Very little is publicly documented about Li Kan's life: apart from his name and his surviving work, details such as his native place, dates of birth and death, and official career cannot be reliably established. This note therefore focuses on the one work by him held in the collection, the Xianglu of Bamboo (Zhu Pu Xiang Lu, "Detailed Record of Bamboo"). Devoted entirely to bamboo, it belongs to the traditional Chinese genre of classified treatises (pulu), and generally covers the varieties, forms, growth habits and cultural associations of bamboo, combining botanical knowledge with the aesthetic interests of the literati. Works of this kind tend to be orderly in classification and concrete in observation, with plain and specific language rather than empty elaboration. As a classic, the Zhu Pu Xiang Lu offers later readers a reference text for understanding traditional knowledge of bamboo and bamboo culture, and reflects the literati inclination to invest objects with meaning and to express aspirations through bamboo. Li Kan's name is thus known to readers mainly through this specialized treatise.
