Collection Summary
Information for Researchers
Biographical Sketch
Scope and Content
Collection Summary
Collection Title: Joseph Richmond Levenson Papers,
Date (inclusive): [ca. 1954-1969]
Collection Number: BANC MSS 71/113 c
Creator:
Levenson, Joseph Richmond, 1920-1969
Extent:
Number of containers: 5 boxes, 2 cartons
Repository: The
Bancroft Library
Berkeley, California 94720-6000
Physical Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Abstract: Correspondence with colleagues, friends, former students, etc.; MSS of his writings (books and articles) primarily on Chinese
history and civilization; some related notes; biographical information and personalia; notes for course lectures and seminars.
Languages Represented:
English
Information for Researchers
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright has not been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts
must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Bancroft
Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which
must also be obtained by the reader.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Joseph Richmond Levenson Papers, BANC MSS 71/113 c, The Bancroft Library, University of California,
Berkeley.
Biographical Sketch
Joseph R. Levenson was born on June 10, 1920, in Boston, Massachusetts. He attended Boston Latin School (1931-1937) and Harvard
University, graduating magna cum laude in June 1941. In September he became a graduate student in Harvard's History Department,
but with U.S. entrance into World War II, Levenson spent the next five years in the Navy. In 1946 he returned to Harvard and
was awarded his A.M. in 1947 and his Ph.D. two years later, having written his dissertation on Liang Ch'i-ch'ao under the
direction of John K. Fairbank. After spending three years as a Junior Fellow of Harvard's Society of Fellows (1948-1951),
he accepted an assistant professorship at the University of California, Berkeley, where he remained the rest of his distinguished
career. In 1965 he was appointed Sather Professor of History. Levenson died in a boating accident on April 6, 1969.
During Levenson's lifetime, five of his books were published, including
Liang Ch'i-ch'ao and the Mind of Modern China and the three volumes comprising the trilogy,
Confucian China and Its Modern Fate. Another four books were published posthumously. In addition he published thirty-six articles and numerous book reviews.
Scope and Content
The collection of his papers was donated to The Bancroft Library by his widow, Rosemary Sebag-Montefiore Levenson, in 1970,
with additions from Professor Frederic Wakeman in 1973. Housed in five boxes and two cartons, the collection includes correspondence,
manuscripts of Levenson's articles and books, and course notes which reflect both his teaching career and his research interests.
The Key to Arrangement which follows describes the material in greater detail.