Hui-lin Li (李惠林, 1911–2002) was a Chinese

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

, academic, and researcher who worked at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

National Taiwan University National Taiwan University (NTU; zh, t=國立臺灣大學, poj=Kok-li̍p Tâi-oân Tāi-ha̍k, p=, s=) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in 1928 during Taiwan under J ...

, and

Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS; ) is the national academy for natural sciences and the highest consultancy for science and technology of the People's Republic of China. It is the world's largest research organization, with 106 research i ...

Biography

Hui-lin Li was born in Soochow, a city close to

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

. Li earned Biology degrees from Soochow University (B.S., 1930) and

Yenching University Yenching University () was a Private university, private research university in Beijing, China, from 1919 to 1952. The university was formed out of the merger of four Christian colleges between the years 1915 and 1920. The term "Yenching" come ...

(M.S., 1932). In 1940, he traveled to the United States, and earned a Ph.D. in Biology from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1942. From 1943 to 1946 Li studied under Francis W. Pennell and Jacob R. Schramm at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Li was appointed to a professorship at Soochow University in 1946 and at

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

in 1947. He returned to the United States and carried out research at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

in 1950, the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

in 1951, and the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania in 1952. In 1958 Li joined the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania, where he remained until retiring in 1979. The collected Hui-lin Li Papers are archived at the University of Pennsylvania.

Selected publications

From 1932 to 1983, Hui-lin Li published over 200 papers and 9 books. Some notable books are: *(1952)
Floristic Relationships Between Eastern Asia and Eastern North America
' *(1959)
The Garden Flowers of China
' *(1963)
The Origin and Cultivation of Shade and Ornamental Trees
' * (1972)
Trees of Pennsylvania: the Atlantic States and the Lake States
' *(1982)
Contributions to Botany: Studies in Plant Geography, Phylogeny and Evolution, Ethnobotany and Dendrological and Horticultural Botany
' *(2002)
Chinese Flower Arrangement
'. Li was chair of the editorial committee and a contributor to the (1975-1979) ''

Flora of Taiwan Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring ( indigenous) native plants. The corresponding term for animals is '' fauna'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Sometimes ...

'', and the first translator of the ''c.'' 304 ''

Nanfang Caomu Zhuang The (c. 304 CE) ''Nanfang caomu zhuang'' (南方草木狀 ''Plants of the Southern Regions''), attributed to the Jin dynasty (265-420), Western Jin dynasty scholar and botanist Ji Han (嵇含, 263-307), is a Flora (publication), Flora describi ...

'' "Plants of the Southern Regions" (1979).

Awards and honors

Li was awarded a Harrison Fellowship for Research at the

in 1943, a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

in 1961, and a

Fulbright Fellowship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people o ...

in 1968. He won research grants from institutions such as the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

and

American Council of Learned Societies The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is a private, nonprofit federation of 75 scholarly organizations in the humanities and related social sciences founded in 1919. It is best known for its fellowship competitions which provide a ra ...

. Li was elected a member of the

Academia Sinica Academia Sinica (AS, ; zh, t=中央研究院) is the national academy of the Taiwan, Republic of China. It is headquartered in Nangang District, Taipei, Nangang, Taipei. Founded in Nanjing, the academy supports research activities in mathemat ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

in 1964, and was a visiting Professor of Biology at the

Chinese University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public university, public research university in Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. Established in 1963 as a federation of three university college, collegesChung Chi College, New Asia Coll ...

from 1964 to 1965.

References

External links

Hui Lin Li Ph.D. obituary
''The Washington Post'', 21 December 2002 {{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Hu-lin Botanists with author abbreviations 1911 births 2002 deaths Academic staff of the National Taiwan University 20th-century Chinese botanists Harvard University alumni University of Pennsylvania faculty University of Pennsylvania Department of Biology faculty Biologists from Jiangsu Scientists from Suzhou Writers from Suzhou Chinese emigrants to the United States