Yi Lixun was born in the sixth year of Xianfeng in the Qing Dynasty (1856). His family name was Shiqinguan. He was a native of Ninghua, Fujian and a great-great-grandson of Bingshou. When he was young, he traveled to Jiangsu and Zhejiang with his grandfather Yi Xingcun. When he was six years old, he was killed by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. His great-grandfather Yi Nian was martyred at the same time as his grandfather. His biological mother also died in the war. He followed his wet nurse to Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province. Yi Lixun was influenced by his family studies since he was a child and is knowledgeable. He studied in Hangzhou as a teenager. Following his father's orders, he returned to Ninghua to take the exam. He was ranked first among all students and ranked first in the Yiyou subject exam.
At the end of Guangxu's reign, he served as magistrate of Wuxi County. Later, he sold in Shanghai for decades and became famous as a Han official. Regardless of knowing it or not, there is no writing without moisturizing. This is different from ordinary calligraphers and painters. Yi Lixun is proficient in calligraphy, seal, official script and cursive writing, but the most exquisite is Han Li. His official script inherits the legacy of his ancestors, which is elegant and simple, with a calm mood. It shows wit and liveliness in its strictness and simplicity; it focuses on the beauty of form and expresses the melancholy and transcendent style of writing. Therefore, his calligraphy is loved and collected by many people. He once led more than 600 people in the Shanghai Tongshu Bureau and printed and edited the "Collection of Ancient and Modern Books", with each volume of 10,000 volumes and 5,200 volumes. It took three years to complete.
In April of 1942 (the year of Renwu), I occasionally caught wind and cold and died on the 14th. Eighty-seven years old. Buried in Hupao, Hangzhou. The tomb was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution.
He raised a son Yuanzhao and a daughter Shuzhao.