He is considered by some to be one of the best Chinese writers today. He wrote at an amazing rate -- for ten consecutive years he wrote one book per month on average without interruption. His novel, Mountaintop Love , about a mother and daughter who fall in love with the same man at different times, solidified Li's status as a serious novelist.

Another Li novel, Martyrs' Shrine: The Story of the Reform Movement of 1898 in China, about the beginning and the failure of the Hundred Days' Reform, earned a Nobel Prize nomination. Li also published his autobiography in 2001, revealing more than 10 personal romances.

 Works by Li Ao

1) Martyrs' Shrine: The Reform Movement of 1898 in China

Martyrs' Shrine: The Story of the Reform Movement of 1898 in China gained Li nominee of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2000

Martyrs' Shrine: The Reform Movement of 1898 in China is based on the events of the Hundred Days' Reforms' movement. It has as its main characters several of the leading Chinese intellectual and political figures of the late 19th and early 20th centuries - Kang Youwei, Tan Sitong, and Liang Qichao. As the novel progresses, the reader is swept into the tumultuous events of 1898 and the Chinese struggle for political reform.

The more-than-100,000-word novel was written in the early 90s. The writer integrated into the writing his own experience of a thought pursuer through ups and downs and life as a dissident politician facing numerous lethal risks and dangers. Martyrs' Shrine: The Reform Movement of 1898 in China is considered to be one of the most important Li works.

Li penned his sharp thoughts on history and philosophy in this novel, making it more like a dissertation. And the characters in the novel are the real historic figures that left an unforgettable influence of varied degrees on China's history. In his writing, Li does not seem to follow the traditional format of novel writing, plot knitting and building up of characters. Instead, dialogue is exploited throughout to present events in what characters stand out and the plot is unfolded. What's unique is that each piece of dialogue also serves to reflect Li's own commentary on history.

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