A UK-based independent worldwide fellowship
In Memoriam: Professor LI Qiang (1950-2023)
On December 12, 2023, we were deeply saddened to learn the Founding Fellow of the Global China Academy (GCA), Chinese Chair of the Global China Academy Council, and Distinguished Professor at Tsinghua University, China. Professor LI Qiang passed away in Beijing at 14:19, following an illness that did not respond to treatment, at the age of 73.
Professor LI Qiang was a luminary in the field of sociology, holding the esteemed position of Lifetime Professor in the Humanities at Tsinghua University, and formerly serving as the Dean of the School of Social Sciences. His expertise extended to various domains, including social stratification and mobility, applied sociology, urban sociology, and more. Throughout his illustrious career, Professor Li authored over 20 books and 260 academic papers, making significant contributions to social sciences in China and beyond.
His contributions to Tsinghua University, the academic community in China, and the Global China Academy’s mission to promote Chinese social science globally, are immeasurable. His passing marks a significant loss for all these institutions.
Accolades and Contributions
- Director of the Institute of Minsheng Economic Research and the Institute for Contemporary China Studies, Tsinghua University.
- Former Dean of the Department of Sociology, Tsinghua University, and Renmin University.
- Member of the Social Sciences Committee of the Ministry of Education and the Advisory Committee for State Informatization.
- Convener of the sixth and seventh Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council.
- President of the Chinese Sociological Association.
- Recipient of numerous academic awards, including the Ministry of Education’s National Award for Outstanding Achievements in Humanities and Social Sciences Research and the ‘National Social Science Fund Project Outstanding Achievement Award’.
Tributes and Condolences
Following his passing, Professor XIE Lizhong, Chinese President of the Global China Academy, and Professor Xiangqun Chang, President of the GCA, sent a joint letter of condolence on December 12, 2023. Professor Martin Albrow, Founding and Past Honorary President, also wrote a letter of condolence with Professor Xiangqun Chang, expressing both personal and institutional grief over the loss.
Professor LI Qiang’s wife, ZHANG Hua, in her response to these letters, shared her grief over the loss of her husband. She mentioned that Professor Li Qiang had been battling health issues exacerbated by repeated COVID-19 infections over the past year. She expressed her heartbreak over his sudden passing and resolved to celebrate his life and legacy.
Professor Li Qiang’s intellectual legacy, his compassionate heart, and his unwavering dedication to sociology and education will be remembered and cherished by all who had the privilege of knowing him and learning from him.
Click here to visit website of the School of Social Sciences at Tsinghua University.
唁 函
清华大学社会科学学院李强教授治丧小组：
惊悉李强教授因病不幸逝世，深感震惊和悲痛。我们谨代表英国全球中国学术院的全体同仁，对李强教授的逝世表示深切的哀悼，并向其家人致以诚挚的慰问。
李强教授不仅是著名的中国社会学家，生前也对全球中国学术院的工作给予了大力支持，为全球中国学术院的创院院士和理事会中方主席，为全球中国学术院的创建和发展做出了重要贡献。他的逝世，不仅是中国社会学界、清华大学社会科学学院和其家庭的重大损失，也让我们为失去了一位曾经支持过我们的好朋友、好同事而深感悲痛。我们将会永远怀念李强教授。
愿李强教授在天之灵安息！
常向群 英国皇家艺术院院士、英国全球中国学术院院长
谢立中 北京大学社会学系荣休教授、英国全球中国学术院中方院长
2023年12月12日 伦敦
Condolence
Professor Li Qiang’s Funeral Group of the School of Social Sciences at Tsinghua University,
We are shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the unfortunate passing of Professor LI Qiang due to illness. On behalf of all colleagues at the Global China Academy, we express our profound condolences for the passing of Professor LI Qiang and extend our sincere sympathies to his family.
Professor Li Qiang was not only a renowned Chinese sociologist, but he also provided significant support to the work of the Global China Academy (GCA) during his lifetime. As a founding fellow and the Chinese Chair of the GCA Council, he made important contributions to the establishment and development of the Academy. His passing is a great loss not only to the Chinese sociological community, School of Social Sciences of Tsinghua University, and his family, but also to us for losing a good friend and colleague who once supported us. We will always cherish the memory of Professor LI Qiang.
May Professor Li Qiang’s spirit rest in peace in heaven!
Xiangqun Chang FRSA FGCA
President of the Global China Academy
Distinguished Professor of Nankai University
XIE Lizhong FGCA
Emeritus Professor of Sociology at Peking University
Chinese President of the Global China Academy
12 December, 2023， London
IN SYMPATHY
Professor LI Qiang’s Funeral Arrangement Group,
We grieve deeply in the knowledge of the death yesterday of Professor LI Qiang of Tsinghua University.
We both, on behalf of the Global China Academy and personally, wish to convey our sincere condolences and deep sympathy to all his family, relatives, friends and colleagues.
Professor Li’s contributions to sociology are rightly famous throughout China and his services to the discipline deserve worldwide recognition. We knew him both as a fellow scholar, as a friend and a citizen of the world.
We are immensely saddened by his all too early departure from this life.
Professor Martin Albrow FAcSS
Founding and Past Honorary President of the Global China Academy
Former President of the British Sociological Association
Emeritus Professor at the University of Wales
Professor Chang Xiangqun FRSA FGCA
President of the Global China Academy
Honorary Professor of University College London (2015-20)
Distinguished Professor of Nankai University
13 December, 2023, London, UK
Chinese translation 中文翻译：
致哀
李强教授治丧小组，
惊闻清华大学李强教授昨天逝世，我们深表哀悼。
我们仅代表全球中国学术院以及个人的名义，向他的家人、亲属、朋友和同事表示诚挚的哀悼和深切的慰问。
李教授对社会学的贡献在中国广为人知，他对这一学科的服务理应获得全世界的认可。对我们而言，他既是学者，也是朋友和世界公民。
我们对他过早离开这个世界感到无比悲痛。
马丁·阿尔布劳教授
英国社会科学院院士
全球中国学术院创始及前荣誉院长
英国社会学学会前会长
威尔士大学荣休教授
常向群教授
英国皇家艺术院院士
全球中国学术院院士及院长
伦敦大学学院荣誉教授（2015-20）
南开大学特聘教授
2023年12月13日， 英国伦敦
To mourn the unfortunate passing of Professor LI Qiang, the Chinese Chair of the Global China Academy Council, on December 12, 2023, the Global China Academy’s website immediately turned to a monochrome grey for one week. At the same time, condolences and obituaries from the Presidents of the Academy and former Honorary President were issued to the Tsinghua University Professor LI Qiang Funeral Committee, and a dedicated memorial webpage was created.
Professor Xiangqun Chang shared the aforementioned memorial webpage with Professor Han Sang-jin of Sociology from Seoul National University. Immediately, Professor Han set up a small altar at his home to honour the memory of Professor Li Qiang, placing a bunch of white chrysanthemums in front to symbolize his distant remembrance. Furthermore, he held a funeral parlor open all day on Saturday at his institute on the December 16 when LI Qiang’s farewell ceremony was held in Babaoshan, Beijing. He also forwarded us his memorial article written in English. The Chinese-translated version has been published on the Tsinghua University website. The photo on the bottom right, showing the farewell ceremony hall for Li Qiang, was received from Professor Han Sang-jin. This gesture of remembrance and respect from colleagues and friends underscores the profound impact Professor Li had on those around him.
This group of pictures was created for the Global China Academy 2023 report (p31-32). The photo on the right was taken in 2007 during Professor LI Qiang’s visit to the UK. He is pictured in front of a giant pine tree, which symbolizes longevity and immortality, resilience and steadfastness, and purity and integrity in Chinese culture. He will be remembered in our hearts, much like the enduring spirit of the pine tree.
In loving memory of Professor Li Qiang — a distinguished sociologist whose profound academic legacy and noble character continue to inspire — the Department of Sociology at the School of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, held a statue unveiling ceremony on April 26, 2025, during the university’s 114th anniversary celebration. Faculty, students, and guests from all walks of life gathered to honor his life and work, and to witness a moment filled with reverence and remembrance. May Professor Li’s spirit live on in our thoughts and actions, ever present among us in a different form, guiding and inspiring future generations.
深情缅怀李强教授——这位杰出的社会学家，其深远的学术遗产与高尚的人格风范至今仍激励人心。2025年4月26日，值清华大学建校114周年之际，清华大学社会科学学院社会学系举行了李强教授铜像揭幕仪式。学院师生与来自社会各界的嘉宾齐聚一堂，缅怀李教授的生命历程与学术贡献，见证了这一庄重而充满敬意的时刻。愿李强教授的精神，在我们的思想与行动中长存；他以另一种方式与我们同在，继续指引和激励未来一代。
- Click here to watch a video of Professor LI Qiang’s greeting for the launch of the Global China Academy as an academy at the 7th Global China Dialogue, on December 10th, 2021, at the British Academy.
- Click here to view the page ‘GCA Life Fellow Korean Sociologist Professor HAN Sang-Jin Meeting Professor Xiangqun Chang at Seoul, January 2023.’
- Click here to view Professor LI Qiang FGCA page.
- Click here to visit the GCA news & blog section.
