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
Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education.
Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal chart ...
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 and at the Academia Sinica.
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), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
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 is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
). 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 1951-1952 he taught Chinese language and culture at the
University of Hamburg
The University of Hamburg (german: link=no, Universität Hamburg, also referred to as UHH) is a public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('' Allgemeines Vo ...
in Germany.
He relocated to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
Qinhuangdao
Qinhuangdao (; ) is a port city on the coast of China in northern Hebei. It is administratively a prefecture-level city, about east of Beijing, on the Bohai Sea, the innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea. Its population during the 2020 national ...
,
Hebei
Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and 0 ...
. 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
The Diligent Work-Frugal Study Movement, often referred to as the Work-Study Movement (; French: ''Mouvement Travail-Études''), was a series of work-study programs which brought Chinese students to France and Belgium to work in factories as a way ...
.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 Paul Sabatier may refer to:
*Paul Sabatier (chemist) (1854–1941), French chemist and Nobel Prize winner
*Paul Sabatier (theologian)
Charles Paul Marie Sabatier (3 or 9 August 1858 – 5 March 1928), was a French clergyman and historian who prod ...
,
Gabriel Lippmann
Jonas Ferdinand Gabriel Lippmann (16 August 1845 – 13 July 1921) was a Franco-Luxembourgish physicist and inventor, and Nobel laureate in physics for his method of reproducing colours photographically based on the phenomenon of interference. ...
and
Marie Curie
Marie Salomea Skłodowska–Curie ( , , ; born Maria Salomea Skłodowska, ; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934) was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first ...
. 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 (french: Université de Toulouse) was a university in the French city of Toulouse that was established by papal bull in 1229, making it one of the earliest universities to emerge in Europe. Suppressed during the Frenc ...
in 1918, and the degrees Licencie es Sciences Physiques and Docteur es Sciences Physiques from the
University of Paris
, image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of Arms
, latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis
, motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin)
, mottoeng = Here and a ...
in 1920 and 1922, respectively.
Politics
Three leaders of the
Tongmenghui
The Tongmenghui of China (or T'ung-meng Hui, variously translated as Chinese United League, United League, Chinese Revolutionary Alliance, Chinese Alliance, United Allegiance Society, ) was a secret society and underground resistance movement ...
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
Li Shizeng (; 29 May 1881 – 30 September 1973), born Li Yuying, was an educator, promoter of anarchist doctrines, political activist, and member of the Chinese Nationalist Party in early Republican China.
After coming to Paris in 1902, Li to ...
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), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Ta ...
Cai Yuanpei
Cai Yuanpei (; 1868–1940) was a Chinese philosopher and politician who was an influential figure in the history of Chinese modern education. He made contributions to education reform with his own education ideology. He was the president of Pek ...
:
"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 (; russian: link=no, Пётр Алексе́евич Кропо́ткин ; 9 December 1842 – 8 February 1921) was a Russian anarchist, socialist, revolutionary, historian, scientist, philosopher, and activist ...
. 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 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
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...
forced its closing in 1949. Between 1930 and 1931 he concurrently served 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 ...
first as vice-minister and then as minister. He became a member of the Research Council, Academia Sinica 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
The Beijing Museum of Natural History (BMNH; ) is located at 126 Tian Qiao Nan Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100050, and is the most popular natural history museum in China.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 a highly prestigious, non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a small group of graduate students in 1886 ...
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.