Diary of Joseph F.C. Rock

Reference:GB 235 JFR/1/1/21
Dates of Creation:1934-1935
Name of Creator:
Language of Material:Chinese English
Physical Description:

Scope and Content
Diary of Joseph F.C. Rock; from January 29th 1934 – January 1st 1935
Includes pasted in photographs that include:
- The Muli King (p.213) “The Muli King was murdered on the 2nd of the 8th moon or September 10th 1934”
- “My good friend the Tsong Kwan of Yongning, died on July 20th 1933” (p215)
- Christmas image (p.253)
- 3 taken at Hai tien in November 1934 that include Rock, Edgar Snow, [Mrs Snow?] and Nakhi [Naxi] men, (pp.260-263) “Edgar Snow, J.F. Rock, Ho-Chi hui and Chan Chung tien photographed at Hai tien, near Peiping, November 1934, in Snow’s compound – we had just returned from Wan shou shan”
- Pressed flowers taped in at back (p,299); “Violets from the tomb of Emperor Young lo of the Ming Dynasty, May 18th 1934, see page…”; “From the court of the T’ai ho tien throne room of Kienlung, May 1934”; “Leaf from the coffin of Emperor Francis Joseph I of Austria, Kapuziner Gruft, Wien, See Vol. 35” [JFR/1/1/20 has a 35 on its spine – could this be vol.35?]
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 the diary is available for personal research via the link below:
(right click, open link in new tab) https://rbge.resourcespace.com/?r=4052&k=3dd62a0605
For permission to use the material, please contact the RBGE Library.
Physical Characteristics and/or Technical Requirements
Diary contains pasted photographs and pressed flowers so care required when handling.
Diary should be supported when in use.
Archivist's Note
Description revised by L. Paterson in July 2024.
This diary had previously been catalogued as JFR/1/1/24 and as ‘Volume 24’ but it is unclear as to why, as Rock has not annotated it as such. During re-cataloguing in July 2024, the last six diaries were reordered so that the sequence is now as chronological as possible. At this point, ‘Volume 24’ has been removed from the title, and the catalogue reference changed to JFR/1/1/21.
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
Genre/Form
Diaries