Li Ji (archaeologist)

Li earned a Harvard doctorate in anthropology. In 1926 he and geologist Yuan Fuli excavated Xiyincun in Shanxi, collecting pottery, stone tools, animal bones and soil. His correspondence recorded the levels, positions and discovery times of stone artifacts, and explained the value of investigating a limited area carefully.

Tsinghua organized the expedition, while the Freer Gallery supplied most funding. Agreed terms allocated Chinese and English publication separately and kept finds in China. Hung Kuang-chi’s 2021 archival study reconsidered an exclusively national pioneering narrative, emphasizing negotiated finance, equipment, ownership and scholarly credit.

References: [1] [3]

During the second Yinxu campaign in 1929, Li helped direct fieldwork. In a letter to Fu Sinian dated 12 March, he argued that archaeology required questions, methods, precise records, freedom from preconceptions and patience. He acknowledged that he could not fully meet these demands himself.

The letter made archaeological standards practical: investigators needed to establish questions and retain information alongside collected objects. Once finds had been removed, such records would remain essential for interpreting them. It documents a working aspiration, including self-criticism, rather than a retrospective honorific.

References: [2]

Li joined the institute as a full-time researcher in 1929 and headed its archaeological group for decades. He investigated pottery, the chronological relationships of remains, and bronze forms and decoration. A 1956 pottery report and later studies of bronze vessel classes with Wan Chia-pao represent sustained post-excavation analysis.

Elected an Academia Sinica academician in 1948, Li directed the institute from August 1955 to December 1972. His English books introduced the Anyang discoveries to wider readerships. Field records, comparative analysis and published reports formed successive parts of this continuing research.

References: [1]