[3] She studied organic chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), but transferred to Cornell University where she earned her master's degree in literature in 1946.
[3] After Thailand, he was made the ambassador to several European countries and entities, meaning that Li lived in Europe until the early 1970s, when they moved to Singapore.
[2] The Sword Has Two Edges had its origins in research she started in 1956 on the story of San Guo Shi Yan Yi.
[4] Li wrote the manuscript quickly and when she was asked to rewrite it as a comedy, she put it away, only to revisit the story in 1971.
[8][4] Her next play, Trials and Turbulence of the Twilight Years won a first place award in its category from the Ministry of Culture in 1978.
[9] Li wrote a popular column in English and Chinese, called "Bamboo Green" which ran between 1979 and 1984 in The Straits Times.
[7] Li published the Chinese version of her memoir, A Daughter Remembers, in 2010, with the English translation coming out after her death.