Li Pingqian was born to a traditional family of scholars in the early 20th century, and he experienced the May Fourth Movement in person. Brought up in both traditional and modern culture, his family dramas champion familial love while avoiding the melodramatic with The Young Mistress' Fan being a prime example. Mother and Son and Our Husband are in keeping with the era and broader in its vision. Progressive thinking in nature, his movies honestly reflect values of modern families.

Rumour has it that Li Pingqian ran away from home when his parents forced him into an arranged marriage. However, most of his surviving films about love are light and entertaining. Tragic elements, if any, are never excessive. Period costume films The Princess Falls in Love and Three Charming Smiles are delightful to watch with many plot developments resembling contemporary romantic comedies. The Green Swan NightClub combines romance, humour and suspense. The Three Loves, with its progressive views on love, is a sexual fantasy, rare in Hong Kong films.

Heroines serving the country is a classic cultural symbol of China. Bible for Girls contends that women should care for the country while describing their ordinary desires in everyday life. The Imperial Maid Fei Zhen'e does not differentiate between officials, roving bandits and common people as they are equally corrupt and ignorant. Bai Guang bravely sacrifices herself in A Strange Woman to save the country but also to resolve her emotional entanglements. In The Peerless Beauty, Yu is like a tool whose fate is destined by political conflicts among nations. Through these outstanding women in troubled times, Li Pingqian portrays patriotism from an unusal variety of perspectives.

When Li Pingqian worked at Shenzhou Film Company, its founder Wang Xuchang believed films ‘profoundly influence social psyche, cultivate temperament and influence society's values', a style known in intellectual circles as ‘Shenzhouist'. Li's later works maintain these characteristics, but he masterfully plays with the characteristics and genre types and adds extra dimensions to his films. Satirical comedies Awful Truth and Tales of the City feature numerous characters and plotlines. Realist dramas Girl on the Front Page and The Seaman and the Dancing Girl are captivating as social curiosities. Laugh, Clown, Laugh reveals the bright and dark sides of people and society, underlining the subtle flavours of life.