[3] He did not finish his learning as he was expelled from Waseda for absence from his classes caused by his participation in the campaign against Yuan Shikai's imperial endeavors, for which he returned to Shanghai in early 1916.

In January 1915, during Li Dazhao's first year at Waseda, Ōkuma Shigenobu, the then Prime Minister of Japan, and his cabinet secretly proposed the "Twenty-One Demands" to China.

He refused to take courses from professors like Ukita Kazutami, an ardent advocate of the "Twenty-One Demands," and Hagino Nagayasu, a legal advisor to Yuan Shikai.

In April 1916, Li Dazhao, along with hundreds of other Chinese students in Japan, abandoned their education at prestigious Japanese institutions to join the domestic opposition against Yuan Shikai.

[5] After returning to China, Li served as an editor in Beijing for a few newspapers on which he published numerous articles to promote democracy, freedom, constitutional rule, and national resurgence.

As a leading intellectual in the New Culture Movement,[2]: 32  he lashed out at China's feudal tradition, criticized the old tyrannical past, and strongly endorsed the representative system.

In January 1918, Li was hired by Cai Yuanpei to be the head of the library at Peking University in Beijing, and a couple of years later, he became a professor of politics, history, and economics there.

[6] In a number of ways, "Li's urgent calls for democracy, science, and constitutional rule are an essential component of the brilliance of the May Fourth Movement.

"[7] More importantly, Li Dazhao was a prominent leader during the May Fourth Movement;[2]: 32  he advised and coached young students in Beijing to take action against the Beiyang government and to protest against the imperialist powers' decision at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 to transfer the former German colonial privileges in Shandong to the Japanese Empire.

Throughout his life, Li maintained cordial relationship with other New Culture Movement figures such as Hu Shi and Lu Xun, even though they had diverse scholarly opinions and assumed different political stances.

[9] By many accounts, Li was a nationalist and believed that the Chinese nation could enjoy a renaissance by accepting a new culture, rejuvenating its people, and remolding its civilization.

[11] Recent studies demonstrate that Li mainly read communism-related works from the Japanese sources which helped deepen his understanding of the communist ideology.

After the establishment of the CCP, Li and other early communists worked diligently to mobilize Chinese railway and mining workers to fight for their own rights.

[15] Upon his return from Russia, he wooed the Christian warlord Feng Yuxiang to the Nationalist side, recruited young people into the two political parties, and organized numerous revolutionary activities.

He urged Feng Yuxiang to adopt a strategy to fight against Zhang Zuolin from Northwestern China to Henan Province, which was crucial for the success of the Northern Expedition to topple down the warlord regime in Beijing.

As a leading intellectual of China's New Cultural Movement, he wrote hundreds of articles to promote democracy, support constitutional government, endorse individual freedom, and called for a national revival.