Li Fang-Kuei (aka F.K. Li; Chinese: Lǐ Fāngguì 李方桂). World-renowned descriptive and historical linguist, whose work comprised research and publication not only on Chinese but also on comparative Tai, Old Tibetan, and the Athabaskan language family of North America.

F.K. Li was born in Guǎngzhōu on 20 August 1902, one of several children of a mid-level Qīng official, who was in government service in that city. When the Qīng Dynasty fell in 1911, Li's father, in keeping with the traditional practice in such instances, withdrew from off…