Li Shutong (1880-1941), one of the pioneers of China's drama development, was talented in music, calligraphy, painting and drama. He lived in Tianjin, but his ancestral home was Zhejiang Province. After he came back from Japan, he worked as a teacher and editor. His representative work was La Dame aux Camelias, in which he played the role of Marguerite.

In the winter of 1906, the Spring Willow Society, an organization devoted to the study of various literatures and arts, was founded by some Chinese students in Tokyo. At the beginning, the society had only one performance department presided over by Li Shutong. Among its main members were Ouyang Yuqian, Wu Wozun, Ma Jiangshi and Zeng Xiaogu. Most of them were enthusiastic about drama and highly praised the "New Japanese Drama," and they took it as their obligation to research and imitate the "New Japanese Drama".

In the spring of 1907, the Spring Willow Society performed the third act of Alexandre Dumas's famous play La Dame aux Camelias in Tokyo and was well received by both the Chinese and Japanese audience there. They "adopted colloquial Chinese, soliloquy and aside instead of recitation and singing" in the performance. Li Shutong played the role of Marguerite in La Dame aux Camelias. Such a performance can arguably be categorized as modern Chinese drama.

But, shockingly, Li Shutong, the first La Dame aux Camelias in China, gave up his artistic career and chose to be a monk in 1918. This was a great loss the Chinese literature circle. Twenty-four years later, Li died at the age of 63. His life and death was quite a mystery.