Who's Who in China (3rd edition)/Cheng T'ien-hsi
Dr. F. T. Cheng
郭天锡字弗定
(Ch'eng T'ien-hsi)
Dr. F. T. Cheng was born at Hsiangshan Hsien, Kwangtung Province, in 1884. He received his early education in Hongkong. In 1907 he went to London for higher education and in 1909 joined the University of London and graduated with honors in law in 1912. In 1913 he was called to the Bar, after which he did some rąsearch work and obtained a Doctorate of Laws of the University of London, being the first Chinese to obtain that honor. In 1916 he won the Quain Prize of the University of London in a public essay competition in international law. In the same year he was elected an honorary member of the Grotius Society of London, a rare distinction for a Chinese. While reading in London he wrote a book on "Rules of Private International Law Determining Capacity to Contract,” which was described by the International Law Notes of London as "a learned and most clear-headed piece of work.” He returned to China in 1917 and was admitted to the Hongkong Bar. He went to Peking towards the end of 1917. At first was attached to the Ministry of Justice and in 1918 was appointed Chief Compiler of the Law Codification Commission. In 1919 he was appointed Judge of the Supreme Court. In January 1920 Dr. Ch'eng was decorated by the Fourth Order of Chiaho and in the same month appointed Standing Examiner of the Final Examination for Judicial Officials. In September 1920 Dr. Cheng was transferred back to the Law Codification Commission. Since his arrival in Peking he has translated a number of works of Chinese legal literature into English, among which may be mentioned the “Supreme Court decisions" "High Prize Court Judgments,” “Draft Code of Criminal Procedure,” and "Supreme Court Regulations." He has brought out an English version to the draft civil code. Dr. Cheng was elected a member of the International Law Association of London. In September 1921 Dr. Ch'eng was appointed Legal Expert to the Chinese Delegation to the Pacific Conference. In June 1922 he was again appointed Chief Compiler of the Law Codification Commission which position he resigned in November 1923.
