C.W. Bishop Manuscript

Imagine reaching Shanghai on March 17, 1923 and embarking on a journey to excavate the site at which Buddhism was believed to have been first received in China. Transcribe this project to learn about how Carl Whiting Bishop did just that on gallery-sponsored travels to China. Learn about the various challenges that the expedition team confronted as they explored antiquities and developed a pioneering archaeological record, starting at "White Horse Temple." C.W. Bishop (1881-1942) was an archaeologist, anthropologist, and specialist in the field of East Asian studies, who served as an Associate in Archaeology with the Freer Gallery. Born in Tokyo, Bishop spent the first 16 years of his life in Japan, then returned to Japan along with China and Korea as part of archaeological surveys several times from 1914 to 1918. From 1918-1920, Bishop served with the United States Navy in China as lieutenant, junior grade, in China. He then studied with Franz Boas at Columbia University, where he was awarded his M.A. by the Department of Anthropology. Bishop participated in many expeditions as part of his curatorial roles with Peabody Museum, University of Pennsylvania Museum, and the Freer Gallery of Art. As you transcribe, you’ll learn about negotiations undertaken by Bishop and colleagues with Chinese officials in a time of political instability, the establishment of the Chinese Archaeological Society, and the decision to dig at Pai Ma Ssu, the location of the “White Horse Temple.” This project features papers from Bishop's Gallery-sponsored travels to China, 1923 to 1927 and from 1929-1934, while acting as Associate Curator at the Freer Gallery of Art. This includes his unpublished manuscript, "Archaeological Research in China, 1923-1934", notecards, photographs and maps relating to his numerous publications on Chinese art and archaeology. Learn more about Bishop, archaeological research, and this collection from the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.