Li was born in a poor family in
Zhili Province (roughly present-day
Hebei) in 1848 during the reign of the
Daoguang Emperor. In 1853, when he was around six years old, he was
castrated and sent to serve as a
eunuch in the residence of
Prince Zheng. In 1856, he was sent to serve as a palace eunuch in the
Forbidden City. He was promoted to the position of "Second Supervisor" (二總管) in 1867. In 1869,
An Dehai, the eunuch who served as Grand Supervisor (大總管), was executed by
Ding Baozhen, the
Provincial Governor of
Shandong, for travelling out of the Forbidden City without permission. Earlier in 1861, Li had helped
Empress Dowager Cixi in seizing power from a group of eight regents in the
Xinyou Coup, and hence earned her favour. As such, after An Dehai's death, the Empress Dowager chose Li to be her new personal attendant and subsequently promoted him to the position of Grand Supervisor. As Grand Supervisor and Empress Dowager Cixi's favourite attendant, Li held a highly influential position in the inner palace. He had control over things such as when officials could be granted an audience with the Empress Dowager and, as such, managed to acquire wealth from the bribes he collected from officials. When the imperial consorts infuriated Empress Dowager Cixi, Li helped them by speaking good about them in front of the Empress Dowager. Li was suspected of poisoning the
Guangxu Emperor, who died in 1908 one day before Cixi's death. Li requested permission from
Empress Dowager Longyu to retire after the death of Empress Dowager Cixi in 1908. Longyu approved his request and allowed him to return home after 100 days had passed since Cixi's death. Li lived the rest of his remaining years in retirement and died in 1911 before the
Xinhai Revolution broke out. He was buried in Enjizhuang (恩濟莊) in present-day
Haidian District,
Beijing. Li was believed to have died from
dysentery. However, when his grave was raided in 1966 during the
Cultural Revolution, the raiders discovered that his grave contained only his skull, and hence there were rumours that he was murdered (possibly decapitated). Li's grave was heavily damaged during the Cultural Revolution and only a fragment of his tombstone is left. ==Portrayals in media==