Li was born into a family of minor landlords of Han Chinese descent who assimilated into the Mongol people. His Han Chinese ancestor was part of a group of Han Chinese during the Qing dynasty called "Mongol followers" who worked as servant for Mongols and married Mongol women. Their descendants continued to marry Mongol women and changed their ethnicity to Mongol. They distinguished themselves apart from "true Mongols" 真蒙古. In 1919, he enlisted in the military forces of the Zhili clique in Jehol province, rising steadily through the ranks until he reached the position of colonel, with an equivalent ranking being granted by the Kuomintang government. Assigned to Tongliao in what is now Inner Mongolia, he helped assist in the suppressing the revolt of Gada Meiren in 1929. In 1933, his forces clashed with the Imperial Japanese Armyon the border with Manchukuo, and Li managed to down a Japanese aircraft. However, this opened the door to negotiations, and in exchange for weapons, money and supplies, Li defected to the Japanese side, and was appointed commander of a portion of Inner Mongolia and Jehol. In 1933 commanded the Manchukuo forces defending the fortifications around Duolun against the Chahar People's Anti-Japanese Army. In late 1935 he commanded Manchukuo forces aiding Prine Demchugdongrub in seizing control of the six northern districts of Chahar. The following two years he was in command of the Manchukuo detachment of the Inner Mongolian Army attempting to capture Suiyuan province. By February 1936, Li controlled a large area in Chahar province, and transferred his allegiance to Demchugdongrub and became Chief of Staff of the new Inner Mongol Army. With the establishment Mengjiang, Li became the commander of the Mengjiang National Army. In 1940, Li met in Tsingtao with Zhou Fohai and representatives of the Wang Jingwei Government with the aim of discussing the integration of Mengjiang into China. This was accomplished in 1941, with Mengjiang becoming the Mongolian Autonomous Federation, albeit with complete autonomy. However, as the situation deteriorated against the Empire of Japan towards the end of World War II, Li met in secret with Chiang Kai-shek, and defected back to the Kuomintang in exchange for being named general of the Chinese 10th Route Army. After the victory of the Chinese Communist Party in the Chinese Civil War in 1949, Li fled briefly into exile in Taiwan. However, at the strong request of Demchugdongrub, he returned to Inner Mongolia to assume the position of Deputy Director of Defense of the Inner Mongolian autonomous government. However, the Chinese Army refused to recognize his position and issued orders for his arrest a few months later. Li then fled to Mongolia. In September 1950, Mongolia acceded to Chinese demands, and extradited Li back to China, where he was charged with anti-Chinese activities and imprisoned. He was pardoned in 1964, and assigned a job at a history museum in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. He died in Hohhot in Inner Mongolia in May 1970.
