Diary of J.F.C. Rock

Reference:GB 235 JFR/1/1/3/1
Dates of Creation:1923-1924
Name of Creator:
Language of Material:Chinese English Tibetan
Physical Description:

Scope and Content
Diary of Joseph F.C. Rock dating to between 1923 and 1924.
The diary has been written in three parts:
- Notes on Yunnan 1923 (Feb 1923-Mar1923)
- Journey from Nguluko to Atuntze - Liutichiang, Dokerla - Tsarong, Peimashan, Tungchuling and return to Nguluko (Oct1923-Dec1923)
- J.F. Rock Agricultural Explorer, U.S. Dept of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry, Washington D.C. (Jan1924-Apr1924)
Naxi vocabulary, p.28; diary also features other vocabularies, including Tibetan.
Administrative / Biographical History
Born Vienna, Austria 1884; died Hawaii 1962
Relatively uneducated, penniless and often in poor health Joseph Rock left Vienna as a young man in 1902, travelling through Europe and on to the United States. Moving to Hawaii where he was appointed by the Division of Forestry as its first botanical collector, he became a naturalised American in 1913. Although self taught as a botanist, Rock was appointed lecturer at the College in Hawaii, established its first herbarium, and served as its first curator from 1911 until 1920. In 1920 he was appointed by the US Department of Agriculture to find a tree in south east Asia the oil from which was supposed to be useful in treating leprosy. This was the start of his new life as an explorer and in 1922 he arrived in Lijiang, Yunnan which was to become his ‘home’ province though he also travelled widely in Szechuan, Gansu and also Tibet. He was to spend the next 27 years living among the people of the Western Provinces of China collecting plants for western museums and exploring and mapping mountains on the Tibetan border. Working for organisations such as Harvard University’s Arnold Arboretum, the United States Department of Agriculture, the United States Natural History Museum and the National Geographic Society, he photographed and wrote about the indigenous plants, people and geography of the remote region. He entered the lamaseries of Tibet and became deeply involved in the social and political conditions that affected Western China, witnessing much brutality during various rebellions. He was forced to leave communist China in 1949, but continued travelling around the world, eventually returning to Hawaii where he died in 1962. Rock bequeathed his extensive photographic collection to the archives of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, alongside his diaries documenting his travels.
Source: ‘In China’s Border Provinces; The Turbulent Career of Joseph Rock’ S.B. Sutton. ‘Joseph Rock and His Shangri-La’ Jim Goodman. Archives
D.W.
Access Information
Collection is open to researchers by appointment, see (right click, open link in new tab:) https://www.rbge.org.uk/science-and-conservation/library-and-archives/visiting-the-library/
Note
Born Vienna, Austria 1884; died Hawaii 1962
Relatively uneducated, penniless and often in poor health Joseph Rock left Vienna as a young man in 1902, travelling through Europe and on to the United States. Moving to Hawaii where he was appointed by the Division of Forestry as its first botanical collector, he became a naturalised American in 1913. Although self taught as a botanist, Rock was appointed lecturer at the College in Hawaii, established its first herbarium, and served as its first curator from 1911 until 1920. In 1920 he was appointed by the US Department of Agriculture to find a tree in south east Asia the oil from which was supposed to be useful in treating leprosy. This was the start of his new life as an explorer and in 1922 he arrived in Lijiang, Yunnan which was to become his ‘home’ province though he also travelled widely in Szechuan, Gansu and also Tibet. He was to spend the next 27 years living among the people of the Western Provinces of China collecting plants for western museums and exploring and mapping mountains on the Tibetan border. Working for organisations such as Harvard University’s Arnold Arboretum, the United States Department of Agriculture, the United States Natural History Museum and the National Geographic Society, he photographed and wrote about the indigenous plants, people and geography of the remote region. He entered the lamaseries of Tibet and became deeply involved in the social and political conditions that affected Western China, witnessing much brutality during various rebellions. He was forced to leave communist China in 1949, but continued travelling around the world, eventually returning to Hawaii where he died in 1962. Rock bequeathed his extensive photographic collection to the archives of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, alongside his diaries documenting his travels.
Source: ‘In China’s Border Provinces; The Turbulent Career of Joseph Rock’ S.B. Sutton. ‘Joseph Rock and His Shangri-La’ Jim Goodman. Archives
D.W.
A scan of a photocopy of this diary in three parts can be made available for personal research via the links below:
Part 1: (right click, open link in new tab) https://rbge.resourcespace.com/?r=4018&k=a66d6eb191
Part 2: (right click, open link in new tab) https://rbge.resourcespace.com/?r=4021&k=70cfb3550d
Part 3: (right click, open link in new tab) https://rbge.resourcespace.com/?r=4025&k=6eb722f845
For permission to use the material, please contact the RBGE Library.
Physical Characteristics and/or Technical Requirements
The covers of the diary are loose so care required.
Diary should be supported when open.
Archivist's Note
Description revised and renumbered by L. Paterson in June 2024
This diary may contain, either in its content or catalogue description, terminology, language and attitudes which are today considered inappropriate, outdated, offensive or distressing.
Conditions Governing Use
Permission required from RBGE.
Additional Information
published
Subjects
Naxi
Genre/Form
Diaries