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Li Gefei was a well-known scholar in the Song Dynasty, but because of Li Qingzhao's fame, he is better known as Li Qingzhao's father. Because his daughter's talent is too dazzling, modern people are not too familiar with Li Gefei's name.

Li Gefei is a late bloomer, and his marriage and career experience are quite bumpy and legendary.

Li Gefei was born in 1045 AD in Zhangqiu, Qizhou, now Jinan City, Shandong Province. He was a writer of the Northern Song Dynasty.

According to the "History of Song Dynasty", Li Gefei's father was a student of the famous official Han Qi, and his family had a profound learning history. Li Gefei was "intelligent and smart when he was young, and devoted to studying classics." Li Gefei was very smart since he was a child, and "intelligent and handsome" means he was very handsome, so Li Gefei was not only talented but also very handsome.

Li Gefei, who had been known for his talent since childhood, had no hope of a career in officialdom when he was young. He could not pass the imperial examinations smoothly, so he failed repeatedly and tried again and again. It was not until he was 31 years old that he met Song Shenzong who personally served as the chief examiner that his talent was highlighted.

After years of hard study, Li Gefei has become particularly good at Confucian classics. He has studied the Five Classics, namely "The Book of Songs", "The Book of History", "The Book of Rites", "The Book of Changes" and "The Spring and Autumn Annals", and has mastered them very well. It can be said that he is well versed in these subjects and understands their principles with a deep understanding of their righteousness.

The ancient Chinese imperial examination system evolved during the Sui and Tang dynasties and gradually became more complete during the Song Dynasty. When Li Gefei participated in the imperial examination, the main subjects of the Song Dynasty imperial examination were policy essays and classics. Li Gefei was not only able to refine and summarize the classics, but also to add his own thoughts and understanding, and to combine them with the current situation, which deeply impressed and sincerely admired other literati.

In 1076, Li Gefei took part in the imperial examination, and Song Shenzong personally served as the chief examiner. Because Li Gefei's discussion of the classics was particularly outstanding, Song Shenzong was amazed, so he made an exception and promoted Li Gefei from the fourth class to the first class. Li Gefei became famous overnight. He was already 31 years old that year, which can be said to be a late bloomer.

In the Song Dynasty, becoming a Jinshi was just the threshold to enter the imperial court, and there was still a long official career to go.

When he first entered the officialdom, Li Gefei served as a military officer in Jizhou, which was equivalent to a staff advisor. Later, he became a professor in Yunzhou. Professor was the title of teachers in the Song Dynasty, which was equivalent to the instructor in the Ming Dynasty.

If in later generations Li Gefei was an older young man and had not yet married, a typical leftover man, he would have been talented, had an official position, was handsome, and was a Jinshi. Therefore, he was favored by the Prime Minister Wang Gui at the time, who betrothed his beloved daughter to him, who was Li Qingzhao's biological mother.

Li Gefei married two wives successively. After Li Qingzhao's mother unfortunately passed away, Li Gefei remarried the granddaughter of Wang Gongchen, who was once the top scholar in the imperial examination.

When Li Gefei was 39 years old, his first wife, Wang, gave birth to a daughter, who later became Li Qingzhao, the most talented woman in the Song Dynasty. Li Gefei was very happy to have a daughter in his middle age.

Unfortunately, Wang died of illness soon after. Li Gefei had to work to earn money to support his family and take care of his daughter. His life was very difficult. Later, Li Gefei married the granddaughter of the top scholar Wang Gongchen as his second wife.

Wang, the second wife, was also very virtuous. She took good care of Li Gefei and his daughter, and treated Li Qingzhao as her own daughter.

Under the care of his second wife, Wang, Li Gefei was able to concentrate on his official career. In the second year after Li Qingzhao was born, Li Gefei was promoted to the position of Imperial College Recorder, and three years later he was promoted to the position of University Principal. Two years later, he was promoted to Doctor, until he followed his teacher Su Dongpo to Lin'an.