Diary of J.F. Rock

• Reference:GB 235 JFR/1/1/2/1
• Dates of Creation:1921-1923
• Name of Creator:
  Rock, Joseph Francis Charles
• Language of Material:Chinese English
• Physical Description:
  1 diary

• Scope and Content

  Joseph Rock's diary covering the years 1921-1923.
  The diary includes Includes:
  • Dec. 30th 1921 to May 10th 1922 – Journey from Chiengmai to Li-kiang, NW Yun-nan [with 5 loose photographs];
  • Ascent of Lichiang snow range up to little over 17000 feet elevation
  • Ascent of Lichiang Snow Range to an altitude of 16000 feet, August 27th 1922
  • Vegetation on Likiang snow range in September
  • Journey from Ta-li to T’eng-Yueh, September 23rd 1922 to October 9th 1922
  • Journey from T’eng-Yueh to Lung-ling, October 19th 1922 to Oct 25th 1922
  • Journey from T’eng-Yueh to Sadon in Burma, November 7th to 22nd 1922
  • Tengyueh to Hsuehshan-ting, November 25th [1922?]
  • Journey from Tzu-ku to Champutong on the Salwin, October 21st to November 1st 1923
  • Trip to Chantabum from Bangkok, November 28th

• 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 five parts for personal research can be made available via the links below:
  Part 1: (right click, open link in new tab) https://rbge.resourcespace.com/?r=4056&k=275dca66df
  Part 2: (right click, open link in new tab) https://rbge.resourcespace.com/?r=4057&k=7aebb108fe
  Part 3: (right click, open link in new tab) https://rbge.resourcespace.com/?r=4059&k=3a3045018f
  Part 4: (right click, open link in new tab) https://rbge.resourcespace.com/?r=4060&k=abfad1f6a8
  Part 5: (right click, open link in new tab) https://rbge.resourcespace.com/?r=4058&k=c5feed51ea
  For permission to use the material, please contact the RBGE Library.

• Physical Characteristics and/or Technical Requirements

  The covers have come off the diary and there are loose pages and inserts, so care needed when handling.
  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.

• Related Material

  There is a transcript of this diary available.

• Additional Information

  published

• Genre/Form

  Diaries