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Late Chinese philosopher Li Zehou’s brain frozen for science, causing stir in scholarly circles
- A friend of the prominent academic died in 2021 says his brain has been cryonically preserved in accordance with his final wishes
- Li, who moved to the US in the 1990s, reportedly requested his brain be preserved for ‘a few hundred years’ to test his aesthetic theory
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Yuanyue Dangin Beijing
Family members of prominent Chinese philosopher Li Zehou, who died in 2021, have carried out his last wish of having his brain frozen as a contribution to scientific research, a friend of the respected scholar told mainland media.
Ma Qunlin, who befriended Li in his later years and was editor of several of his books, told the media earlier this month that Li’s brain had been frozen in the United States in accordance with his will.
Ma met Li’s wife and son in December and learned from them that the late scholar’s family contacted a cryonics company on the day of his death so his final wishes could be carried out, according to several media outlets who interviewed Ma.
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This means that Li’s brain has been in cold storage for over two years.
The revelation has caused a stir among Chinese intellectuals over the past week, with many scholars expressing shock at Li’s unconventional last wishes.
Li graduated from Peking University in 1954 with a degree in philosophy and later joined the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences as a senior researcher and the College International de Philosophie in Paris as a fellow.
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