Frederick McCormick and the China Monuments Society

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ID: 322050
2026
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Abstract
Abstract Frederick McCormick was an American journalist stationed in China in the late Qing dynasty and the early Republican period. He did much to petition for the protection of historical relics with the Chinese government and in 1908 founded the China Monuments Society. However, his name is rarely mentioned now in accounts of Sino-US relations or Chinese cultural heritage management. This chapter draws attention to the importance of McCormick’s work and his lasting influence on cultural heritage management in China and highlights both his personal efforts and the connections with high-level politicians, diplomats, and collectors in the US and China that allowed him to exert this level of influence. Since the mid-20th century, critics of ‘art imperialism’ have been calling for the return of cultural relics, while advocates of ‘cultural property internationalism’ argue that Western museums should retain and preserve foreign antiquities even if they are of dubious origin. McCormick’s arguments and efforts are an early case study of Western critiques of the expatriation of antiquities, at a moment—the early 20th century—when Western acquisition of Chinese artefacts, often by dubious means, was widespread among private and museum collectors.
Reference Key
openalex_W7170059975 Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors Zha Xiaoying, Anke HEIN
Journal Oxford University Press eBooks
Year 2026
DOI
10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197800324.013.0002
URL
https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197800324.013.0002
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