John Lien-Kwei Tsang was a doctor in Springfield, Missouri. Born in China, Tsang cared for American prisoners of war in Shanghai during World War II. After moving to Missouri, he became the first neurosurgeon to practice in the Ozarks. He also owned the restaurant where cashew chicken, a famous dish now associated with Springfield, was invented.

John Lein-Kwei Tsang was born in Shanghai, China, on July 3, 1916, to Zung-Chong Tsang and Shih Dou Tsang. He attended Tao-Sung School in Nanking, China, and Suzhou Academy in Suzhou, China. In the 1930s he enrolled at St. John’s University in Shanghai, a school founded by American missionaries and connected with the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He earned a degree in biology in 1937 and received his medical degree in 1940. He completed a residency at Lester Chinese Hospital in Shanghai a year later.

In the 1930s, Japan began a war with China that did not end until the Japanese were defeated in World War II. Japan invaded China and captured Shanghai in 1937. Tsang was working in the city as a surgeon at Municipal Hospital. He was ordered by the Japanese to manage the city’s hospitals. In this role, he managed the medical care of American prisoners of war who were captured in the fight against Japan during World War II. Near the end of the war, Tsang became a surgeon at a hospital in Shanghai.

For his care of American prisoners, Tsang later received one of his most cherished items, a letter from Catherine Nimitz, wife of Admiral Chester Nimitz, the commander in chief of the US Pacific Fleet. She wrote to thank him for his bravery and sacrifice during the war.

After World War II, Tsang traveled to the United States to receive further medical training. He went to St. Louis, where the International College of Surgeons supported his training in surgery and neurosurgery (surgery on the body’s nervous system) at Missouri Baptist Hospital. From 1949 to 1952 he taught neuroanatomy and neurology (the medical field that covers the nervous system) at the Washington University School of Medicine.

While at Missouri Baptist Hospital, Tsang began a years-long effort to gain US citizenship. He did not want to return to China, which had become a Communist nation by the 1950s. Doctors and staff at Missouri Baptist Hospital and Washington University, as well as St. Louis residents, started a letter-writing campaign on Tsang’s behalf to convince the US Congress to change immigration laws dealing with persons displaced by World War II and other conflicts. In 1953, Tsang officially became a US citizen.

In 1954, Tsang moved to Springfield, where he became the first neurosurgeon in the Missouri Ozarks. A neurosurgeon was desperately needed in Springfield because of its growing size. A major center along the Frisco Railroad and Route 66, the city had reached a population of nearly 100,000 residents by the time Tsang arrived. In addition to caring for patients at Springfield’s five major medical facilities, he worked in nearby Ozarks communities at places such as the Mount Vernon Sanatorium, St. Vincent’s Hospital in Monett, the Frisco Railroad Hospital, and St. John’s Hospital and Freeman Hospital in Joplin. He also assisted with medical care at the State Crippled Children’s Service, the US Military Hospital at Fort Leonard Wood, and the US Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield.

Tsang is remembered in southwest Missouri not only for his work as a doctor, but also for his role in starting an Asian-inspired dish that soon became famous.  On vacation in Pensacola, Florida, in 1955, Tsang stopped at a restaurant where Wing Yin “David” Leong, another recent immigrant from China, worked in the kitchen. Impressed by the food, Tsang asked Leong if he would come to work at the restaurant he owned in Springfield. Leong accepted and moved his family to Missouri.

At Tsang’s restaurant, the Lotus Garden, Leong created Springfield-style cashew chicken, a twist on traditional Chinese cooking that became popular not only locally but also in restaurants around the world.

After more than thirty years of practicing medicine throughout the Ozarks, Tsang retired in 1986. During his career, he was a member of the Harvey Cushing Society, now known as the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, and a founder of the Chinese American Neurological Association. John Lien-Kwei Tsang died on October 8, 2002, in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.

Text and research by Sean Rost

For more information about John L. K. Tsang’s life and career, see the following resources:

Society Resources

The following is a selected list of books, articles, and manuscripts about John L. K. Tsang in the research centers of The State Historical Society of Missouri. The Society’s call numbers follow the citations in brackets.

Articles from the Newspaper Collection

• “Doctors of 3 Continents Study Methods of Klemme Here.” St. Louis Star-Times. October 28, 1949. p. 13.
• “Dr. Tsang to Open Chinese Restaurant.” Springfield Leader-Press. June 23, 1955. p. 29.
• “Lotus Garden.” Springfield News & Leader. October 9, 1955. p. B9.
• “Membership in Society Is Sought by Surgeon.” Springfield Leader-Press. March 1, 1954. p. 2.
• “Pioneering Restaurateur, Surgeon Dies.” Springfield News-Leader. October 13, 2002. pp. 3B, 4B.
• Pokin, Steve. “The Life of David Leong: Recipe of Success.” Springfield News-Leader. May 21, 2018. p. 1A, 6A, 7A.

Books and Articles

• Bridges, Amos. “Cashew Chicken Satisfies Ozarkers’ Palates.” Missouri Folklore Society Journal 29-31 (2007-2009): 73-76. [REF F586.6 M691]

Manuscript Collection

• James Preston Kem Papers (C2700)
  Papers from Kem’s term as Republican US senator from Missouri. Most of the collection is constituent correspondence.
• Missouri Food History Project (C4393)
  The Missouri Food History Project documents the history of food production, distribution, and consumption in Missouri, as well as notable nutrition, culinary, and restaurant services involving Missourians. David Leong, Wing Yee Leong, and Wing Ling Leong participated in an oral history for the collection in 2019 (see CD 1, 2).
• Thomas C. Hennings, Jr. Papers (C3000)
  Personal and political papers of a Democratic congressman, 1934-1940; St. Louis circuit attorney, 1940-1941; naval officer, 1941-1944; lawyer, 1944-1950; and US senator, 1950-1960. The collection focuses on Hennings’s senatorial years, the bulk consisting of constituent correspondence, and is arranged topically.

Outside Resources

These links will take you outside the Society’s website. The Society is not responsible for the content of the following websites:

• KCUR
  This website is hosted by KCUR and features an episode from the podcast “Hungry for MO” about David Leong.
• Leong’s Asian Diner
  This website is hosted by Leong’s Asian Diner and features a short biography about David Leong and Springfield-style cashew chicken.