| Li Family Name |
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 李; Lǐ |
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| Meaning | Plum |
| Popularity | Behind the Name |
| Wikipedia articles | All pages beginning with Li |
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This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters. |
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For other family names romanized as Li, see Li (family name).
Li (Chinese: 李; pinyin: Lǐ; Hangul: 이, Lee) is a family name of Chinese origin. It is the most widespread surname in China, with about 7.9 percent of the Chinese population possessing this family name (surname, last name). As of 2002, there were approximately 103 million people in China and 108 million worldwide with this surname. To date, this remains the world's most common family name. 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 were 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. There are numerous regional Chinese pronunciations of 李 e.g. Lì (Sichuan), Lei5 (Cantonese) etc.
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History
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 Zhuanzu who was the first Li and lived before 2000 BC. 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 618 to 906 A.D. In their dynasty, 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 Zhuanzu 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. This distinguished the "true" Li's from the other families with the name as they were born with perfect feet.
Chinese
Prominent people with family name 李
(within each category, in alphabetical order by given name)
Government, politics, military
- Li Ao, Taiwanese writer, ROC legislator
- Li Changchun, member of the Chinese Communist Party Politburo
- Li Guofan, politician
- Li Hongzhang, (1823 – 1901), general and government minister during Ching Dynasty
- Li Lu, businessman, dissident, former student protestor
- Li Peng, former Premier of the People's Republic of China (1987-1998)
- Li Ruihuan, PRC politician
- Li Si, prime minister of the Qin dynasty
- Lee Teng-hui, former President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) (1988-2000)
- Tien-Min Li, ROC legislator and historian
- Li Zicheng, Ming rebel
- The Li royals of the Tang Dynasty
- Lee Kuan Yew, former Prime Minister of Singapore (1959 to 1990)
Entertainment
- Lee, Ang, acclaimed Academy Awards winning film director
- Lee, Brandon, actor, son of Bruce Lee
- Lee, Bruce, martial arts practitioner, actor
- Lee, Dick, Singapore born entertainer now based at Japan
- Herman Li, Guitarist from DragonForce, known for his signature speed and video game-influanced sounds
- Li Han Hsiang, Chinese film director
- Li Lianjie, known as Jet Li, (born 1963), Chinese martial arts practitioner, actor
- Li Yong, Chinese television host
- Li, Yundi, pianist, and the youngest to win the International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition.
Literature, writing, journalism
- Li Bai (701 – 762), Tang Dynasty poet
- Li Hou Zhu also known as Li Yu (931 – 978), poet and last ruler of the Southern Tang kingdom
- Li Qingzhao (1084 – ca. 1151), Soong Dynasty writer and poet regarded by many as the premier woman poet in the Chinese language
- Li Shangyin (between 810 and 813 – 858), Tang dynasty poet
- Li Yu (born 1610), author, dramatist, producer, director and book-shop owner in the Kiangsu province of China
Business
- Lee, Kai-Fu, founding president of Google China
- Lee Shau Kee, Hong Kong billionaire businessman
- Li Kwok-po, David GBS, JP, OBE, Chairman and Chief Executive of the Bank of East Asia in Hong Kong
- Li Ka Shing, prominent Hong Kong businessman
- Li, Richard, Chairman and Executive Director of PCCW and son of Li Ka Shing
- Li, Victor, Hong Kong businessman and son of Li Ka Shing
- Lee, Ki Young, construction CEO in South Korea, one of 200 most prominent person in his time
Scholars, academics, scientists
- Professor Arthur Li, eminent surgeon and former Vice-Chancellor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, brother of David Li
- Li, Choh-Ming (1912 – 1991), Hong Kong economist and educator
- Li Er, philosopher during Zhou Dynasty
- Lee, Junlong, scholar
- Li, Roland, scholar
- Lee, Stephen W., scholar
- Tsung-dao Lee, physicist
- Lee, Wen Ho, Chinese-American physicist
- Lee, Yuan T., chemist
- Lee, Ki Young, construction CEO in South Korea, one of 200 most prominent person in his time
Other
- Li Cairong, a woman who lived longer than 100 years
- Li Hongzhi (李洪志), founder of Falun Gong
- Li Huirong, Chinese long and triple jumper
- Li Shizhen (李時珍), (1518 – 1593), called one of the greatest physicians and pharmacologists in Chinese history, Ming dynasty
- Lee, Witness, Christian minister
- Li Yu, Chinese Olympic speed skater.
- Lee, Laurance H., peace maker of the free world
Fictional characters with family name 李
- Lee Bailong of Shaman King
- Lee Diendou of Fighter's History
- Li Kohran of Sakura Wars
- Meiling Li, Syaoran Li, and Yelan Li of Cardcaptor Sakura
- Jenrya Li or Li Jianliang (Henry Wong) and Shuichon Li or Li Xiaochun (Suzie Wong) of Digimon Tamers
- Li Xiangying of Angel Heart
- Lenalee and Komui Lee of D.Gray-man
- Li Xiaoyao of Xianjian Qixia Zhuan
- Lee, in the novel East of Eden by John Steinbeck
