daily life in the fictional Appalachian town of Dogpatch. Li’l Abner was created in 1934 by cartoonist Al Capp. The comic strip abounded in stereotypes of Appalachia. Its title character, Abner
- Li’l Folks (comic strip by Schulz)
Peanuts, long-running comic strip drawn and authored by Charles Schulz. First published in 1947 under the name Li’l Folks, the strip, renamed Peanuts in 1950, featured a cast of children led by Charlie Brown, Schulz’s alter ego in the strip. On the surface, Peanuts did not differ radically from
- Li, Chris (Chinese singer and actor)
Li Yuchun is a Chinese singer and actress who became one of the country’s top pop stars after winning a nationally televised talent contest in 2005. Li (who calls herself Chris Lee or Chris Li in English) was born and raised in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province in southern China. The daughter of
- Li, Fei-Fei (Chinese-American computer scientist)
Fei-Fei Li is a Chinese American computer scientist widely known as the “Godmother of AI” for her groundbreaking work in computer vision, which serves as a foundation for many image-recognition artificial intelligence (AI) systems. Li was born to Kuang Ying, a secondary-school teacher, and Li Sun,
- Li, Jet (Chinese actor)
Jet Li is a Chinese film actor noted for his superlative martial arts skills and for his portrayals of virtuous, humble heroes. In 1971 Li entered a summer sports program and was randomly assigned to a wushu (martial arts) class. At the age of nine, he received an award at the first wushu
- li-chia (Chinese social system)
lijia, system of social organization in Ming dynasty China. See
- li-chin (Chinese tax)
likin, special tax paid by merchants and traders in mid-19th-century China. Likin (“a tax of one-thousandth”) was levied on goods in transit or as a sales tax in shops where goods were sold. The tax originated in 1853 in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu as a method of financing troops to aid
- li-ding (Chinese vessel)
ding: …of the ding include the li-ding, which has a slight swelling of the bowl as it joins each of the legs (similar in effect to the li), and the fang-ding, which, however illogical, is a “square tripod,” with a square or rectangular box resting on four legs. The characteristic decoration…
- Li-fan Yüan (Chinese government bureau)
Lifan Yuan, government bureau established in the 17th century by China’s Qing (Manchu) dynasty to handle relations with the peoples of Inner Asia. It signified the growing interest of China in Central Asia. The office appointed governors to supervise Chinese territory in Central Asia and Tibet,
- Li-Fournier Convention (Chinese history)
Sino-French War: The subsequent Li–Fournier Convention called for the admittance of French trade through the Tonkin area, the withdrawal of Chinese troops from the area, and the recognition of French rights in Tonkin. In return, China was not required to pay any indemnity. Meanwhile, the war party again became…
- Li-hsien Chiang (river, Asia)
Black River, one of the chief tributaries of the Red River (Song Hong) in southeastern Asia. Nearly 500 miles (800 km) long, the river rises in central Yunnan province in southwestern China and flows southeastward into northwestern Vietnam on a course parallel to the Red River. Near the city of Hoa
- Li–Itō Convention (Japanese and Chinese history)
Korea: Opening the door: …to the signing of the Li-Itō Convention, designed to guarantee a Sino-Japanese balance of power on the Korean Peninsula.
- Li-ma-tou (Italian Jesuit missionary)
Matteo Ricci was an Italian Jesuit missionary who introduced Christian teaching to the Chinese empire in the 16th century. He lived there for nearly 30 years and was a pioneer in the attempt at mutual comprehension between China and the West. By adopting the language and culture of the country, he
- li-shu (Chinese script)
lishu, in Chinese calligraphy, a style that may have originated in the brush writing of the later Zhou and Qin dynasties (c. 300–200 bc); it represents a more informal tradition than the zhuanshu (“seal script”), which was more suitable for inscriptions cast in the ritual bronzes. While examples of
- LIA (geochronology)
Little Ice Age (LIA), climate interval that occurred from the early 14th century through the mid-19th century, when mountain glaciers expanded at several locations, including the European Alps, New Zealand, Alaska, and the southern Andes, and mean annual temperatures across the Northern Hemisphere
- Lia (biblical figure)
Leah, in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), primarily in Genesis, first wife of Jacob (later Israel) and the traditional ancestor of 5 of the 12 tribes of Israel. Leah was the mother of six of Jacob’s sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, and Judah; Judah was the ancestor of King David and,