Li Yu,ancient culture celebrity,has been difficult to obtain definite assessment.and there were completely opposite views on him.Zhong Mingqi,in his work “New Comment on Li Yu as Pen-ster”,reiterated the famous judgment of Lu Xun.But from the arguments cited by Mr.Zhong,there are still obvious flaws and the conclusion is debatable.To understand Li Yu,it is necessary to adhere to the principle of “sympathy based on understanding.”In the transition between Ming and Qing Dy-nasties,Li Yu was anything but a shameless despicable person.On the contrary,he was a persistent warrior in pursuit of independent life and free thinking,and served as a genuine model of the individu-alism at the end of Ming Dynasty.