In the field of the history of European natural sciences, scientific institutions, such as museums, which played a key decision-making role and performed multiple functions, have been largely explored. However, due to the lack of systematic archives, fewer studies have focused on the researchers sent by the museums to collect the specimens in various parts of the world, and the nature of their fieldwork conducted abroad.
Based on the recently published correspondence between Pierre Teilhard de Chardin during his stay in China and his mentor, Professor Marcellin Boule, this article tries to analyze the circumstances of Teilhard de Chardin’s initial mission to China, the motivations for his involvement in the Choukoutien (Zhoukuodian) archaeological project, and his interactions with Chinese and international archaeologists of his time. In the analysis, special emphasis is placed on the changes over time in the psychology and intellectual thinking of this French paleontologist who initially planned to conduct field work in China on a short-term basis, but later ended up staying in China for more than twenty years.
The analysis is confined to the period of time covered by this correspondence collection (1923-1940), which can be roughly divided into two periods. For the first period (1923-1927) in which Teilhard de Chardin worked in China as a chargé de mission of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, our analysis concentrates on three main aspects: 1) his loyalty towards, and dependency on, the French institutions that subsidized his fieldwork studies, 2) his reactions to the pressure of international competition in the Chinese field, and 3) his initial ignorance and gradually established knowledge about the geological characteristics of China. In the second period (1928-1940), Teilhard de Chardin was invited to serve as an adviser to paleontological research for the Choukoutien archaeological project, and gradually became an internationally known expert in Asian archaeology. During this period, he still depended, to a certain degree, on French reference materials and expertise. Nevertheless, due to the changes in Teilhard de Chardin’s working conditions and status, the initial relationship based on patronage slowly subsided. Instead, Chinese fieldwork became the base for his archaeological research, and he used this base to increase opportunities for cooperation between Chinese and international scholars in the field. It was during this period that he attempted to establish reference standards for the study of Chinese prehistoric culture by applying the gradually accumulated local archaeological data. In doing so, he no longer referred only to the European prehistoric frame of reference established in the 19th century which was based largely on local geological characteristics.
The case of Teilhard de Chardin in China points to the transformations over time in the relationship between researchers sent abroad to conduct field work and the European scientific institutions as the center of the world research network. It also provides an excellent opportunity to observe how different patterns of cooperation between researchers of China and other foreign countries influenced the development of Chinese archaeology in the first half of the twentieth century. This case study thus offers basic insight and knowledge about French research in Chinese archaeology that could be useful for future comparative studies.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, French paleontological mission, Choukoutien archaeological project
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