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Li / Lee
Family name
李
Pronunciation	Lǐ, Lee (Mandarin) Lí (Hokkien) Lei (Cantonese) Lý (Vietnamese) Lee (Korean)
Meaning	Plum[citation needed]
Region of origin	China[citation needed]
Language(s) of origin	Chinese

This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

Li or Lee (Chinese: 李; pinyin: Lǐ; Hangul: 이/리) is a family name of Chinese origin.

It is a widespread surname in China, with about 7.9 percent of the Chinese population possessing this family name. Li is the most common surname for the Hakka Chinese (2007).^[1] A Korean surname that uses the same Chinese character, which is often romanized as Lee, is the second most common Korean surname, after Kim. Both the Korean family name Lee and the Vietnamese family name Lý was derived from the same Chinese character as the Chinese surname.

In Taiwan and Hong Kong, and in many overseas Chinese communities, the spelling Lee is common. In Indonesia, the spelling Lie is used because of Dutch writing system influence. There are numerous regional Chinese pronunciations of 李 e.g. Lì (Sichuan), Lei5 (Cantonese), etc.

History[link]

According to the Yuan He Xing Zuan (元和姓纂), the Chinese dictionary of surnames, the Li surname has a long history which goes back to Emperor Zhuanxu who was the first Li and lived before 2000 BC.^{[citation needed][dubious – discuss]}

Li was the royal surname of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). About 15 different emperors had the Li surname. Li Yuan was the founder of the Tang Dynasty, which lasted from AD 618 to 907. During this time, Chinese culture and arts flourished and the country prospered tremendously.

A legend about the Li family is that those who are the directly descended from rebel Emperor Zhuanxu have a genetic trait noticeable in their feet. The last toe on each foot would be pointing inward a little rather than being straight like the rest of the toes. In addition, the nail on this foot has two sections, with one section appearing to override the other. This distinguishes the "true" Lis from the other families with the name as they were born with perfect feet.

The family of Chinese leader Mao Zedong seems to have had a special fondness for the Li family name. Mao himself went by the name Li Desheng for a period of time during the Long March, while his daughters are named Li Min and Li Na, while Jiang Qing, his last wife, used the name Li Runqing in her final years. Mao Yuanxin was named Li Shi while working in a factory after his release from prison.

People[link]

• Christopher Lee, Singaporean actor
• Li Cairong, a woman who lived longer than 100 years
• Li Cunxin, dancer
• Li Hongzhi, founder of Falun Gong
• Li Huirong, Chinese long and triple jumper
• Li Shizhen, Ming dynasty physician and pharmacologist
• Li Yingshi, Chinese author
• Lý Thái Tổ, Vietnamese emperor who founded Lý D‎ynasty and established the city of Hanoi in 1010
• Susur Lee, chef
• Witness Lee, Christian minister
• Richard Ly, Founder of Babou
• Simon Ly, Founder of Simtoon (Epic Boss from Sydney)
• Li Ping, mathematician

Government, politics, military[link]

• Andrew Li, CBE, GBM, JP, Hong Kong's first Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal
• Lee Hsien Loong, current Prime Minister of Singapore
• Lee Kuan Yew, former Prime Minister of Singapore
• Lee Teng-hui, former President of Taiwan
• Li Ao, Taiwanese writer, ROC legislator
• Li Changchun, member of the CCP Politburo
• Li Dazhao, co-founder of the CPC
• Li Guofan, politician
• Li Hongzhang, Qing Dynasty statesman and military general
• Li Hua, government official, Guangdong Province, PRC.
• Li Lu, businessman, dissident, former student protestor
• Li Peng, former Premier of the People's Republic of China
• Li Ruihuan, PRC politician
• Li Rusong, Ming Dynasty military commander
• Li Si, Chancellor of the Qin Dynasty
• Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of Tang
  • Li imperial clan of the Tang Dynasty
• Li Tien-Min, ROC legislator and historian
• Li Xiannian, former President of the People's Republic of China
• Li Zicheng, Ming Dynasty rebel leader
• Li Zongren, vice-president and acting president of the Republic of China, general
• Seang Le, President of MPSA 2011
• Caleb James Shang, DCM & Bar, MM, Australian Imperial Force. The most decorated Chinese Australian soldier, the son of Lee Wah-shang of Guangdong, China.

Entertainment[link]

• Ang Lee, Taiwanese film director
• Angelica Lee, Malaysian Chinese film actress and pop singer
• Brandon Lee, Chinese-American actor
• Bruce Lee, Chinese-American martial artist, actor
• Coco Lee, Chinese-American singer and actress
• Danny Lee Sau-Yin, Hong Kong actor
• Dick Lee, Japanese-based Singaporean entertainer
• Hacken Lee, Hong Kong-based Cantopop singer and lyricist, actor
• Herman Li, guitarist from DragonForce
• Lee Hyori, Famous Singer/Performer in South Korea
• Jet Li, Chinese martial artist, actor
• Leanne Li, Miss Chinese Vancouver 2004 winner, Miss Chinese International 2005 winner, Hong Kong actress
• Lee Jin-Ki, Famous Singer, member of Korean boy band group SHINee (also known as Onew)
• Lee Soon-kyu, Famous Singer, member of Korean girl group Girls' Generation (also known as Sunny)
• Lee Jun Ho, Famous Singer, member of Korean boy band group 2PM
• Lee Chang-Min, Famous Ballad Singer, member of Korean boy band group 2AM
• Lee San-San, 1996 Miss Hong Kong Pageant winner
• Lee Tae Min, Famous Singer and member of Korean boy band group SHINee
• Levy Li, Miss Malaysia Universe 2008
• Li Bingbing, Chinese actress
• Li Han Hsiang, Chinese film director
• Li Ning, Chinese Olympic gymnast and entrepreneur
• Li Yong, Chinese television host
• Li Yundi, pianist

Literature, writing, journalism[link]

• Li Bai, Tang Dynasty poet
• Li Qingzhao, Song Dynasty female writer and poet
• Li Shangyin, Tang dynasty poet
• Li Yu, (aka Li Houzhu), poet and last ruler of the Southern Tang kingdom
• Li Yu, author, dramatist, producer, director and bookshop owner

Business[link]

• David Li, GBS, JP, OBE, Chairman and Chief Executive of the Bank of East Asia in Hong Kong
• Lee Hsien Yang, chairman of Fraser and Neave Limited
• Lee Kai-Fu, founding president of Google China
• Lee Shau Kee, Hong Kong billionaire businessman
• Li Ka Shing, prominent Hong Kong billionaire businessman
• Li Ning, former Olympic gymnast turned entrepreneur, founder and current chairman of Li-Ning Company Limited
• Martin Lee, vice-chairman and managing director of Henderson Land Development
• Lee Xi Wen, Malaysia businessman
• Richard Li, Chairman and Executive Director of PCCW
• Victor Li, Hong Kong businessman
• Lee Kong Chian, one of the founders of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation and its chairman from 1938 until his death in 1967.^[2]

Scholars, academics, scientists[link]

• Arthur Li, surgeon and former Vice-Chancellor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong
• Henry Chang-Yu Lee, forensic scientist
• Lee Tsung-dao, Nobel physicist
• Lee Wen Ho, Chinese-American physicist
• Lee Yuan T., Taiwan Nobel chemist (was US citizen when receiving Nobel Prize).
• Yuk-Wing Lee, MIT professor of Electrical Engineering
• Li Choh-Ming, Hong Kong economist and educator
• Li Er (aka Laozi), Zhou Dynasty philosopher
• Li Fuk, executive manager in the U.S. Space Program
• Yueh-Ting Lee, Social psychologist
• Gary Yia Lee, Hmong anthropologist
• Li Lei, Genetic Scientist
• Li Xiang, Cluster Chemist
• Li Zehou, contemporary scholar and academic, critic of the P.R.C.

Sport[link]

• Li Na, professional tennis player
• Lee Chong Wei, professional badminton player

Fictional people[link]

• Lee Bailong, Shaman King character
• Lee Diendou, Fighter's History character
• Li Kohran, Sakura Wars character
• Meiling Li; Syaoran Li; Yelan Li, Cardcaptor Sakura characters
• Li Xiangying, Angel Heart character
• Li Ren, Hanasakeru Seishounen characters
• Lenalee; Komui Lee, D.Gray-man characters
• Li Xiaoyao, Chinese Paladin character
• Lee, East of Eden character
• Miss Lee, Missee Lee character
• Li Kouyuu, Saiunkoku Monogatari character
• Rock Lee, Naruto character
• Li Mei, Mortal Combat character

References[link]

External links[link]

• Chinese Li surname history

See also[link]

China portal

• Lì (利)
• Lí (黎)
• Lee (Korean name)

This page or section lists people with the surname Lǐ (李). If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.

Li Zhong (李忠) (643 – January 6, 665^[1]), courtesy name Zhengben (正本), formally Prince of Yan (燕王), was a crown prince of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. He was the oldest son of Emperor Gaozong (Li Zhi) and was created crown prince in 652 even though he was not the son of his then-wife Empress Wang. After Empress Wang was displaced by Empress Wu (later known as Wu Zetian) in 655, however, Li Zhong was caught in Empress Wu's crosshairs and was forced the yield the crown prince position to his younger brother Li Hong, born of Empress Wu, in 656. He was later further reduced to commoner rank and put under house arrest, and when the chancellor Shangguan Yi failed in his attempt to persuade Emperor Gaozong to depose Empress Wu in 664 and was executed, Empress Wu took the opportunity to accuse Li Zhong of being complicit in Shangguan's plans. Around the new year 665, Emperor Gaozong ordered Li Zhong to commit suicide. He was posthumously honored an imperial prince, but not a crown prince, during the second reign of his brother Emperor Zhongzong.

Background[link]

Li Zhong was born in 643, shortly after his father Li Zhi became crown prince under his grandfather Emperor Taizong. His mother was Consort Liu, who was of lowly birth. He was Li Zhi's oldest son, and Li Zhi convened a feast with his staff at Hongjiao Hall (弘教殿) to celebrate. Emperor Taizong personally attended as well and danced to celebrate the grandson's birth. In 646, Emperor Taizong created Li Zhong the Prince of Chen. After Emperor Taizong's death in 649, Li Zhi succeeded him (as Emperor Gaozong), and he made Li Zhong titular prefect of the capital prefecture, Yong Prefecture (雍州, roughly modern Xi'an, Shaanxi).

As crown prince[link]

Emperor Gaozong's wife and empress Empress Wang did not have a son, and her uncle, the chancellor Liu Shi suggested to her to have Li Zhong made crown prince, hoping that he would be grateful to her. Empress Wang agreed, and Liu Shi subsequently lobbied the other chancellors, including Emperor Gaozong's powerful uncle Zhangsun Wuji, into agreeing to and requesting the same. Emperor Gaozong agreed, and in 652, he created Li Zhong crown prince. The chancellors Yu Zhining, Zhang Xingcheng, and Gao Jifu took on additional titles as the young crown prince's advisors.

In 655, Empress Wang, due to false accusations of murder and witchcraft by Emperor Gaozong's concubine Consort Wu (later known as Wu Zetian), was deposed, and Consort Wu was created empress to replace her. Empress Wu had two sons of her own by this point, and the oldest, Li Hong, was three years old. Empress Wu's ally, the official Xu Jingzong, submitted a petition arguing that it should be the empress' son who is made crown prince. Emperor Gaozong agreed, and in spring 656, Li Zhong was deposed and reduced to the title of Prince of Liang. He was further removed from the capital, to serve as the prefect of Liang Prefecture (梁州, roughly modern Hanzhong, Shaanxi). Li Hong was created crown prince in his stead.

After removal[link]

Later in 656, Li Zhong was moved from Liang Prefecture to Fang Prefecture (房州, roughly modern Shiyan, Hubei). As he grew in age, he began fearful that he would be a target of Empress Wu, and he sometimes wore women's clothes to try to evade assassins and engaged fortunetellers to try to see his future. These acts were reported to Emperor Gaozong, and in 660, Emperor Gaozong reduced him to commoner rank and put under house arrest in Qian Prefecture (黔州, modern southeastern Chongqing), held at the same house that his uncle Li Chengqian, who had been crown prince before Emperor Gaozong, had been held after his removal in 643.

In 664, after the chancellor Shangguan Yi made an unsuccessful attempt to have Emperor Gaozong agree to have Empress Wu removed on account of her misbehavior, Empress Wu had Xu Jingzong accuse Shangguan Yi and the eunuch Wang Fusheng (王伏勝, who had reported Empress Wu's misbehavior to Emperor Gaozong), both of whom had previously served on Li Zhong's staff, of conspiring with Li Zhong to commit treason. On January 4, 665, Shangguan and Wang, as well as Shangguan's son Shangguan Tingzhi (上官庭芝) were executed, and two days later, on January 6, Emperor Gaozong ordered Li Zhong to commit suicide. Later in 665, at Li Hong's request, Li Zhong was given a proper burial. Decades later, after Empress Wu's death in 705, her son Emperor Zhongzong posthumoustly honored Li Zhong as the Prince of Yan, but not crown prince.

Titles[link]

• 646-652: His Imperial Highness The Prince of Chen
• 652-656: His Imperial Highness The Crown Prince
• 656-660: His Imperial Highness The Prince of Liang
• 660-664: Commoner
• Posthumous titles: His Imperial Highness The Prince of Yan

Ancestry[link]

Notes and references[link]

1. ^ 兩千年中西曆轉換

• Book of Tang, vol. 86.[1]
• New Book of Tang, vol. 81.[2]
• Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 199, 200, 201.

Li Qing (715-775), known as Li Mao (李瑁) from 725 and honored title Prince of Shou (壽王) was an Imperial Prince of Chinese Tang Dynasty, he was the eighteenth son of Emperor Xuanzong and his favorite concubine Consort Wu.

Biography[link]

In 733, Li Mao married the beautiful Yang Yuhuan (楊玉環), daughter of Yang Xuanyan (楊玄琰) who was census official at Shu Prefecture (蜀州, in modern Chengdu, Sichuan). After his mother's death, Yang Yuhuan came into Xuanzong's favor and the emperor decided to take her as his consort. However, since Princess Yang was already the wife of his son, Emperor Xuanzong stealthily arranged for her to become a Taoist nun with the tonsured name Taizhen in order to prevent criticisms that would affect his plan of making her his concubine. Yang then stayed, for a brief while, as a Taoist nun in the palace itself, before Emperor Xuanzong made her an imperial consort after bestowing his son Li Mao a new wife. Yang henceforth became the favorite consort of the emperor like Consort Wu before.

Ancestry[link]

References[link]

• New Book of Tang, vol. 76
• Book of Tang, vol. 107 and New Book of Tang, vol. 82.

Notes[link]

At First Sight is a 1999 American film starring Val Kilmer and Mira Sorvino, based on the essay To See and Not to See in neurologist Oliver Sacks' book An Anthropologist on Mars and inspired by the true life story of Shirl Jennings.

Plot[link]

Amy Benic (Mira Sorvino) takes a break from working as an architect at a spa in Pinecrest, a small town outside New York City. Virgil Adamson (Val Kilmer) is a masseur at the spa and gives Amy a massage. Amy breaks down and cries, later falling asleep as Virgil leaves the room. When she wakes up, she runs after him to compliment the massage, only to realize that Virgil is blind. Virgil asks her out, and the two eventually fall in love and begin a relationship.

Virgil lives alone, though his over-protective sister, Jennie (Kelly McGillis), who lives next door, takes care of him. During an intimate session with Amy, Virgil reveals that he went blind when he was three and that the last thing he saw was something fluffy. Amy describes the horizon to Virgil as something that you "can see but can never reach."

While researching Virgil's condition, Amy learns of Doctor Charles Aaron, a specialist in eye treatment who suggests to Virgil that, with surgery, he could restore his sight. Virgil refuses. To understand Virgil's reaction, Amy seeks out Jennie, who reveals that their father left the family years ago after putting Virgil through several kinds of treatment in an unsuccessful attempt to restore his sight.

After waking up with Amy one morning, Virgil decides he will give the operation a try. It is a success, but after Virgil regains sight for the first time, he becomes confused and disoriented, unable to perceive light and distance. Dr. Aaron suggests that he should visit Phil Webster (Nathan Lane), a visual physiotherapist. Webster in turn suggests that Virgil needs to learn everything from scratch himself, through experience.

Virgil and Amy begin living in New York City, with Virgil finding his feet with his new-found sight. The pair begin drifting apart, as Virgil finds it hard to decipher the look on Amy's face at times. Amy finds herself constantly having to explain basic things to Virgil. While at a party, Virgil sees Amy kiss her ex-husband for his birthday. While trying to leave the party, Virgil walks into a glass pane due to his poor perception.

Virgil's father sees him on television and arranges a reunion; Virgil goes to his father's workplace, but decides at the last minute that he cannot face him yet.

On one of the regular consultation visits with Webster, he brings Virgil to a strip club. They engage in a deep conversation, where Webster notes that instead of just "seeing," Virgil should instead "look;" there are a lot of things that sight alone cannot solve. Virgil confesses that he and Amy are drifting apart, but insists that Amy is the most important thing in his life.

Upon returning from a work trip to Atlanta, where she and her ex-husband shared a sensual moment, Amy decides to save the relationship. She finds Virgil in a park looking for "the horizon" in the city.

Virgil's sight begins deteriorating. He begins experiencing vision blackouts. After consulting with Dr. Aaron, Virgil realizes that he is losing his sight. He decides to look for his father. Virgil reveals to him that he is going blind again, and asks him why he left. His father tells him that he felt he was a failure when he did not find a way to help his son regain sight. Virgil states that he should not have left because his mother and sister suffered greatly after his father walked away.

Virgil looks for Amy, who tells him about her plans to travel with him to places like Egypt and Europe. Withholding the fact that he is again going blind, Virgil tells her there is one thing he really wants to see, and brings her to a New York Rangers game.

At the game, Virgil realizes that the "fluffy cloud" he last remembers seeing was cotton candy. As he buys some, he suffers a lengthened vision blackout and admits to Amy that he is going blind, which Amy refuses to accept. Back home, Virgil and Amy argue. He asks if she wants to spend her life with him if he is going to be blind forever. Amy hesitates, and Virgil decides to return home.

Virgil is welcomed by Jennie and eases back into his old way of life. While losing his sight, Virgil spends his remaining time with sight to look at as many things as possible, going through magazines and pictorial books in the library. He stays up to watch the sunset, seeing the horizon for the first and last time.

After he has been blind again for some time, Virgil is at a park with a guide dog. He takes a seat, finishes a sandwich, and tosses the wrapping into a bin. Amy has found him and says, "You missed." Virgil takes a moment then realizes it is Amy. She sits down and they reconnect; then she reveals that she finished a significant sculpture that he broke during their argument. Amy apologizes to Virgil for trying to change him and for moving too fast, which led to their problems together. Virgil puts his hands on Amy's face and touches her tenderly. She asks if he wants to take a walk and "see what they see." They leave the park together.

Cast[link]

• Mira Sorvino as Amy Benic
• Val Kilmer as Virgil Adamson
• Kelly McGillis as Jennie Adamson
• Steven Weber as Duncan Allanbrook
• Bruce Davison as Dr. Charles Aaron
• Nathan Lane as Phil Webster
• Drena De Niro as Caroline

Reception[link]

The film currently holds a "rotten" rating on the movie review site Rottentomatoes. However, 47% of people (non-critics) give it a positive review. The film and its plot are mentioned in the Friends episode, "The One with Rachel's Big Kiss," the character of Chandler Bing describes it as "a tutti-frutti love story where he [Val Kilmer] played a blind guy."

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: At First Sight

• At First Sight at the Internet Movie Database
• At First Sight at Rotten Tomatoes

Roman Tam, known by the stage name Lo Man (羅文), nickname Law Kee (蘿記), (16 February 1950 – 18 October 2002) was a renowned Hong Kong Cantopop singer. He is regarded as the "Godfather of Cantopop".^[1]

Career[link]

Tam was seen as a cultural icon to Chinese communities around the world (including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and, later Mainland China). He had a string of hits in a career spanning 30 years. He was well respected for his singing skills, his positive outlooks, and his insistence on correct pronunciations. He was also groundbreaking for being the first major Hong Kong singer to pose in drag and to pose in nude.

Born in Guangzhou, China with family roots in Guiping, Guangxi, he later immigrated to Hong Kong in 1962 at the age of 12. After forming a short-lived band known as Roman and the Four Steps,^[2] he became a contract singer under studios term at Television Broadcasts Limited. He briefly switched to Asia Television Ltd in the early 1990s.

During the 1990s he accepted many budding singers as his students. Some of which who became famous included Joey Yung and Ekin Cheng. He had sang many well known songs for various TV series including Below the Lion Rock and the 1982 TVB TV series The Legend of the Condor Heroes.

Tam was unmarried. He died in Hong Kong at Queen Mary Hospital from liver cancer. The title of "Godfather of Cantopop" was confirmed in his obituary.^[which?]

Collaborations[link]

Roman Tam counts Jenny Tseng as his dearest friend and best partner.^{[citation needed]} He recorded a series of duets with Jenny Tseng for the television drama hit "Legend of Condor Heroes." Jenny Tseng still pays tribute to Roman Tam during her concerts.^{[citation needed]}

References[link]

External links[link]

• BBC News Obituary