Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Laozi (fl. sixth century B.C.): Legendary, or semi-legendary, founder
of Taoism; traditional accounts credit him with writing out the text of
the Tao-te ching sometime during the sixth century B.C.
Lee Teng-hui (1923-): Democratically elected Nationalist party
president of the Republic of China on Taiwan from 1996 to May 2000;
his seeming tacit support of Taiwanese independence soured his gov-
ernment's relations with the leaders of mainland China, who energeti-
cally renounced him during the 1990s.
Li Dazhao (1888-1927): Librarian at Beida who subscribed to Marx-
ismduringtheMayFourthera(youngMaoZedongwasoneofhis
assistants); cofounder of the CCP; might have been the leading figure
in the Chinese Communist movement if he had not been captured
and executed by the warlord Zhang Zuolin in 1927.
Li Hongzhang (1823-1901): Helped Zeng Guofan quell the Taiping
Rebellion and then advocated selective reforms in China; often called
upon to deal with foreign problems, Li was China's virtual foreign
minister until his death in 1901.
Li Peng (1928-): Premier of China who, in 1989, declared martial law
during the Tiananmen Square demonstrations; greatly disliked by the
protesting students of the time.
Li Yuan (565-635): Sui dynasty general who rebelled against the
excess of that dynasty and became the founding emperor of the Tang
dynasty.
Li Zicheng (1605-1645): Chinese peasant rebel who captured Beijing
in April 1644 and toppled the Ming dynasty.
Lien Chan (1936-). Nationalist party candidate for the presidency of
Taiwan in March 2000; lost to Chen Shui-pien.
LinBiao(1907-1971): Chinese military commander who joined the
Communist movement early; eventually rebelled against Mao; appa-
rently killed in the early 1970s while trying to flee to the Soviet Union.
Lin Yi-hsiung (Lin Yixiong; 1941-): Native of Yilan County in Taiwan;
prominent dissident politician and democratization proponent during
the Kuomintang's White Terror over Taiwan. On the symbolically
