Li Lianying

Li Lianying (simplified Chinese: 李连英; traditional Chinese: 李連英; pinyin: Lǐ Liányīng; 12 November 1848 – 4 March 1911) was a Chinese imperial eunuch who lived in the late Qing dynasty. He was highly influential during the regency of Empress Dowager Cixi, who was the de facto ruler of China from 1869–1908 throughout the reigns of the Tongzhi Emperor and Guangxu Emperor.

Li's birth name was Li Yingtai (Chinese: 李英泰; pinyin: Lǐ Yīngtài). He was renamed Li Jinxi (simplified Chinese: 李进喜; traditional Chinese: 李進喜; pinyin: Lǐ Jìnxǐ) after entering the Forbidden City as a palace eunuch in 1856. In 1869, Empress Dowager Cixi gave him a new name, Li Lianying (simplified Chinese: 李连英; traditional Chinese: 李連英; pinyin: Lǐ Liányīng), which became the name he is best known by.