{{Short description|Chinese politician (1917–2019)}} {{family name hatnote|[[Li (surname 李)|Li]]|lang=Chinese}} {{other people}} {{Featured article}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}}{{Use British English|date=June 2023}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Li Rui | native_name = {{nobold|李锐}} | native_name_lang = zh-Hans | image = Li Rui studio portrait, 1947.png | term_start = 1982 | term_end = 1987 | birth_date = {{birth date|1917|4|14|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Pingjiang County]], Hunan, China | death_date = {{death date and age|2019|2|16|1917|4|14|df=y}} | death_place = Beijing, China | spouse = {{ubl|{{marriage|Fan Yuanzhen ({{lang|zh|范元甄}})|1939|1944}}{{marriage|<!--Fan Yuanzhen-->|1945|1962}}|{{marriage|Zhang Yuzhen ({{lang|zh|张玉珍}})|1979|<!--No end date per template instructions-->}}}} | party = [[CCP]] | term_start2 = 1982 | term_end2 = 1984 | term_start3 = 1958 | term_end3 = 1958 | office = Member of the [[12th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party]] | children = 3 | office2 = Deputy Head of the [[Organisation Department of the Chinese Communist Party]] | office3 = [[Ministry of Water Resources (China)|Vice Minister of Water Resources]] | alma_mater = [[Wuhan University]] | caption = Studio portrait, 1947 | occupation = [[Revolutionary]], politician, historian | resting_place = [[Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery]] | module = {{Infobox Chinese|child=yes |s=李锐|t=李銳 |p=Lǐ Ruì |mi={{IPAc-cmn|l|i|3|-|r|ui|4}} }}}} {{Contemporary Chinese political thought|liberalism}} '''Li Rui''' ({{zh|s=李锐|t=李銳|p=Lǐ Ruì}}; 14 April 1917 – 16 February 2019) was a Chinese politician, historian and dissident [[Chinese Communist Party]] (CCP) member.
As a young student activist, Li joined the Communists in 1937 during the [[Chinese Civil War]]. By 1958, he had become the vice-minister of the [[Ministry of Water Resources of the People's Republic of China|Ministry of Water Resources]]. His vocal opposition to the proposed [[Three Gorges Dam]] brought him to the attention of the [[Chairman of the CCP]], [[Mao Zedong]]. Li impressed Mao, who made him his personal secretary for industrial affairs. However, Li was known for his independence of thought, and defied Mao at the 1959 [[Lushan Conference]]. Li was expelled from the party and sent to a [[Re-education through labor|prison camp]], beginning nearly twenty years of political exile. Denounced by his family for anti-Mao activities during the [[Great Leap Forward]] and [[Cultural Revolution]], he spent eight years in solitary confinement at the [[Qincheng Prison]].
After [[Mao's death]], Li's party membership was restored. He regained an influential position in the CCP but, after only a few years, was forced to resign by [[Chen Yun]] for getting too close to [[Hu Yaobang]]. From the mid-1980s, shut out of formal power, Li wrote and commentated extensively, calling for freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and [[Democracy movements of China|democracy]] within a socialist framework. He also wrote five books on Mao and early Communist Party history. Li remained a party member until his death, respected but isolated; his views were formally denounced and he was censored in the Chinese press. Li died in 2019, aged 101. He was described by ''[[The Guardian]]'' in 2005 as living a life "filled with rebellions, often at great personal cost, against those who abused their power".<ref name=":3" />
== Early life == Li Rui was born Li Housheng ({{lang|zh|李厚生}}) in [[Pingjiang County]], [[Hunan Province]], in April 1917, to a wealthy family.<ref name="xinhuaobit">{{cite news|date=February 28, 2019|title=Li Rui tongzhi shishi|script-title=zh:李锐同志逝世|language=zh-cn|trans-title=Comrade Li Rui dies|work=[[Xinhuanet]]|editor-last=Cheng|editor-first=Lan|url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/2019-02/28/c_1124177061.htm|access-date=July 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119124442/http://www.xinhuanet.com/2019-02/28/c_1124177061.htm|archive-date=January 19, 2021}}</ref><ref name="JohnsonNYT" /> His father had been a member of the [[Tongmenghui]], an [[Anti-Qing sentiment|anti-imperial]] revolutionary party.<ref name="JohnsonNYT" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title=Encyclopedia of modern China |date=2009 |publisher=[[Gale (publisher)|Gale]] |isbn=978-0-684-31571-3 |editor-last=Pong |editor-first=David |location=Farmington Hills, Michigan |pages=465–466 |oclc=432428521}}</ref> Li's father died in 1922, when Li was only five.<ref name="JohnsonNYT" /> As a high schooler living in [[Hubei]], Li protested against [[Warlord Era|warlordism]].<ref name=":3" /> In 1934, he enrolled in [[Wuhan University]], studying mechanical engineering.<ref name="Song2013">{{cite book |last1=Song |first1=Yuwu |title=Biographical Dictionary of the People's Republic of China |date=2013 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-0298-1 |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |page=180}}</ref> In 1935, he helped lead [[December 9th Movement|a student protest against the failure of the Chinese government to oppose Japanese aggression]].<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":0" />
== Political career == === Young Communist activist === Li secretly joined the [[Chinese Communist Party]] in February 1937.<ref name="xinhuaobit"/><ref name=":1">{{Cite news|date=March 2, 2019|title=Obituary: Li Rui died on February 16th|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|url=https://www.economist.com/obituary/2019/03/02/obituary-li-rui-died-on-february-16th|url-status=live|access-date=August 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210311013002/https://www.economist.com/obituary/2019/03/02/obituary-li-rui-died-on-february-16th|archive-date=March 11, 2021|issn=0013-0613}}</ref> A dedicated activist, he was briefly jailed by the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]]'s [[Kuomintang]] government for communist activities.<ref name=":1" /> Li trekked on foot to the Communist base in [[Yan'an]] in the late 1930s, a journey of approximately {{convert|1000|km}} – upon his departure from home, his mother told him, "The Communists are good, but you might get killed".<ref name=":1" />
From December 1939, he led the propaganda branch of the party's Central Youth Working Committee. Li and his first wife, Fan Yuanzhen ({{lang|zh|范元甄}}), were married the same month.<ref name=":8">{{Cite book |last=Li |first=Rui |date=2008 |publisher=Guangdong ren min chu ban she |others=Yuanzhen Fan, Nanyang Li, 范元甄, 李南央 |isbn=978-7-218-06073-6 |edition= |location=Guangzhou |pages=887–888 |language=zh |script-title=zh:父母昨日书(1938–1949) : 李锐, 范元甄通信集 |trans-title=Fu mu zuo ri shu (1938–1949) : Li Rui, Fan Yuanzhen tong xin ji |oclc=421522811}}</ref> He became the editor of domestic commentary for the ''[[Jiefang Daily]]'' ({{lang|zh|解放日报}}) in September 1941 and later the newspaper's head of the editorial bureau for areas under Communist control.<ref name="xinhuaobit" /><ref name=":1" /> He also served as a secretary to [[Chen Yun]], who would later be an architect of the [[reform and opening up]] under [[Deng Xiaoping]].<ref name=":4" /> Li co-founded another newspaper, {{transliteration|zh|Qingqidui}} ({{lang|zh|轻骑队}}), which satirised the Communist leadership, resulting in his imprisonment from 1943 to 1944 as a suspected spy during the [[rectification campaign]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> During his imprisonment, Li and his wife were briefly divorced, separating in June 1944 and remarrying in June 1945. They had two daughters and a son; their son, the eldest, was born in 1946.<ref name="JohnsonNYT" /><ref name=":8" />
In 1945, Li was made the secretary to [[Gao Gang]], the head of the Northeastern bureau of the CCP, a post which Li held until 1947.<ref name="Song2013" /> In October 1952, after the Communist victory in the [[Chinese Civil War]], Li joined the [[Ministry of Water Resources of the People's Republic of China|Ministry of Water Resources]].<ref name="xinhuaobit" /> By 1958, he had risen to become its deputy head, the youngest vice-minister in [[China]].<ref name="JohnsonNYT" /><ref name=":1" /> He attracted the attention of China's leader, Mao Zedong, through his passionate opposition to the proposed [[Three Gorges Dam]] on the [[Yangtze River]]. Mao invited Li to [[Beijing]] to argue on the issue, and was impressed by his zeal and intelligence.<ref name="JohnsonNYT" /> Many years later, Li's personality was described as "blunt, brash, and quick-witted" in ''[[The New York Times]]''{{'}} obituary.<ref name="JohnsonNYT" /> Although Li supported the use of hydropower over coal power, he warned that a large dam on the Yangtze would lead to cost overruns and organisational conundrums. Li reported to Mao that the dam would do little to solve downstream flooding, as many large [[tributaries]] enter the Yangtze after the planned dam location. He successfully persuaded Mao to postpone the start of the project.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":9">{{Cite journal |last1=Qing |first1=Dai |last2=Sullivan |first2=Lawrence R. |date=1999 |title=The Three Gorges Dam and China's Energy Dilemma |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24357784 |journal=Journal of International Affairs |volume=53 |issue=1 |pages=53–71 |jstor=24357784 |issn=0022-197X |access-date=March 25, 2023 |archive-date=March 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325163140/https://www.jstor.org/stable/24357784 |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== Secretary for Mao, labour camp and exile === Mao hired Li as his personal secretary for industrial affairs in 1958,<ref name=":1" /> but Li's criticisms of the [[Great Leap Forward]] and support for [[Peng Dehuai]] soon became an issue.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sullivan |first1=Lawrence R. |title=Historical Dictionary of the People's Republic of China |date=2016 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4422-6468-7 |location=London |pages=364}}</ref> At a [[Lushan Conference|1959 meeting in Lushan]], Li insisted on opposing Mao's views.<ref name="JohnsonNYT" /> Li later declared that Mao was dismissive of the suffering caused by his policies, "Mao's way of thinking and governing was terrifying. He put no value on human life. The deaths of others meant nothing to him".<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|last=Watts|first=Jonathan|date=June 1, 2005|title=China must confront dark past, says Mao confidant|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/jun/02/china.jonathanwatts|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180917215335/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/jun/02/china.jonathanwatts|archive-date=September 17, 2018|access-date=August 13, 2021|work=[[The Guardian]]|language=en-gb}}</ref>
Li was denounced as an anti-Mao conspirator and sent to a [[Re-education through labor|penal camp]] in [[Heilongjiang]] near the border with the Soviet Union.<ref name=":0" /> He came close to starving, but was saved by a transfer to a more survivable camp arranged by outside friends.<ref name="JohnsonNYT" /> Stripped of his Communist Party membership, Li was offered early release if he was willing to renounce his criticisms of Mao, but declined to do so.<ref name="JohnsonNYT" /> Released in 1961, Li returned to Beijing.<ref name="JohnsonNYT" /> After nearly 22 years of marriage, his wife, Fan, denounced him and divorced him again, this time for good.<ref name="JohnsonNYT" /><ref name=":8" /> Li was then sent to teach at a small school in the mountains, exiling him from political processes.<ref name="JohnsonNYT" /> One of his daughters, Li Nanyang ({{lang|zh|李南央}}), became estranged from him after reporting anti-Mao remarks he had made in private.<ref name="JohnsonNYT" />
In 1966, Mao's [[Cultural Revolution]] began, and Li was asked to denounce his old colleagues among Mao's private secretaries. Refusing to do so, he was imprisoned in solitary confinement at the [[Qincheng Prison]].<ref name="JohnsonNYT" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last1=Huang |first1=Cary |last2=Mai |first2=Jun |date=February 16, 2019 |title=Mao's personal secretary and biggest critic Li Rui dies at 101 |language=en-gb |work=[[South China Morning Post]] |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/2186435/mao-zedongs-personal-secretary-and-biggest-critic-li-rui-dies |url-status=live |access-date=August 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811165633/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/2186435/mao-zedongs-personal-secretary-and-biggest-critic-li-rui-dies |archive-date=August 11, 2021}}</ref> Li maintained his grip on sanity by writing poetry in the margins of Communist books using iodine pilfered from the prison's medical facilities.<ref name="JohnsonNYT" /> Li was released in 1975 and sent back to his internal exile, returning to teaching at the same school in the mountains.<ref name="JohnsonNYT" /> === Return to prominence === [[File:Dreischluchtendamm hauptwall 2006.jpg|alt=Image of the completed dam in 2006|thumb|Throughout the 1980s, Li opposed the construction of the [[Three Gorges Dam]] (pictured in 2006)]]After [[Mao's death]] in 1976 and the emergence of Deng Xiaoping, Li regained his CCP membership.<ref name="JohnsonNYT" /> In 1979, he became vice-minister of the Ministry of Electric Industry, serving for three years.<ref name="xinhuaobit" /><ref name=":0" /> The same year, Li remarried; his second wife (and later widow) was Zhang Yuzhen ({{lang|zh|张玉珍}}).<ref name=":5">{{Cite news |last=Buckley |first=Chris |date=February 20, 2019 |title=In Beijing, a Communist Funeral for an Inconvenient Critic |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/20/world/asia/china-li-rui-funeral.html |url-status=live |access-date=August 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813180759/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/20/world/asia/china-li-rui-funeral.html |archive-date=August 13, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Mai |first=Jun |date=February 20, 2019 |title=In death as in life, Li Rui makes China's Communists uncomfortable |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/2186985/death-life-li-rui-aide-mao-turned-critic-chinas-communist-party |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813181540/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/2186985/death-life-li-rui-aide-mao-turned-critic-chinas-communist-party |archive-date=August 13, 2021 |access-date=August 13, 2021 |website=[[South China Morning Post]] |language=en}}</ref> In 1982, he was elected to the [[Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party|Central Committee]] for a five-year term, and in April of the same year he became vice director of the [[Organization Department of the Chinese Communist Party|Organisation Department]] of the CCP, an influential role focused on the promotion, demotion, and recruitment of senior officials.<ref name="xinhuaobit" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Sullivan |first=Lawrence |title=Historical Dictionary of the Chinese Communist Party |publisher=[[Scarecrow Press]] |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-8108-7225-7 |edition=|location=Lanham, Maryland |pages=159}}</ref> He was appointed by Chen Yun to counter the influence of [[Hu Yaobang]]. He was also head of the Youth Bureau. As a Youth Bureau official, Li sent Yan Huai on an inspection trip to find promising young officials; Li specifically asked Yan to prepare a report on [[Xi Jinping]], a local official in Hebei at the time.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=Torigian|first=Joseph|title=The Party's Interests Come First: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping|date=2025|publisher=[[Stanford University Press]]|isbn=978-1-5036-4098-6|series=|location=Stanford, California}}</ref>{{Reference page|pages=277}}
In 1983, under the direction of [[Song Renqiong]] and [[Xi Zhongxun]], Li helped lead the second official investigation into the [[Guangxi Massacre]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Walder |first=Andrew G. |title=Civil war in Guangxi: the Cultural Revolution on China's southern periphery |publisher=[[Stanford University Press]] |year=2023 |isbn=978-1-5036-3523-4 |location=Stanford, California |pages=201 |oclc=1320816928}}</ref> On 3 March 1984, he gathered [[Princelings|offspring of senior officials]], asking them whether a special document on them was necessary. The participants opposed such a document, which he agreed to, adding that he hoped that offsprings "will fight to excel".<ref name=":12" />{{Reference page|pages=279-280}} in the same year, four individuals, including [[Deng Liqun]] and Li Rui’s ex-wife, wrote letters to [[Chen Yun]] complaining about Li. Chen removed him for getting close to Hu Yaobang, who Chen intentioned Li would counter. Li's dismissal was opposed by [[Xi Zhongxun]], but he could not change Chen's decision.<ref name=":12" />{{Reference page|pages=281}}
Soon after his dismissal, Li visited Hebei, where he meet with Xi Jinping; Xi was the only young official Li met in Hebei. The two had a long discussion about why CCP committees should be smaller and the separation of the Party and the state.<ref name=":12" />{{Reference page|pages=281}} Li, whose opposition to the Three Gorges Dam had played a major role in his earlier career, continued to fight against construction of the dam throughout the 1980s, working with environmentalist [[Dai Qing]].<ref name="JohnsonNYT">{{Cite news|last=Johnson|first=Ian|date=February 15, 2019|title=Li Rui, a Mao Confidant Who Turned Party Critic, Dies at 101|language=en-US|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/15/obituaries/li-rui-dead.html|url-status=live|access-date=February 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190216182824/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/15/obituaries/li-rui-dead.html|archive-date=February 16, 2019|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Their efforts were unsuccessful and the dam was approved in 1992, construction finishing in 2006.<ref name=":9" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gan |first=Nectar |date=July 31, 2020 |title=China's Three Gorges Dam is one of the largest ever created. Was it worth it? |url=https://www.cnn.com/style/article/china-three-gorges-dam-intl-hnk-dst/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201015111417/https://www.cnn.com/style/article/china-three-gorges-dam-intl-hnk-dst/index.html |archive-date=October 15, 2020 |access-date=March 29, 2023 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> In 1989, Li personally witnessed the [[People's Liberation Army at the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests|violent crackdown]] in the {{ill|Muxidi|zh|木樨地}} neighborhood of Beijing during the [[Tiananmen Square protests]], strengthening his opposition to the party's authoritarian wing.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Guo |first=Rui |date=April 25, 2019 |title=Widow of Mao's secretary demands return of diaries from US |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3007524/widow-mao-zedongs-secretary-li-rui-sues-chinese-court-demand |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813181916/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3007524/widow-mao-zedongs-secretary-li-rui-sues-chinese-court-demand |archive-date=August 13, 2021 |access-date=August 13, 2021 |website=South China Morning Post |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=May 27, 2019 |script-title=zh:記六四鎮壓 十里長街槍聲近 李銳日記：事已做絕，何以對天下 |trans-title=Li Rui's diary recalling the June 4th crackdown: gunshots along Lichang Street |url=https://m.mingpao.com/pns/%E8%A6%81%E8%81%9E/article/20190527/s00001/1558894891137/%E8%A8%98%E5%85%AD%E5%9B%9B%E9%8E%AE%E5%A3%93-%E5%8D%81%E9%87%8C%E9%95%B7%E8%A1%97%E6%A7%8D%E8%81%B2%E8%BF%91-%E6%9D%8E%E9%8A%B3%E6%97%A5%E8%A8%98-%E4%BA%8B%E5%B7%B2%E5%81%9A%E7%B5%95-%E4%BD%95%E4%BB%A5%E5%B0%8D%E5%A4%A9%E4%B8%8B |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191016154318/https://m.mingpao.com/pns/%E8%A6%81%E8%81%9E/article/20190527/s00001/1558894891137/%E8%A8%98%E5%85%AD%E5%9B%9B%E9%8E%AE%E5%A3%93-%E5%8D%81%E9%87%8C%E9%95%B7%E8%A1%97%E6%A7%8D%E8%81%B2%E8%BF%91-%E6%9D%8E%E9%8A%B3%E6%97%A5%E8%A8%98-%E4%BA%8B%E5%B7%B2%E5%81%9A%E7%B5%95-%E4%BD%95%E4%BB%A5%E5%B0%8D%E5%A4%A9%E4%B8%8B |archive-date=16 October 2019 |access-date=October 16, 2019 |website=[[Ming Pao]] |language=zh-Hant-TW}}</ref> He was an ally of prominent reformists such as [[Zhao Ziyang]] and [[Hu Yaobang]].<ref name=":4" />
== Party elder, historian and dissident == {{Quote box | quote = Whenever there's a clash between the party and humanity, I insist on humanity. | author = Li Rui | source = interviewed by the BBC at age 100 in 2017<ref>{{Cite news|last=Grace|first=Carrie|date=2017-04-13|title=China's extraordinary red rebel turns 100|language=en-GB|work=[[BBC News]]|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-china-39580213|access-date=2021-08-13|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308055722/https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-china-39580213|url-status=live}}</ref> | width = 25% | quoted = true }}
After officially retiring in June 1995 at age 78,<ref name="xinhuaobit" /> Li became known as a party elder and historian of Mao, writing five works on Mao's life.<ref name="JohnsonNYT" /><ref name=":1" /> His writings did not hesitate to criticise Mao or contemporary party leaders. Considered the "veteran liberal member" of the CCP, according to ''[[The Economist]]'', Li argued for free speech, freedom of the press, and democracy within a socialist framework.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite news|last=Buckley|first=Chris|date=January 8, 2003|title=Retired Aide To Mao Calls For Progress To Democracy|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/08/world/retired-aide-to-mao-calls-for-progress-to-democracy.html|access-date=August 13, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=August 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813180758/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/08/world/retired-aide-to-mao-calls-for-progress-to-democracy.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In November 2004, the party's [[Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party|Propaganda Department]] banned Li from being published in the media.<ref name="Volland">{{Cite web |last=Volland |first=Nicolai |date=May 16, 2014 |title=Fifty Influential Public Intellectuals |url=https://www.zo.uni-heidelberg.de/boa/digital_resources/dachs/special_collections/fipi_en.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190216153944/https://www.zo.uni-heidelberg.de/boa/digital_resources/dachs/special_collections/fipi_en.html |archive-date=February 16, 2019 |access-date=February 16, 2019 |website=Heidelberg University}}</ref> His books on Mao were censored and banned in [[Mainland China]].<ref name=":1" /> Described as a thorn in the side of the Communist Party's autocratic leaders (his personal name, Rui {{lang|zh|锐}}, means 'sharp' in [[Chinese language|Chinese]]), his views were secretly but officially denounced as subversive in 2013.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4" />
Before every quinquennial [[National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party|Communist Party congress]], Li wrote to fellow senior party members, advocating political reform.<ref name=":4" /> At the [[16th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party|16th Party Congress]] in 2002, Li introduced a proposal aimed at newly elected [[General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party|Party general secretary]] [[Hu Jintao]] on political reform of the Communist Party. Li argued that [[constitutionalism]] and [[democratisation]] would lead the Communist Party away from political mishaps such as the [[Anti-Rightist Movement]], [[the Great Leap Forward]] and the [[Cultural Revolution]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Zheng |first=Yongnian |title=The Chinese Communist party as organizational emperor : culture, reproduction and transformation |date=2010 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-55963-8 |location=London |oclc=368023586 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Chongyi |first=Feng |date=November 1, 2008 |title=Democrats within the Chinese Communist Party since 1989 |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/10670560802253378 |journal=Journal of Contemporary China |volume=17 |issue=57 |pages=673–688 |doi=10.1080/10670560802253378 |s2cid=144345972 |issn=1067-0564 |access-date=March 25, 2023 |archive-date=March 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325163148/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10670560802253378 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> In 2006, he was a lead signatory to an open letter condemning the state's closure of the investigative newspaper ''[[Freezing Point (magazine)|Freezing Point]]'' ({{lang|zh|冰点}}).<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 14, 2006 |title=Party elders attack China censors |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4712134.stm |url-status=live |access-date=February 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216034059/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4712134.stm |archive-date=December 16, 2018}}</ref> Ahead of the [[17th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party|17th Communist Party Congress]] in 2007, Li and retired academic Xie Tao published articles calling for the Communist Party to become a European-style socialist party, remarks that were condemned by the party propaganda apparatus.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lam |first=Willy |date=October 11, 2007 |title=Hu Jintao Battles the CCP's Crisis of Confidence |url=https://jamestown.org/program/hu-jintao-battles-the-ccps-crisis-of-confidence-2/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011080657/http://www.jamestown.org/china_brief/article.php?articleid=2373400 |archive-date=October 11, 2007 |website=[[Jamestown Foundation]]}}</ref> In October 2010, Li was the lead signatory to an open letter to the [[Standing Committee of the National People's Congress]], calling for greater [[press freedom]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 13, 2010 |title=Open letter calls for end to media censorship |work=South China Morning Post |url=https://www.scmp.com/article/727297/open-letter-calls-end-media-censorship |url-status=live |access-date=September 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925102444/https://www.scmp.com/article/727297/open-letter-calls-end-media-censorship |archive-date=September 25, 2021}}</ref> In 2017, he failed to attend the [[19th Party Congress]], which was seen as an act of defiance against General Secretary [[Xi Jinping]]'s elevation above [[collective leadership]].<ref name=":4" /> Having devoted his life to the Communist Party, Li never considered leaving it.<ref name="JohnsonNYT" /> When readmitted to the party in the 1970s, he had hoped that it had changed, but was disappointed, and later wrote of its "arrogance, ignorance, shamelessness, lawlessness".<ref name=":1" />
== Death and funeral == [[File:Li Rui's interview with VOA on 13 April 2018.webm|thumbtime=264|start=258|end=266|thumb|Li, during hospitalisation in April 2018, criticizing Xi Jinping: "He only has elementary school education."]] As he aged, Li retained his mental sharpness. In spite of his political views, he was allowed to keep his privileges as a senior CCP member, such as better medical treatment and his apartment in Minister's House, a building reserved for venerated party retirees.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kuo |first=Lily |date=February 18, 2019 |title=Daughter of Mao Zedong's personal secretary boycotts funeral |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/18/daughter-mao-personal-secretary-boycott-communist-party-father-funeral |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813180759/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/18/daughter-mao-personal-secretary-boycott-communist-party-father-funeral |archive-date=August 13, 2021 |access-date=August 13, 2021 |website=[[The Guardian]] |language=en |location=Beijing}}</ref>
Li died of [[organ failure]] in Beijing on 16 February 2019, aged 101.<ref name="JohnsonNYT" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.zaobao.com.sg/realtime/china/story20190216-932401|script-title=zh:毛泽东前秘书李锐过世 享年101岁|title=Mao Zedong qian mishu Li Rui guoshi shangnian 101 sui|trans-title=Mao Zedong's former secretary Li Rui dies aged 101|date=February 16, 2019|work=[[Lianhe Zaobao]]|language=zh-sg|access-date=February 16, 2019|archive-date=February 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190216094216/https://www.zaobao.com.sg/realtime/china/story20190216-932401|url-status=live}}</ref> As an early and senior member of the Communist Party, Li was given a state funeral and buried at the [[Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery]], despite his desire to be interred with his parents in Hunan, his home province.<ref name=":1" /> News of his death was limited by official censorship and, according to the ''[[South China Morning Post]]'', his funeral was "conducted with secrecy and security".<ref name=":6" /> Despite the restrictions, the funeral attracted hundreds of mourners, ranging from ordinary Chinese citizens to those few still living among his old colleagues and fellow revolutionaries.<ref name=":5" /> Notwithstanding his fervent opposition to their policies, both of China's leaders, General Secretary Xi Jinping and Premier [[Li Keqiang]], sent wreaths.<ref name=":5" />
=== Diary court case === Li kept a diary continuously from 1935 until 2018. The diary, along with Li's other papers, was the subject of a lawsuit in 2019. Li's widow, Zhang, and daughter, Li Nanyang, both claimed ownership over the diary; Zhang wished it to be returned to China. Li's daughter Li Nanyang had donated the diary to the [[Hoover Institution]] in the American state of [[California]].<ref name=":7" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Areddy |first=James T. |date=September 15, 2021 |title=A Former Mao Aide's Diaries Spark a Custody Battle Over an Unofficial History of China |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |publisher=[[News Corp]] |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-former-mao-aides-diaries-spark-a-custody-battle-over-an-unofficial-history-of-china-11631698202 |access-date=April 17, 2023}}</ref> A Beijing court ruled in favor of Zhang in 2019, but the case continued in the United States, and went to trial in 2024. Zhang's lawyers argued that the diary is personal to her and that she only wished the return of the original document, not any copies retained by Hoover; Li Nanyang's attorneys suggested that the Chinese government was behind Zhang's case, given her limited financial means.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hawkins |first=Amy |date=18 August 2024 |title='Monument to history' battle between US and China over future of Mao's secretary's diary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/aug/18/monument-to-history-battle-between-us-and-china-over-future-of-maos-secretarys-diary |access-date=2024-08-20 |work=[[The Guardian]] |language=en-GB |issn=0029-7712}}</ref> Zhang died during proceedings; a federal judge ruled in 2026 that the donation to Stanford was legal and had been carried out "in accordance with Li's wishes." The court also found that the Beijing ruling was unenforceable in the United States, resulting in the Hoover Institution retaining control over the diary and other documents.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wong |first=Tessa |date=1 April 2026 |title=Stanford University wins battle to keep diaries of Mao Zedong's secretary Li Rui |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czxry0nyq5xo |access-date=2026-04-01 |website=BBC |language=en-GB}}</ref>
== Selected publications == * (1989) {{lang|zh-Latn-pinyin|Lushan Huiyi Shilu}}, ({{lang|zh|庐山 会议 实录}}) English translation of title: ''Records of the Lushan Conference'', {{ISBN|7506901994}} * (1998), {{lang|zh-Latn-pinyin|Li Rui Ri Ji, Chu Fang Juan}} ({{lang|zh|李锐日记. 出访卷}}) English translation of title: ''The Diary of Li Rui, Visiting Papers'', {{ISBN|7506314975}} * (1998), {{lang|zh-Latn-pinyin|Zhi Yan: Li Rui Liu Shi Nian Di You Yu Si}}, ({{lang|zh|直言: 李锐六十年的忧与思}}) English translation of title: ''To Put It Bluntly: Li Rui's Sixty Years of Worries and Thoughts'', {{ISBN|978-7507209440}} * (1998), {{lang|zh-Latn-pinyin|Li Rui Shi Wen Zi Xuan Ji}}, ({{lang|zh|李锐诗文自选集}}) English translation of title: ''Collection of Poems'', {{ISBN|7505931369}} * (1999) {{lang|zh-Latn-pinyin|Li Rui Wen Ji. Juan 1, Lushan Hui Yi Zhen Mian Mu}}, ({{lang|zh|李锐文集. 卷一, 庐山会议真面目}}) English translation of title: ''The Collected Works of Li Rui, Volume One: The True Faces of the Lushan Conference'', {{ISBN|7806096736}} * (1999) {{lang|zh-Latn-pinyin|Li Rui Wen Ji. Juan 2, Mao Zedong Di Wan Nian Bei Ju}}, ({{lang|zh|李锐文集. 卷二, 毛泽东的晚年悲剧}}) English translation of title: ''The Collected Works of Li Rui, Volume Two: The Tragedy of Mao Zedong's Later Years'', {{ISBN|7806096736}} * (1999) {{lang|zh-Latn-pinyin|Li Rui Wen Ji. Juan 3, "Da Yue Jin" Qin Li Ji}}, ({{lang|zh|李锐文集. 卷三, 《大跃进》亲历记}}) English translation of title: ''The Collected Works of Li Rui, Volume Three: My Experience of "The Great Leap Forward"'', {{ISBN|7806096736}} * (2005) {{lang|zh-Latn-pinyin|Li Rui Tan Mao Ze Dong}}, ({{lang|zh|李锐谈毛泽东}}) English translation of title: ''Li Rui on Mao Zedong'', {{ISBN|988-98282-2-7}} * (2009) {{lang|zh-Latn-pinyin|San Shi Sui Yi Qian De Mao Ze Dong}}, ({{lang|zh|三十岁以前的毛泽东}}) English translation of title: ''Mao Zedong Before The Age of Thirty'', {{ISBN|978-7218015767}} * (2013) {{lang|zh-Latn-pinyin|Li Rui Koushu Wangshi}} ({{lang|zh|李銳口述往事}}) English translation of title: ''Li Rui's Dictations of the Past'', {{ISBN|978-9881609793}} * (2014) {{lang|zh-Latn-pinyin|Mao Zedong: Zheng Rong Sui Yue (1893–1923)}}, ({{lang|zh|毛泽东 : 峥嵘岁月 (1893–1923)}}) English translation of title: ''Mao Zedong: Prosperous Years (1893–1923)'', {{ISBN|7550220581}} * (2015) {{lang|zh-Latn-pinyin|Mao Ze Dong Zao Nian Du Shu Sheng Huo}}, ({{lang|zh|毛泽东早年读书生活}}) English translation of title: ''Mao Zedong's Early Reading Life'', {{ISBN|7547033822}}
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == {{Commons|File:Li Rui's interview with VOA on 13 April 2018.webm|Li Rui; interview by Voice of America in 2018 (in Mandarin Chinese)}} * [https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8g44x38/entire_text/ Li Rui Papers (Collection) at the Hoover Institution] * [https://www.stanforddaily.com/2019/04/23/final-es-hoover-panel-talks-li-rui-politics-of-history/ Panel discussion of Li Rui at Stanford University] ([[The Stanford Daily|''Stanford Daily)'']]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Rui}} [[Category:1917 births]] [[Category:2019 deaths]] [[Category:Chinese men centenarians]] [[Category:Chinese Communist Party politicians from Hunan]] [[Category:Victims of the Cultural Revolution]] [[Category:Members of the 12th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party]] [[Category:National Wuhan University alumni]] [[Category:Burials at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery]] [[Category:Secretaries to Mao Zedong]] [[Category:Inmates of Qincheng Prison]] [[Category:People from Pingjiang County]] [[Category:Politicians from Yueyang]]