Hobbies
History, museums, music and fencing. This is what I do when I am not in Excel.
Back to the main siteHistory
My passion for history started after I found out that I am distantly related to the Chinese imperial family of the Qing dynasty. That is what sent me looking into my own family properly. My father’s side is in Harbin, in the northeast of China, and for most of my life they were people I knew about more than people I knew.
I went out there to change that. I stayed with my grandfather, saw my uncle and my aunt, and spent the rest of the time traveling around the city. The three photographs below are all from that trip.
Understanding my own family meant understanding what they lived through, and that is how the interest widened. I read history now for my own enjoyment, mostly Chinese, European and Mexican.
From the family albums.
Museums
In my spare time I am usually in a museum somewhere around Los Angeles, and museums are the first thing I look for when I travel. I photograph the pieces I want to come back to later.
Paintings I photographed
My favorite paintings
Music and sport
I listen mostly to rock and classical. For rock, some of my favorite artists are The Cure, Green Day and ABBA. For classical, some of my favorite composers are Tchaikovsky, Bach and Mozart.
For most of my life I have been a fencer. More specifically, I compete in foil, where a good deal of my discipline comes from. Most of the work is repetition done long before a bout, and that part has never bothered me. I follow college football closely and the NBA slightly less so.
Animals
Lastly, I am also an animal lover.
Contact information
- Emailryanzli@usc.edu
- LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/ryan-z-li