David H. Li (7 December 1928 – 12 July 2018) was a Chinese-American accountant, chess player, sinologist, translator, and writer.
He wrote several books and also translated severalChinese classics toEnglish. He was born in 1928 inNingbo,Zhejiang,China, and moved to theUnited States in 1949, and lived for many years inBethesda,Maryland. He was an accountant and accounting teacher. His academic career included lectures at theUniversity of Washington, Seattle, and as aFord Foundation Visiting Professor at theChinese University of Hong Kong. Later he joined theWorld Bank Group. After retirement, Li published a number of books in English on theculture of China, including translations of theAnalects of Confucius,The Art of War, andTao Te Ching, as well as several books onxiangqi orChinesechess. He died after a brief illness, on July 12, 2018 in Silver Spring, Maryland, at the age of 89.[1][2]
In his bookTheGenealogy of Chess (which won the 'Book of the Year' 1998 award from the editors ofGAMES Magazine), Li surveys evidence regarding theorigins of chess and concludes that an early version of chess calledxiangqi was invented inChina in 203 BC, by GeneralHan Xin, who supposedly drew on the earlier gameliubo as well as on the teachings ofThe Art of War. Li suggests that this game had spread via theSilk Road, toPersia (becoming various forms ofshatranj) andIndia (becoming various forms ofchaturanga), as well as toJapan (becomingshogi) andKorea (becomingjanggi).Li's idea has been contested.[3]
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