Li said his daughter was in a bad mood that morning, so he watched her on the classroom CCTV monitor outside in case he needed to personally comfort her some more.
However, the surveillance footage shows her teacher, named as Ms Hu, angrily pointing a stick at her and hitting her with the wooden rod when she reportedly refuses to put on her apron.
As a second teacher tries to comfort Li's daughter by holding her in her lap, Hu approaches again and violently shakes the girl before covering her head with the apron.
Moments later, Li, who can no longer watch from outside, storms into the classroom and backhands Hu before removing his daughter from the class.
He turns a second time and is seen punching, kicking and slapping Hu before being pulled away by others.
Local authorities arrested both Li and Hu, saying neither party agreed to settle the matter privately, which may have allowed them to avoid criminal charges.
Li said he declined because the teacher "showed no remorse".
He added: "She refused to apologise. She didn't care about losing her job.
"Her attitude, and the attitude of her family, was vile, and I cannot accept that.
"I accept the consequences of my own actions, but this child-abusing teacher must be arrested too."
The nursery school has dismissed Hu, and local authorities have jailed her for 12 days and fined her 500 RMB ($110) for abuse.
She is expected to receive further punishment from the education bureau and could be hit with a lifetime teaching ban.
Li was jailed for a week and fined 200 RMB ($44).
