Briefwechsel J. F. Rock - J. Schubert 1935 - 1961

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Joseph Franz Rock (1884-1962), originally from Vienna and later residing in Hawaii, made significant contributions as a botanist, geographer, philologist, and linguist. He lived in China from 1922 to 1949, focusing on the language and culture of the Na-khi people in Yunnan, situated between Han-Chinese and Tibetans. During this time, he became acquainted with Johannes Schubert (1896-1976), a Leipzig-based Tibetologist and Mongolist who worked as a librarian and later as a professor at the Eastern Asian Institute. Their correspondence spanned over a quarter of a century, with most of Rock's letters preserved in Schubert's estate, alongside many of Schubert's replies. Rock's letters vividly depict his extensive experiences among the Na-khi, his scientific endeavors, and his tumultuous life post-1949, marked by travels across Asia, America, and Europe. Schubert's letters reveal insights into his own research and the challenging conditions he faced in pursuing Tibetological studies, often limited to his free time as a librarian and later constrained by the circumstances in the former GDR. The edition includes a comprehensive bibliography and an index of all individuals mentioned in the correspondence.