Yu Li: public information about his life, official career, and birth and death dates is very limited. All that can be confirmed at present is that one work is transmitted under his name. His representative work is the Ding Lu (A Record of Ding Vessels), which is classified as a classic work and deals with ancient ding cauldrons, placing it within the tradition of Chinese epigraphic and antiquarian literature. Judging from the surviving information, Yu Li's writing centers on the recording of artifacts. Though modest in scale, the work systematically arranges the forms, inscriptions, and transmission of ancient ding vessels in concise language, reflecting the attention and textual-research awareness that ancient scholars brought to bronze and stone antiquities. As the only work by Yu Li held in the collection, the Ding Lu offers a reference text for later generations seeking information on ancient ding vessels and occupies a place among epigraphic catalogues. Owing to the scarcity of sources, Yu Li's family background, social circle, and scholarly origins require further investigation.
