Biography.guide
Home › People › Li Shuxian
Portrait of Li Shuxian

Li Shuxian

1924 – 1997

Wife of Chinese emperor

Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About Li Shuxian

Lived 1924 – 1997 (aged 72). Li Shuxian was a Chinese.

Li Shuxian (; 4 September 1924 – 9 June 1997), was the fifth and last wife of Puyi, the last emperor of the Qing dynasty in China.

Biography Li was ethnic Han Chinese and orphaned by the age of 14. After three years in foster care, her foster mother attempted to enter her into concubinage with a wealthy man. Li refused, and ran away to Beijing to become a hospital worker. In 1959, after ten years in prison, Puyi was pardoned. The pair were introduced to one another by a friend in 1962 and wed that same year.

After her husband's death, Li retired from public life. She was not a regular hospital employee, but supplemented her income with a special stipend from the government that gave her a degree of financial stability.

In the early eighties, she sought and received legal ownership of royalties from Puyi's autobiography from the government of China.

Under the approval of the government, she moved Puyi's ashes closer to his ancestors in the Western Qing Tombs (清西陵) from the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery, allowing the last Qing Emperor to rest alongside his predecessors at last. She died of lung cancer at the age of 72. It had been Puyi's desire to be buried alongside Li as well as his first concubine Tan Yuling (潭玉齡). Li was firmly against this arrangement, stating that she had given Puyi enough of her time and energy in life.

Li's memoirs were published posthumously under the title Modai Huangdi Puyi yu wo . The author, Wang Qingxiang , compiled oral interviews with Li Shuxian, along with those of others close to Puyi in his later years, to retell their marriage and family life. Li is sometimes credited as a coauthor of the book.

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

Family & relationships

Spouse
Puyi

People in Li Shuxian's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Li Shuxian's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Li Shuxian?

Wife of Chinese emperor (1925–1997)

When was Li Shuxian born?

Li Shuxian was born on 4 September 1924 in Republic of China.

When did Li Shuxian die?

Li Shuxian died on 9 June 1997 in People's Republic of China.

What nationality was Li Shuxian?

Li Shuxian was Chinese.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Li Shuxian

· Wikidata: Q698749

· DBpedia: Li Shuxian

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Li Shuxian. https://biography.guide/li-shuxian/

MLA: "Li Shuxian." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/li-shuxian/.

Chicago: "Li Shuxian." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/li-shuxian/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-26 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Page generated 2026-09-27 05:15 UTC