Maeching Li Kao

Maeching Li Kao (; February 20, 1920 – July 25, 2003) was a Chinese-born American social worker and philanthropist, and wife of writer, editor, and translator George Kao.

Early life and education Li Maeching was born in Shanghai, the daughter of banker Li Ming. She attended St. Mary's Hall and St. John's University in Shanghai and Wellesley College, before graduating from Barnard College in 1944. She wrote "A Spool of Thread", "an authentic story of the effect of the Chinese War on a Shanghai university student", for the Winter 1943 issue of Barnard Quarterly. She also participated in fundraising events for United China Relief.

Kao earned a Master of Social Work degree in 1964, from Catholic University of America. Her master's thesis was titled "A Study of Eight Mothers who Were Readmitted to St. Elizabeths Hospital and Their Children who Were in Care with Child Welfare Division".

Her older sister Bessie Li was a pianist before she married diplomat Szeming Sze.

Career During World War II and after, Li was on the staff of the China Institute, assisting Chinese students who were unable to return home during wartime. In 1963, during graduate school, she worked part time at the Community Psychiatric Clinic in Bethesda, Maryland. Later in life, she was an adoption specialist at the Montgomery County Department of Social Services in Maryland. In 1984, she wrote and published a cookbook on making Chinese food with a microwave oven. Her husband's work meant that she lived in Carmel, California, Washington, D.C. and Hong Kong during her adult life, before retiring to Florida.

Personal life and legacy Among her personal acquaintances and social circles, Maeching was well-known for her fondness for the traditional Chinese qipao, for which she favored simple yet elegant and refined patterns. She died from leukemia in 2003, aged 83 years, in Winter Park, Florida. and a George and Maeching Kao Chinese Language Award.