◎Li Dazhao

Li Dazhao (1889-1927, courtesy name Shouchang, former name Qi Nian or Shou Chang) was a native of Daheituo Village of Laoting County. His parents died one after another when he was a child, and he was raised by his grandfather, Li Ruzhen. Li Dazhao was clever and studious since his childhood, and he began to study in a private school in the village at the age of seven. In 1905, he was admitted into Yongpingfu Middle School. In his spare time, he liked to read articles written by Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao, two renowned reformers in the late Qing Dynasty, and advocated national revolution with his classmates such as Jiang Fengming. In 1907, he was admitted into Tianjin Beiyang Legal and Political Specialized School. After the fruits of the Revolution of 1911 that overthrew the feudal rule were stolen by Yuan Shikai, a warlord that restored the monarchy, Li Dazhao began to publish articles to expose the crimes of warlords and bureaucrats. In 1913, he went to Japan and studied at Waseda University in Tokyo. In 1918, he served as the director of the Peking University Library and later concurrently as a professor at the School of Economics. He also participated in the editorial work of New Youth magazine, and founded Weekly Review with Chen Duxiu, a cofounder of the CPC, and others. The following year, he edited the Morning News Supplement and helped the students of Peking University to start publications National and New Wave, actively propagating the Russian Revolution and Marxism. At the same time, he launched a “problem and doctrine” debate with Hu Shi, a well-known writer and philosopher who was then a professor of Peking University, which was welcomed by the general public. In May 1919, Li Dazhao actively devoted himself to the May Fourth Movement, taking up the leading role. On April 6, 1927, Zhang Zuolin, a warlord, sent military police and special agents to attack the Soviet embassy and arrested more than 60 people including Li Dazhao. Even though Li Dazhao was tortured, he remained righteous and unyielding. On April 28, under Zhang Zuolin's order, Li Dazhao was secretly executed in the Jingshi Detention Center in Xijiaomin Lane. At the time of execution, Li Dazhao calmly stepped onto the scaffold and faced death squarely.(https://www.daowen.com)