20-24 septembrie 2009 - Biblioteca Metropolitana Bucuresti

J.F. Rock and the study of Naxi rituals 733Hillebrand 3 ). His Ornamental Trees of Hawaii 4 is still a classic, toquote just one title.Rock was responsible for the introduction of a large amount ofbotanical species, and a few hundred of them were named after him. Hefound the seeds of the Chaulmoogra tree 5 (Hydnocarpus Kurzii) whichyielded a much needed cure for lepra. And he is still well-known in theRhododendron and peony communities. He also collected a large numberof birds for the Museum of Comparative Zoology of Harvard University,without, however, specializing as an ornithologist. 6Rock’s ethnological reputation is the result of his work on the Naxiwhose pictographic manuscripts caught his fancy early on 7 . They are nowin the possession of an American private collector, the Library of Congress,Harvard-Yenching Library, the Berlin State Library, and other institutions.A catalogue of the Berlin holdings was prepared by Rock himself justbefore he passed away. 8It seems that Rock was particularly fascinated by the religious sideof Naxi life and traditions, partly, certainly, because of the manuscripts, butperhaps also because he himself had such a strong religious interest as aboy. As an adult he often complained about the missionaries in China andmade them responsible for many a bad situation. Additional motivationmay have come from the fact that there were few Naxi specialists left who31821-1886, author of Flora of the Hawaiian Islands. New York, London 1888.XCVI.4The ornamental trees of Hawaii. By Joseph F. Rock, Botanist of the College ofHawaii, Consulting Botanist of the Board of Commissioners of Agriculture and Forestry,author of The indigenous trees of the Hawaiian islands. With seventy-nine photoengravingsand two color-plates. Published under patronage. Honolulu, Hawaii 1917. V,incl. 79 pl., 1 col. pl.5Hunting the chaulmoogra tree. By J.F. Rock, agricultural explorer of the Officeof Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction, Bureau of Plant Industry, U.S. Department ofAgriculture. Illustrated with photographs by the author. National Geographic Magazine41.1922, 242-276, 39 pl, 1 map.6Birds collected by Dr. Joseph F. Rock in Western Kansu and Eastern Tibet. ByOutram Bangs and James L. Peters 1928, Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoologyat Harvard College 68, 311-381.7His earliest papers on Naxi books are: The origin of the Tso-la books, or books ofdivination of the Na-khi or Mo-so tribe. [By] J. F. Rock 1936, Journal of the West ChinaBorder Research Society. 8, 39-52, 6 ill., 1 pl.; Nichols Mo-so manuscript of the AmericanGeographical Society. / Joseph F. Rock. Geographical Review.27.1937, 229-239, 4 ill.8Na-khi Manuscripts. Part 1-2. Edited by Klaus J. Janert. Compiled by Joseph FrancisRock† Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner 1965. XVII, 196 p., 1 col. pl., 32 b/w pl.; VI, 197-485, 1col. pl., 5 b/w pl. (Verzeichnis der orientalischen Handschriften in Deutschland.7, 1-2)