Ying Li

"尚气，别怕. 你有神龙之心."

- Ying Li to Shang-Chi

Ying Li (Mandarin: 應麗) was the former guardian of Ta Lo, as well as the wife of Xu Wenwu, the mother of Shang-Chi and Xu Xialing, and the sister of Ying Nan.

Meeting Wenwu
In 1996, Ying Li was guarding Ta Lo when Xu Wenwu, who was on his search for the village, managed to make his way through the bamboo forest and encounter her. She explained she was the guardian of the entrance and that he as not welcomed in. They engaged in a battle, and despite the fact that Wenwu wielded the rings, she was able to overpower him as she was empowered by abilities granted to her by the Great Protector.

Intrigued by Ying Li after she defeated him, Wenwu returned to her multiple times to court her, and they fell in love. Initially, Ying Li wanted to live with Wenwu in Ta Lo; however, the villagers rejected Wenwu, and as such, she left behind her village and the abilities granted to her from the Great Protector to start a family with Wenwu. Eventually, she gave birth to a son, Shang-Chi, and a daughter, Xu Xialing.

Death
One night, a group known as the Iron Gang, who had a past duty with Wenwu, infiltrated their home. In exchange for the safety of her children, Ying Li, made a deal with the Iron Gang in exchange for her own life. In a bid to save herself, she decided to fight with the members of the Iron Gang on her own. Before heading into battle she told her children that she loved them.

Despite her lack of powers, Ying Li gave a great fight to the organisation, defeating a lot of them on her own. Despite her best efforts, she was eventually outnumbered and killed by the gang, who spared her children after her requests.

Legacy
"I miss my sister as much as you do, but this is not the way to honor her memory."

- Ying Nan to Xu Wenwu

In honor of Ying Li, the people of Ta Lo set up a memorial for her. Long after her death, the Dweller-in-Darkness called to Xu Wenwu, impersonating Ying Li in order to release the Soul Eaters on Ta Lo, if he opened the gate in which he thought his wife was imprisoned in. After the Dweller-in-Darkness was killed, Shang-Chi and Xu Xialing floated lanterns away into the water, in honor their parents.

Personality
Ying Li was a calm, kind, and loving mother to Shang-Chi and Xu Xialing, and wife to Xu Wenwu. She would often tell her son stories of his father and how he and she met. Before meeting Wenwu, she was the guardian of the Ta Lo Village which she was a rather dutiful, strong, and fearless person which her sister, Ying Nan and her husband admired her.

During the duel between her and Wenwu, she displays a playful side of herself as joking about Wenwu using the rings to fight her and smiling at him during their fight. Though she and Wenwu were enemies, they did have a mutual attraction to each other before genuinely falling in love. She loved her husband very much as she decided to leave the village, get married, and having his children. Ying Li was the only person Wenwu ever loved and her influence made him to become a better man before her death.

Former Powers

 * Great Protector Empowerment: As being the former guardian of Ta Lo, Ying Li bonded with the Great Protector and gained access to a portion of its powers, enhancing several physical attributes including strength, durability, speed and agility as well as being able to freely manipulate air.
 * Enhanced Strength: As the guardian of Ta Lo, Ying Li had superior strength than average humans, being able to fight on par with Wenwu, the owner of the 10 Rings. Every time Li blocks Wenwu’s attack, a slight sock grey shockwave can be seen around it.
 * Enhanced Durability: To be added
 * Enhanced Speed: To be added
 * Enhanced Agility: To be added
 * Enhanced Stamina: To be added
 * Enhanced Reflexes: To be added
 * Air Manipulation: To be added
 * Force-Field Generation: To be added
 * Air Blasts: To be added
 * Hurricane Generation: To be added
 * Energy Blasts: To be added

Abilities
"My mother was the only one who could beat him."

- Shang-Chi to Ying Nan


 * Master Martial Artist: Ying Li vs. Xu Wenwu.png As being the former guardian of Ta Lo, Ying Li was extensively trained in martial arts. Her fighting style was balanced by Tai Chi that involved powerful pushes, strikes, blocks, and kicks with Baguazhang. She was able to overwhelm [[Xu Wenwu]], a warlord with centuries of experiences in combat and her eventual husband.
 * Master Acrobat: To be added
 * Bilingualism: Ying Li was fluent in her native Mandarin, as well as English.

Weapons

 * Ten Rings: When Ying Li first met Wenwu, she disarmed him of his rings.

Facilities
To be added

Family

 * Ying Nan - Sister
 * Xu Wenwu † - Husband
 * Xu Shang-Chi - Son
 * Xu Xialing - Daughter

Allies

 * Great Protector
 * Guang Bo †
 * Morris - Pet
 * Ten Rings - Former Enemies

Enemies

 * Iron Gang
 * Iron Gang Leader † - Killer

Trivia

 * Originally, in the comics the mother of Shang-Chi was an American woman who Fu Manchu selected to be the mother of his perfect heir. This was eventually retconned by Gene Luen Yang after the introduction of Ying Li in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with the reveal of Jiang Li as the mother of both Shang-Chi and Sister Hammer in the comics.
 * In the comics, the Mandarin was betrothed to a woman named Mei Ling, who sacrificed herself to save Iron Man's love interest Janice Cord.
 * Her name is written as 應麗 on her in Ta Lo.

Behind the Scenes

 * In Marvel's official cast announcement in December 2020, Michelle Yeoh and Fala Chen's characters were named Jiang Nan and Jiang Li respectively. The "Jiang" family name was also featured in merchandise for Ying Li, as well as promotional material, and for the comic book counterpart of the character.