Li Shenzhi: An Autobiography and Collection of Articles

In my youth, I could only be a Communist.

In 1957, I could only be a Rightist.

In my later years, I could only be a liberal.

--Li Shenzhi

Li Shenzhi (August 15, 1923 - April 22, 2003) was a renowned liberal intellectual within the Chinese system. During his studies at Yenching University, he participated in organizing student movements against dictatorship and for democracy. After graduation, he joined Xinhua Daily and later worked for a long time in the International Department of Xinhua News Agency, accompanying Zhou Enlai multiple times to major international conferences and diplomatic visits. In 1957, he was "personally designated" as a Rightist for advocating "great democracy." After the reform and opening-up, he accompanied Deng Xiaoping and Zhao Ziyang on visits to the United States and was tasked with establishing the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of American Studies, serving as its first director. In 1989, Li Shenzhi was criticized again for his sympathy for the student movement, and the following year, he was removed from his position as Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, after which he began to write. He passed away in 2003.

Li Shenzhi is worth commemorating, not only for his tumultuous career as an official but more importantly for the dozens of articles he penned after leaving office. Li Shenzhi was a modern intellectual deeply influenced by traditional Chinese culture and profoundly yearned for spiritual freedom. In the last decade or so of his life, Li Shenzhi brought forth his accumulated knowledge, using his pen as a weapon to legitimize freedom, advocate for democracy, and champion enlightenment, thus writing the most brilliant chapter of his life.

The autobiographical section of Li Shenzhi in this book is compiled from autobiographies and self-criticisms in Li Shenzhi's archives, as well as accounts organized by others based on Li Shenzhi's self-descriptions. The collection of articles is either derived from articles and letters written by Li Shenzhi himself or from written records of interviews with Li Shenzhi conducted by others. Therefore, this book can be seen as Li Shenzhi's life story and spiritual autobiography.

出版日期/Publication Date：September 30, 2024
出版社/Publisher：1 Plus Books
出品方/Imprint:
页数/Page: 646