Yan Li: From Civilization Back to the Jianghu — 20 Scattered Thoughts at the End of 2025

"Not on the shore, but on the crest of the wave." By Yan Li, Eastern Bell Capital

Five years ago, Yan Li was in the most "aggressive" phase of his investing career.

Eastern Bell Capital had just closed its sixth RMB fund and second USD fund, crossing the 30 billion RMB threshold in assets under management. He spoke with us under Shanghai's blazing summer sun about the "Eastern Bell Constitution," about how to evolve from a scrappy upstart into a civilized institution, building a platform-oriented governance model for the future. It was a distinctive and compelling story of how a firm from the margins had fought its way into China's VC mainstream.

History is always unpredictable. The domestic and international landscape has shifted dramatically, and the paradigm of venture capital has been fundamentally transformed. For Eastern Bell, even as the outside world saw its moments of glory, internal changes were quietly brewing beneath the surface.

When Yan Li sat down with us again in late 2025, he no longer spoke of the "Eastern Bell Constitution." He had abandoned his earlier ambition for platformization. His words focused more on understanding and responding to environmental shifts, on reflections about life, and on the excitement of exploring AI and China's technology wave. "AI," "a new paradigm of internationalization," and "supply chain restructuring" became his new keywords.

"In the past, we wanted to move from the jianghu to civilization. But in today's era, we may need to return from civilization back to the jianghu," Yan Li said frankly.

Eastern Bell has grown quiet in recent years, with little information reaching the outside world. Rumors have circulated about headcount reductions. But up close, the firm's transformation is far from simple retrenchment — it's a restructuring for the future, a return to what Yan Li calls "truth."

He recognized that structural contradictions were becoming increasingly pronounced. The era's new opportunities lay hidden deep below the surface. The old model of operating on brand and professional veneer was perhaps no longer working. He began reviving the "grassroots spirit," that primal commercial vitality of getting your hands dirty in the industries themselves.

To honor his fiduciary duty to LPs and maintain market sensitivity, he advocated for putting "veteran cadres on the front lines" — having senior partners retake control of the most critical operating rooms. As the firm's number one, he led by example, traveling among industry leaders to uncover underwater opportunities and secure strategic partnerships. He began spending more time with founders born in the 1980s, 1990s, and even mid-1990s, using his industry knowledge to find common ground with these "new entrants."

"The more time I spend on the ground looking at deals, the clearer Eastern Bell's path forward becomes."

Today's Yan Li appears more translucent than he did five years ago. He still loves investing, but that love is no longer about proving some "ism" or capability. It has returned to something more fundamental in the human heart — the pure enjoyment of a "game" played alongside the brightest minds of the era.

"Most importantly, we're not on the shore. We're on the crest of the wave."

Five years later, Yan Li joins Anyong Waves' "End of 2025" series with 20 fragments of thought. Even as massive waves crash around him, the 54-year-old still relishes the uncertainty of riding them. Perhaps for him, this means more than success itself.

Today is the last working day of the Yisi Snake Year, and this is the final piece in our "End of 2025" series.

Our thanks to Liu Qin, Li Xiaojun, Huadong Wang, William Wang, He Yu, Qu Tian, and Yan Li for their sincere participation and sharing over the past three months. Thanks as well to every reader who joined Anyong Waves in feeling the power of thought during this year of transformation, at this junction between old and new. We hope you'll continue to believe that while eras change, genuine thinking endures.

And finally — blessings for every ending, and blessings for every beginning.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Part 01

Cycles and Adjustment

1. The pain-relieving power of a grand historical perspective: I've been reading extensively in history and philosophy these past two years. When you see clearly the patterns of historical evolution, you no longer feel anxious about present turbulence. You know this is merely an inevitable bout of growing pains — short-term twists don't change the path; the long-term outlook remains bright.

2. Structural opportunities emerge from change: When the sailing is smooth, no one thinks to change. Only during periods of transformation, when large ships run aground, do small boats get chances to escape and restructure — and this is precisely the best time to capture deals.

3. From civilization back to the jianghu: So-called platformization and professionalization can sometimes dilute an organization's soul. We need to recover our original aspiration and build an agile organization. This means returning to a "concentric circles culture" of tight internal collaboration, "banding together" to create value for our ecosystem, and "staying grounded" by going deep into industries.

4. Veteran cadres back to the front lines: Sit in the investment committee's chair too long, and you start mistaking PowerPoints for reality. Veteran cadres must return to the front lines, to the first scene of industry and innovation, to personally sense the "soul" of what's happening on the ground.

5. Go with the times, move forward with abandon: Different strategies are choices made under different environmental conditions. Changes in environment may come from misjudging them, or more likely because complex environments are inherently difficult to predict. Don't wallow in regret. Don't try to fight the era's massive waves alone. Follow the patterns — observe them, adapt to them, and quickly find opportunities within them. Have sharp eyes, strike hard, and catch the big whales amid the volatility.

Part 02

New Opportunities of My Own

6. The curtain has just risen on AI applications: The infrastructure for AI hardware and software in China has largely been laid. AI is transitioning from the "infrastructure phase" to the "creation phase." A single technology can spawn a cascade of new opportunities — just as the普及 of electricity triggered the home appliance revolution. AI, as an extension of information technology, is now entering its most exciting phase of application-layer innovation.

7. Hardware-software integration is the endgame: Pure hardware is too brutal; pure software too light. The real winners will be those who integrate both. Hard tech is the body; digitization is the soul; global vision determines how far it can go.

8. Going global means building roads: More important than selling goods overseas is building highways there. Our investments in a series of export-oriented software and logistics companies that control scenarios and data are essentially about constructing a new international digital governance order.

9. Position yourself in front of the "big guy": The trick to squeezing onto a bus is standing in front of a large person — they'll push you on and block those behind you. We're now seeking out industry leaders and positioning ourselves in front of these "big guys" to board together. The logic of partnering with large companies is that you genuinely create value for them. You're the nimble small creature in the wild that can solve problems the elephant can't because it can't turn around easily. That's what makes for a lasting partnership.

10. Either have the root of wisdom, or know how to follow: The root of wisdom in investing comes from the deduction of worldview and investment philosophy. "Knowing how to follow" means aligning with the state, with chain masters who control industrial ecosystems, and with those who possess the root of wisdom — elevating your own wisdom through theirs.

Part 03

Reflections on Life

11. Happiness stems from compounding cognition: Doing a few push-ups each day, reading books that resonate — this micro-achievement is happiness in the present moment. When you can continuously deconstruct the patterns of how the world operates, the elevation of cognition itself is the highest reward.

12. The "aging" of giants is opportunity: All organizations eventually drift toward bureaucracy and rigidity. When large companies and institutions rest on their brands and fall asleep, that's when nimble external forces like us have the chance to help them with disruptive innovation.

13. Lifelong self-criticism: The aging of any institution begins when it stops doubting itself. Only by continuously negating yesterday's paths to success can you maintain that sliver of "sexy" sharpness amid great transformation.

14. Be grateful for this era's complexity: If everything followed the script, what would investors like us be for? It is precisely because this world is intricate and unpredictable that restless souls like us have the opportunity to seek truth.

15. Knowing heaven's mandate: I used to want to prove something. Now I understand the world isn't black and white. The essence of things tends to be dualistic, in shades of gray. Acknowledging your own traits (even flaws), and doing your best within that range — that is knowing heaven's mandate.

16. Appreciate those pursuing "something greater than life": True idealists pursue something more important than money, even more important than life itself. Even if I can't reach that realm, I'm willing to applaud them and support them in creating miracles.

17. Preserve some warmth: Those who have climbed mountains together, played ball together, built companies together, and endured hardship together — these are the true kindred spirits. Beyond the cold logic of business, preserve some human warmth. Friendship is what I've valued most since founding my firm.

18. On the crest of the wave, not on the shore: Those who truly push the world forward are those who dare to ride the crest, who dare to tread the waves. Though there's risk of falling, that moment of resonating with the era is irreplaceable.

19. Drink Moutai, not sugar water: Ordinary people prefer what's easy and what brings short-term happiness, staring daily at the sugar water that's easy to swallow. But exploring the logic behind a complex world, pursuing the most exceptional deals — this isn't so simple. It's more like drinking Moutai: harsh on the entry, requiring long-term "savoring" to feel the profound aromatic spirit.

20. Investing is a game of life: I treat investing as a high-difficulty intellectual game. I'm grateful to LPs for giving me the money to explore the world alongside the smartest souls of this era.

Layout | Yao Nan Image source | IC Photo Recommended Reading

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