Li Shu-hua (, courtesy name: Runzhang 潤章, 23 September 1890 – 5 July 1979) was a Chinese biophysicist and politician. He was an educator, and administrator at Beijing University and a Chinese diplomat. He was the brother of Li Shu-tien. He went to France where he earned a doctorate in physics. In 1922 he returned to China where he worked at the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

and at the

Academia Sinica Academia Sinica (AS, ; zh, t=中央研究院) is the national academy of the Taiwan, Republic of China. It is headquartered in Nangang District, Taipei, Nangang, Taipei. Founded in Nanjing, the academy supports research activities in mathemat ...

. From 1935 to 1949 he was chairman of the Chinese delegation of the Commission Mixte des Oeuvres Franco-Chinoises.C. Martin Wilbur, ''Preface to The Reminiscences of Li Shu-Hua as told to Minta Chou Wang, 1960-61, as part of Columbia University'
Chinese Oral History Project
' In 1945 he was elected a member of the Central Executive Committee of the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

and participated in the conference for the founding of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

). In 1946, 1947, and 1949 he attended the general conferences of the UNESCO as a Chinese delegate; in 1952 he served as chairman of the Chinese delegation to the Seventh General Conference of UNESCO. In 1949 he returned to France where he did research work at the Universite de Paris. In the academic year of 1951–52 he taught Chinese language and culture at the

University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (, also referred to as UHH) is a public university, public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('':de:Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen, ...

in Germany. He relocated to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1953 and died of a heart attack there i
1979

Childhood and Education

Li Shu-hua was born in Qinhuangdao,

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

. As a youth he studied Chinese Classics with private tutors. In 1912 he graduated first in his class at Chihli Higher Agricultural School and received a government grant to study in France, where he participated in the Diligent Work-Frugal Study Movement.Li, Shu-Hua. ''The Reminiscences of Li Shu-Hua'' as told to Minta Chou Wang. Part of Columbia University'
Chinese Oral History Project
1961, p. 16. He studied under a number of renowned professors, among them Nobel laureates Paul Sabatier,

Gabriel Lippmann Gabriel Lippmann ( ; 16 August 1845 – 12 July 1921) was a French physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1908 "for his method of reproducing colours photographically based on the phenomenon of interference". Early life and educa ...

and

Marie Curie Maria Salomea Skłodowska-Curie (; ; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934), known simply as Marie Curie ( ; ), was a Polish and naturalised-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was List of female ...

. He also worked in the lab of Jean Perrin. Li received the certificate of Ingenieur Agricole from the

University of Toulouse The University of Toulouse (, ) is a community of universities and establishments ( ComUE) based in Toulouse, France. Originally it was established in 1229, making it one of the earliest universities to emerge in Europe. Suppressed during the ...

in 1918, and the degrees Licencie es Sciences Physiques and Docteur es Sciences Physiques from the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

in 1920 and 1922, respectively.

Politics

Three leaders of the

Tongmenghui The Tongmenghui of China was a secret society and underground resistance movement founded by Sun Yat-sen, Song Jiaoren, and others in Tokyo, Empire of Japan, on 20 August 1905, with the goal of overthrowing China's Qing dynasty. It was formed ...

lived as guests in the dormitory of the preparatory school Li attended prior to his studies in France. Once in France Li met and befriended Li Shizeng and

Wu Zhihui Wu Jingheng (), commonly known by his courtesy name Wu Zhihui (Woo Chih-hui, ; 1865–1953), also known as Wu Shi-Fee, was a Chinese linguist and philosopher who was the chairman of the 1912–13 Commission on the Unification of Pronunciatio ...

, two of the fiercely anti-communist "Four Elders" of the

Chinese Nationalist Party The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the sole ruling party of the country during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until its relocation to Taiwan, and in Taiwan ruled under ...

; Columbia University's Rare Book and Manuscript Library contains multiple volumes of his persona
correspondence
with them in Chinese. Li admired the President of Peking University (and another of the "Four Elders") Cai Yuanpei: "President Cai stood for academic freedom. The professors whom he engaged for Peking University ranged from one extreme to the other in political thinking. ..Li Shizeng advocated the theory of anarchism. President Cai himself believed in the doctrines of

Kropotkin Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin (9 December 1842 – 8 February 1921) was a Russian anarchist and geographer known as a proponent of anarchist communism. Born into an aristocratic land-owning family, Kropotkin attended the Page Corps and later ...

. In Peking University Mr. Cai adopted the policy of "university governed by professors". All of the important problems concerning the university were discussed in the ..Senate of university which was composed of a number of professors elected by and from among all professors." While Li's first allegiance was to science he also wrote about people, politics, and events. His ''Reminiscences'' includes the sections " Wu Chi-hui, Ts'ai Yuan-p'ei, Li Shi-tseng, and Chang Ching-chiang: Their Participation in the Revolution and Their Contributions to China" and "What I know about Li Ta-chao and Ch'en Tu-hsiu and the Early Development of Communism." Audi
recordings
of Li's reminiscences (in Chinese) are available online as part of Columbia University's Chinese Oral History project.

Career

Li Shu-hua returned to China in 1922 and served as professor of physics at

Peking University Peking University (PKU) is a Public university, public Types of universities and colleges in China#By designated academic emphasis, university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of the Peop ...

until 1930. He served concurrently as the acting president of the University Franco-Chinois in Peking (1926-1928) and then as acting president of Peiping University (1928-1929). In 1929, he became vice president of the National Academy of Peiping, a post he held until the takeover of the Communist Party forced its closing in 1949. Between 1930 and 1931 he concurrently served the

first as vice-minister and then as minister. He became a member of the Research Council,

in 1935 and was its director-general in 1943. He was twice elected chairman of the board of directors of the Chinese Society of Physics, and once of the Chinese Society of Astronomers. He served on the Boards of Directors of the Beijing Natural History Museum and the Beijing National Central Museum and the Peiping Palace Museum. Between 1953 and 1960 he wrote many articles on Chinese invention and discovery in science. He won a research award from the Society of

Sigma Xi Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is an international non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a faculty member and graduate students in 1886 and is one of the oldest ...

and the Scientific Research Society in 1958. In 1926 he was awarded the "Officier de la Legion d' Honneur" by the French Government; in 1949 he was awarded the "Commandeur de la Legion d' Honneur".ibid, p. 80.

References

External links

Shuhua Li papers
at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University, New York, NY {{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Shu-hua 1890 births 1979 deaths 20th-century Chinese scientists Academic staff of Peking University Biologists from Hebei Chinese biophysicists Chinese emigrants to the United States Chinese expatriates in France Chinese expatriates in Germany Diplomats of the Republic of China Educators from Hebei Members of Academia Sinica Members of the Legislative Yuan Republic of China politicians from Hebei Physicists from Hebei Politicians from Qinhuangdao University of Paris alumni University of Toulouse alumni