Li Xiaowen

Li Xiaowen (Chinese: 李小文; pinyin: Lǐ Xiǎowén; 2 March 1947 – 10 January 2015), also known as "Shoes academician" (Chinese: 布鞋院士) and "Sweeping monk" (Chinese: 扫地僧), was a Chinese scientist and professor at Beijing Normal University.

Li was born in Zigong, Sichuan, on March 2, 1947, with his ancestral home in Guichi District of Chizhou, Anhui. He graduated from University of Electronic Science and Technology of China in 1968. After the Cultural Revolution, he went to United States of America to study at University of California, Santa Barbara, he earned a master's degree in geography and PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering. After graduation, he taught at Beijing Normal University, he was Deputy Dean of the Environmental Science College of Beijing Normal University. He was a winner of the Changjiang (Yangtze River) Award (Chinese: 长江学者奖励计划) from the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China.

In 2001, he was elected a fellow of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

On January 10, 2015, he died of illness in Beijing.

Li and his wife (her family name is Wu (Chinese: 吴)) had two daughters, now they live in the United States.