In 1972 the ROC Government Information Office invited him to put on a traveling exhibition in the United States, where he saw the complete freedom enjoyed by contemporary American ceramicists. He looked on as visitors gasped in delight at his works and even hugged him enthusiastically. The atmosphere there contrasted starkly from that in Taiwan, where Lee had always walked a loner's path, often in the face of fierce rejection.
一九七二年，李茂宗應新聞局的邀約到美國巡迴展出，他看到了美國現代陶藝創作的完全自由，而當他在展覽現場時，總有觀眾站在他的作品旁邊不住地發出讚嘆，並且熱情地擁抱他，這與在國內寂寞甚至被排斥的創作環境截然不同。