“I am willing to let my life burn like a candle,
so that it may light your way…”
Written sixty-four years ago in a mother’s hand, these words became an unextinguished light—guiding Dr. San-pao Li through a lifetime devoted to bridging cultures between East and West.
From Privilege · To Exile
From a general’s son to a family without protection or resources, Dr. Li refused to surrender to fate. Education became his vessel, carrying him across borders and into the wider world.
Born in wartime Chongqing, Dr. San-pao Li was the son of an anti-Japanese general and a learned mother steeped in poetry, classical studies, and calligraphy.
When civil war erupted, six-year-old Dr. Li stood on the deck of the last evacuation ship from Tianjin, waving goodbye to his father across a sea of faces and water. He did not know it would be their final farewell.
Author (far left) with parents, older sister, and brother (1946 in Tianjin)
Will as Home · Straw as Bed
His mother, heavily pregnant, led the family to Xīnzhu, Taiwan. With no savings or support, they lived in a converted chicken shed, sleeping on straw beneath a single bulb meant to warm chicks.
By day she raised chickens, trading eggs for rice, meat, and feed. By night she stitched shoe soles and knitted sweaters.
When milk powder was unaffordable, Dr. Li’s young brother was fed rice water. Mother’s hands cracked and roughened, yet she never complained—quietly repeating her line of resolve : “Upright as frost, unstained by dust.”
Dr. Li (far left) with siblings (1949 in Xinzhu, Taiwan)
Lost and Found
As a boy, Dr. Li struggled academically and was nearly expelled for mischief. His mother never punished him—only asked that he apologize sincerely to his teachers.
Two moments changed everything. In ninth grade, after a chemistry exam, teacher Chang Chin-Hsiang pointed to Dr. Li’s paper—83 points—and said simply : “You see? You can do it.”
The second came when his mother pawned her last ring—his father’s gift—to pay his tuition. From that moment on, Dr. Li understood responsibility.
In high school, he ranked first every term, paying tuition through scholarships from Hebei and Shanxi associations and earnings from delivering newspapers. “I knew this was the only way to make my mother’s life easier,” he said.
On the eve of Dr. Li’s departure to the U.S. in 1967, Li’s mother gave him
heartfelt encouragement with tender affection.
A Campus Opens · A World Expands
In 1962, Dr. Li entered Tunghai University, where its labor program, open-stack library, and honor system shaped his lifelong values.
Foreign-trained professors opened his eyes to the scale and rigor of global scholarship. He resolved to study abroad.
Dr. Li overjoyed in his freshmen dorm room at Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan (1962)
Weak Eyes · Unyielding Will
Congenitally weak-sighted in his left eye since childhood, Dr. Li read using a magnifying glass until college, when mentors—including historian Hsu Cho-Yun—helped him obtain his first pair of glasses.
Knowing he could not afford failure, Dr. Li maintained top academic standing and worked in libraries and campus labor programs from his first day.
When his mother wrote— “I will let my life burn like a candle…” Dr. Li wept, then vowed silently to devote his life to scholarship worthy of that sacrifice.
Dr. Li has kept his mother's family letters to this day (above). His mother, Ms. Li Fuying (below), was photographed in front of their residence in 1985.
Language as Vessel · World as Shore
From childhood radio broadcasts of Voice of America to relentless vocabulary drills, language became Dr. Li’s passage to the world.
At Tunghai, he was the only non-English major placed in the highest-level English class, later winning national speech competitions and writing his thesis in English.
In 1967, Dr. Li joined Dickinson College in Pennsylvania, founding its first Chinese language course. A year later, admitted to Harvard, he had no savings.
In 1967, the Dr. Li commenced his academic career at Dickinson College teaching the institution’s first course in
Chinese language and culture in its more than 200-year history.
Ink for Tuition · Harvard Ahead
During Parents’ Weekend, he held a calligraphy exhibition on campus—selling over thirty works in three days, taking 140 orders.
With Alpha Chi Rho’s support, he raised his first-term tuition and entered Harvard carrying only a suitcase and a typewriter.
With Shu-chuen’s help, Dr.Li completed 147 calligraphic scrolls, fulfilling the orders received from his first exhibit
earning $1,500 to pay for Harvard’s first semester (Summer 1968).
At Harvard, he studied under Dr. John King Fairbank , Dr. Liu Kwang-Ching, Dr. Benjamin Schwartz, and Dr. I. B. Cohen, laying the foundation for his lifelong work in modern Chinese intellectual history and the history of science.
Study and Survival · One Long Run
Graduate study was not academic refinement—it was survival. From his first day, Dr. Li worked at the Harvard-Yenching Library, served as a Teaching Fellow, and commuted to Boston University and Columbia University to teach.
On his first day at Harvard University, Dr. Li registered at the MemorialHall (Fall 1968).
To afford the second year, his wife Shu-Chun Shen also worked in the library. Their newborn daughter spent days in a baby-carriers in the underground stacks, fed by her between shifts, watched by colleagues.
Dr. Li and his future wife on Dickinson College campus (1968).
Teach by Day · Read by Pain
After earning his master’s degree, Dr. Li traveled by train for five days to UC Berkeley with his wife and infant daughter to pursue a Ph.D. He taught across campuses while studying.
His eyes often swelled with pain. Each morning he claimed a seat near the library restroom; when the strain became unbearable, he applied a warm eye compress with hot water to his eyes—then returned to his books.
In 1976, Dr. Li joined California State University, Long Beach, subsequently founded the Department of Asian and Asian American Studies and teaching courses ranging from Chinese culture and literature to calligraphy and intellectual history.
Dr. Li taught at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) for 30 years.
Into the Classroom · From Scratch
Finding existing textbooks inadequate, he wrote his own—layer by layer—so students could truly enter the logic of Chinese culture.
His dedication earned the Outstanding Professor Award (1986) and Outstanding Teaching Award (1996).
Chalk Explains · Ink Reveals
From 1999 to 2006, Dr. Li offered Chinese Calligraphy Art for seven consecutive years—the first scholar to introduce calligraphy into an American university with a complete academic framework.
Most students were non-Chinese. For them, this was not simply brushwork, but a first encounter with the inner logic of Chinese culture. Dr. Li believed calligraphy was never a technique—it was a gateway.
Each week, Dr. Li brought five or six hanging scrolls into class. He explained structure and meaning on the blackboard before guiding students onto rice paper.
Mounted with Care · Culture Takes Root
At semester’s end, he selected two works from each student for professional mounting and public exhibition, inviting university leaders, faculty, and community members.
For many students, it was the moment Chinese culture became real.
Dr. San-pao Li with his calligraphy students, posing with their works.
Decades Teach · Echoes Return
The deepest rewards arrived years later. Four years ago, Dickinson College informed Dr. Li that a former student he taught in 1967—now retired from a senior position at Microsoft—had made a donation in Dr. Li’s name.
Two years ago, at a Southern California writers’ gathering, a foreign member named Andrew Scott thanked Dr. Li for giving him a Chinese name (Su Anzhu)—and for a language that changed his life.
From Lecture Halls · To Childhood Minds
Dr. Li saw clearly that cultural understanding must begin early. As president of Chinese American Council of Historical and Cultural Foundation of Orange County he joined community leaders to launch the Chinese Treasures traveling exhibition, bringing culture directly into classrooms.
Many Hands · One Light
With support from the Orange County Department of Education and the Bowers Museum, volunteers spent four years transforming artifacts into hands-on learning experiences—from calligraphy and music to ritual objects, foodways, and festivals.
From Complex · To Clear
Beginning in 1988, forty Plexiglas display cases traveled to more than 700 K–12 schools.
Color-coded and numbered, each exhibit could be installed in fifteen minutes. Dr. Li also wrote English teaching guides, enabling educators to present Chinese culture with clarity and confidence.
For countless students, it became their first window into Chinese civilization.
Dr. San-pao Li compiled English supplementary teaching materials for the "Treasures of Chinese Culture" traveling exhibition to assist teachers in their explanations.
Language as Bridge · Culture as Beam
Beyond education, Dr. Li stood at the center of U.S.–China dialogue.
Following diplomatic normalization in 1979, he served for over a decade as a High-Level Diplomatic Interpreter for the U.S. State Department, translating for President Jimmy Carter, Secretary of State George Shultz, and Treasury Secretary James Baker, among others.
Politics shifts, Dr. Li reflected, but culture endures.
Feasting in the Peach-Plum Garden on a Spring Night (Li Bai, 701-762)
The universe is an abode for all creations;
Time itself is but a passing phenomenon.
Human life is a dream, how often do we find joy and happiness?
It is comprehensible as to why the ancients joined their friends and took night strolls with candles in their hands.
In this refreshingly warm, enchanting springtime with misty landscape around,
The ambiance is conducive to producing poetic essays.
We are gathered in the Peach-Plum Garden, enjoying the blissfulness of happiness.
All my juniors present are as gifted as Xie Huilian in their literary talent.
I recite poems, though not as accomplished as Xie Lingyun.
Our conversations are“ pure” and delightful as we indulge ourselves in such natural beauty.
We feast amongst the spring blossoms, and we toast incessantly to intoxicate even the moon.
How can we not produce delightful poetic verses?
Whoever fails will have to drink three goblets according to the rules established at the Jingu Garden.
Digital Tools · Sacred Calling
In the 1990s, Dr. Li pioneered multimedia Chinese-language software, including Pinyin Master and CyberChinese, opening new paths for global Chinese-language education.
After recovering from a life-threatening illness in 2000, he entered early retirement and accepted a calling from the True Jesus Church.
He took the leadership to build its global website and helped plan major church facilities, devoting himself fully to service.
A People Recorded · A History Kept
In 2010, Dr. Li joined the editorial team of A Legacy Magnified : A Generation of Chinese Americans in Southern California, 1980’s-2010’s, documenting immigrant journeys and their contributions to the US.
He later headed the translation project of the 1,217-page Chinese volume into four English volumes, allowing that history to travel beyond language.
Long Scrolls · A Quiet Song
In retirement, Dr. Li returned fully to ink. He completed hundreds of works, including a 67-foot Li Sao scroll of 2,474 characters.
Exhibitions such as Li Sao 2024 and Dancing with Ink drew numerous accolades, presenting calligraphy not as relic, but as living thought.
Dr. Li wife and helper since 1969, Shu-chuen Li, holding the Li Sao
scroll weighing approximately 13 lbs.
The Li Sao scroll stretches 67-foot and contains 2,474 characters.
Ink in Motion · Words at Rest
Dr. Li describes calligraphy as “silent poetry and voiceless music.” Because of linguistic barriers, calligraphy remains underrepresented in major world museums.
To bridge that gap, he recently published a bilingual collection of nearly one hundred works, inviting viewers into dialogue beyond words.
Dr. San-pao Li, despite his busy teaching schedule, continued to write diligently without interruption.
One Candle Burns · A Thousand Glow
On his mother’s gravestone are the words she once wrote to Dr. Li :“I am willing to let my life burn like a candle, so that it may light your way.”
They are her epitaph—and his vow.
Looking back, Dr. San-pao Li has spent a lifetime passing that light forward—to classrooms, students, scrolls, and across cultures.
In a world of noise and division, his life affirms a quieter truth : enduring power lies not in confrontation, but in understanding—leaving behind a path by which culture may be known, shared, and carried on.