Li Wenfan (; 20 October 1884 – 20 October 1953) was a Chinese revolutionary and politician.

Career

Born in present-day

Nanhai District Nanhai District (), is a District (PRC and ROC), district of Foshan, Guangdong, China. Its government is the first to have developed e-government informatization at the county level in China. History Establishment of Nanhai is traditionally at ...

, Li was also known by the

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...

Junpei (). He enrolled at

Hosei University is a private university based in Tokyo, Japan. The university originated in a school of law, Tōkyō Hōgakusha (, i.e. Tokyo association of law), established in 1880, and the following year renamed Tōkyō Hōgakkō (, i.e. Tokyo school of law ...

in Tokyo in 1900, and joined the Tongmenghui upon its establishment in 1905. Upon returning to China, he taught at and led the Guangdong branch of the Tongmenghui. Li also participated in the Second Guangzhou Uprising. In 1912, Li became Secretary-General of the Guangdong Provincial Department of Military Affairs. Li actively opposed

Yuan Shikai Yuan Shikai (; 16 September 1859 – 6 June 1916) was a Chinese military and government official who rose to power during the late Qing dynasty and eventually ended the Qing dynasty rule of China in 1912, later becoming the Emperor of China. H ...

empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

, fighting in the Second Revolution and the

National Protection War The National Protection War (), also known as the Anti-Monarchy War, was a civil war that took place in China between 1915 and 1916. Only three years earlier, the last Chinese dynasty, the Qing dynasty, had been overthrown and the Republic of C ...

. In 1920, Li moved to France, where he pursued further academic study. By September 1924, Li had been named director of the Guangdong Provincial Department of Governmental Affairs under governor Hu Hanmin. The Nationalist government was established in July 1925 with Li as secretary-general. Within the Kuomintang, he served as secretary-general of the central and political committees. Li traveled to the United States in November 1926 to audit several Kuomintang chapters based there. He returned in March 1927, and was appointed to the Kuomintang's propaganda committee. In June 1928, Li returned to the Guangdong Provincial Government as director of civil affairs. In October 1928, he was named the first secretary-general of the

Legislative Yuan The Legislative Yuan is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for 4-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a parallel v ...

. Liu later served on the third through sixth convocations of the Kuomintang central executive committee, as well as the fifth standing committee. Appointed interior minister in December 1931, Liu left office in February 1932. After the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

broke out, Li organized a defense committee. In November 1940, he was named chairman of the political works committee and served on several other party committees. Li was elected to the in November 1946, and served as vice president of the

Judicial Yuan The Judicial Yuan () is the judicial branch of the government of the Republic of China on Taiwan.''See'' Constitution arts. 77-82, ''available at'' ''See'' Additional Articles of the Constitution art. 5, ''available at'' It runs a Constitution ...

from April 1947 to July 1948. Later that year, Li was elected to the first National Assembly to be convened after the ratification of the Constitution of the Republic of China. Li retreated to Taiwan after Kuomintang forces lost the

Second Chinese Civil War The Chinese Communist Revolution, officially known as the Chinese People's War of Liberation in the People's Republic of China (PRC) and also known as the National Protection War against the Communist Rebellion in the Republic of China (ROC ...

in 1949. He continued serving on the National Assembly, and was an active member of the Kuomintang central committee, as well as an adviser to President

Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...

. He died in Taipei at the age of 68 on 23 June 1953.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Wenfan 1884 births 1953 deaths Interior Ministers of the Republic of China Republic of China politicians from Guangdong Taiwanese people from Guangdong Politicians from Foshan Senior Advisors to President Chiang Kai-shek Hosei University alumni 20th-century Chinese judges