Li, Tien Chuech 李天爵 (1887-?)

FAMILY BACKGROUND

Li Tien Chuech (李天爵 in traditional Chinese) was born on August 4, 1887 in Beijing, China [6].

He had an older brother named Li Tien Lu, who was born in 1886. Li Tien Lu received his college education at Peking Methodist University and graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in 1908 [3]. Before Li Tien Lu came to Vanderbilt University, he was an English instructor at Peking Methodist University. Soon after, he came to Nashville, Tennessee for his studies, and received his master's degree in 1914 and his PhD in 1916 from Vanderbilt. Li Tien Lu was reported to be the closest relative by his brother Li Tien Chuech, who also attended Vanderbilt later in 1918 for a medical degree.

SCHOOL LIFE

The year of Li Tien Chuech's arrival in Nashville, Tennessee is unknown, but it is known that he began his medical studies in 1918 at Vanderbilt University (Note the typo in his name as it appears in the yearbook on the right).

According to university records and the Vanderbilt yearbook, Li graduated in 1922, was on the honor committee from 1919-1920, was secretary and treasurer in 1921, and sergeant at arms in 1922 [7, 8]. He was also part of the Eve Club and the student medical society.

In addition, it was reported in the 1923 alumni directory that he was associated with the Methodist Episcopal Mission in Beijing, China [1].

WWI Draft Card

As an international student who came to the United States, Li Tien Chuech filled out a draft card for WWI while he was a medical student at Vanderbilt University. The draft card provides basic information about him, and also shows that his brother, Li Tien Lu, was residing in Beijing, China.

This serves as a proof that Li Tien Chuech was present in the U.S. in 1918.

THOUGHTS ON RELIGION

Other than continuing to help others as a doctor, he also showed interest in religion and writing. This passage presents Li Tien Chuech's idea about what religion meant in China. Specifically, he expresses his opinion on Christianity.

Li Tien Chuech believed that, although all religion constructs a cultural personality in each individual, Christianity is the only one that presents a "clean human environment" for people [2]. This demonstrates his faith in Christianity.

MEDICAL DIRECTORY

The Chinese medical directory was created in an attempt to put together available data and publish it as a "medical guide." This directory has information about medical institutions and a list of Chinese people who worked in the medical field. The image shows a list of Chinese medical students who graduated from U.S. institutions.

Li Tien Chuech is listed in the 1932 directory, and the record shows that he graduated from Vanderbilt in 1922 [3].

(Note the misspelling of his name.)