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Li Shizeng

Chinese educator, esperantist and politician (1881-1973)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 18, 2026
Entity authorityQ511775 ↗
Source-derived summary

Li Shizeng (Chinese: 李石曾; pinyin: Lǐ Shízēng; Wade–Giles: Li3 Shih2-tseng1; 29 May 1881 – 30 September 1973), born Li Yuying, was a Chinese educator, promoter of anarchist doctrines, political activist, and member of the Chinese Nationalist Party in early Republican China.

After coming to Paris in 1902, Li took a graduate degree in chemistry and biology, and then along with Wu Zhihui and Zhang Renjie, cofounded the Chinese anarchist movement. He was a supporter of Sun Yat-sen. He organized cultural exchange between France and China, established the first factory in Europe to manufacture and sell beancurd, and created Diligent Work-Frugal Study programs which brought Chinese students to France for work in factories. In the 1920s, Li, Zhang, Wu, and Cai Yuanpei were known as the anti-communist "Four Elders" of the Chinese Nationalist Party.

Youth and early career

Though his family was from Gaoyang County, Zhili, Li was brought up in Beijing. His father was Li Hongzao. Li studied foreign languages. When Li Hongzao died in 1897, the government rewarded his sons with ranks which entitled them to hold middle-level office. The title for this ranking was known as Lung-Chang.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Li Shizeng” as chinese educator, esperantist and politician (1881-1973). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Shizeng, Chinese and educator.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1881, 1973, 1902, 1897—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1881-05-29. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Shizeng, Chinese and educator providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Li Shizeng”, the useful work is to connect “chinese educator, esperantist and politician (1881-1973)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q511775. VIAF identifies the subject as 77683936. The Library of Congress control number is n83024786. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1881, 1973, 1902 and 1897.

Critical limits

Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Li Shizeng”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Li Shizeng primary sources, Li Shizeng archive and Shizeng research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Li Shizeng”?
  2. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
  3. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Li Shizeng” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.