Li Shengxuan (Chinese: 李生萱; 2 March 1910 – 22 March 1966), better known by his

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

Ai Siqi (), was a Chinese of Persian descent philosopher and author. He was born in Tengchong,

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

, later traveling to Kowloon, Hong Kong, where he studied English and French at a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

school and was exposed to the

Western philosophy Western philosophy refers to the Philosophy, philosophical thought, traditions and works of the Western world. Historically, the term refers to the philosophical thinking of Western culture, beginning with the ancient Greek philosophy of the Pre ...

and

Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...

. He read a great deal of Marxism, including the ''

Communist Manifesto ''The Communist Manifesto'' (), originally the ''Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (), is a political pamphlet written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, commissioned by the Communist League and originally published in London in 1848. The t ...

'', in Japanese

translation Translation is the communication of the semantics, meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The English la ...

. This reading is the root of Ai's most important works, '' Dialectical Materialism and Historical Materialism'' (歷史唯物主義與辯証唯物主義) and ''Philosophy for the Masses'' (大眾哲學)(1948). He was a delegate to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd

National People's Congress The National People's Congress (NPC) is the highest organ of state power of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The NPC is the only branch of government in China, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs from the Sta ...

Statue of Aisiqi in courtyard of his house in Heshun

In the small tourist town of Heshun,

Tengchong County Tengchong () is a county-level city of Baoshan City, western Yunnan province, People's Republic of China. It is well known for its volcanic activity. The city is named after the town of Tengchong which serves as its political center, previously k ...

, Yunnan, China, there is a small museum dedicated to Ai. It is based in his former house, where he lived for two years. It contains pictures, personal items and a statue of him in the yard of the compound.

Secondary literature

* Joshua A. Fogel, "Ai Siqi, Establishment Intellectual by Joshua A. Fogel", in Merle Goldman, Timothy Cheek, and Carol Lee Hamrin, eds., ''China's Intellectuals and the State: In Search of a New Relationship'' (Harvard University Asia Center, 1987). * Joshua A. Fogel. ''Ai Ssu-ch'i's Contribution to the Development of Chinese Marxism.'' (Cambridge, Mass.: Council on East Asian Studies/Harvard UniversityHarvard Contemporary China Series, 1987). . * Nick Knight The Role of Philosopher to The Chinese Communist Movement: Ai Siqi, Mao Zedong and Marxist Philosophy in China //Asian Studies Review Volume 26, Issue 4, pages 419–445, December 2002 * Chenshan Tian (2002). Ai Siqi's Reading of the Marxian Notion of "Existence Versus Consciousness". Journal of Chinese Philosophy 29 (3):437–456 * Китайская философия. Энциклопедический словарь. М., 1994 — С.12-13. 1910 births 1966 deaths Philosophers from Yunnan Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Academic staff of the Counter-Japanese Military and Political University People from Tengchong Delegates to the 1st National People's Congress Delegates to the 2nd National People's Congress Delegates to the 3rd National People's Congress {{China-philosopher-stub