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Durdin (Tillman) Papers
MSS 0095
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Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla 92093-0175
Title: Tillman Durdin Papers
Creator:
Durdin, Tillman
Identifier/Call Number: MSS 0095
Physical Description:
29.8 Linear feet
(27 archives boxes, 5 card files boxes, 16 records cartons, and 1 flat box)
Date (inclusive): 1937-1974
Abstract: Papers of Frank Tillman Durdin (1907-1998), China specialist, journalist for the
New York Times (1937-1974) and the first American journalist granted a visa to reenter China in 1971. During his career, Durdin reported
on the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), the collapse of European colonial rule in Indo-China and the emergence of the People's
Republic of China.
Languages:
English
.
Scope and Content of Collection
Papers of Frank Tillman Durdin, China specialist, journalist for the
New York Times (1937-1974) and the first American journalist granted a visa to reenter China in 1971. Materials include correspondence between
Durdin and the
New York Times staff, original copies of news reports filed by Durdin, extensive subject files on the People's Republic of China, Taiwan
and other East Asian countries, and photographs documenting the Sino-Japanese War, 1937-1945. The papers focus on important
events in East Asian political, economic and social history from the early 1930s to the early 1970s, including China's struggle
against Japanese expansion in the late 1930s and early 1940s; the collapse of European colonialism in Indo-China; and the
emergence and development of the People's Republic of China.
Arranged in eight series: 1) BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS, 2) CORRESPONDENCE, 3) WRITINGS BY TILLMAN DURDIN, 4) WRITINGS BY MARGARET
DURDIN, 5) FINANCIAL RECORDS, 6) SUBJECT FILES, 7) PHOTOGRAPHS, and 8) ORIGINALS OF PRESERVATION PHOTOCOPIES.
Frank Tillman Durdin was born on March 20, 1907, in Elkhart, Texas. He began his career in journalism during high school as
editor of the weekly newspaper
Pecos Enterprise. During college Durdin worked intermittently for the
San Antonio Express and the
Los Angeles Times.
In 1930, Durdin entered the merchant marine and shipped out as a seaman to see the world and left ship in Shanghai, China,
where he took up residence. He became a reporter for the English-language daily
Shanghai Evening Post, and later, the managing editor of the
China Post.
On August 20, 1937, Durdin joined the staff of the
New York Times as a special correspondent and covered the Sino-Japanese War. He spent the next four years reporting and photographing events
while accompanying Chinese troops. He was present during the siege of the Chinese capital city of Nanking in December 1937,
and reported one of the important stories of the war, usually referred to as the "Rape of Nanking." Later, Durdin lived in
Chungking and came under daily Japanese aerial attack. In 1941, he was made bureau chief in China.
With the impending expansion of Japanese hostilities in East Asia, Durdin moved to Singapore in time to cover the invasion
of Indochina, Malaya, and the Dutch East Indies. He was evacuated shortly before Singapore fell. He continued to cover World
War II in the Pacific and was the first
New York Times correspondent on Guadalcanal after the Marines landed. Durdin later covered the China-Burma-India theater of operations.
After the war, Durdin re-established the
New York Times China bureau in Nanking, served as its bureau chief and reported on the Communist takeover. During 1948-1949 Durdin spent
a year at Harvard as a Neiman Fellow.
In the summer of 1949, Durdin returned to Southeast Asia hoping to re-enter mainland China as a correspondent. Unable to
obtain an entry permit, he resigned himself to reporting the news of the region, moving between Saigon, Bangkok, Singapore,
Hong Kong, Rangoon, and Djakarta. Durdin spent much of the early 1950s reporting on the war in Indo-China, taking the opportunity
to cover other places and stories when the rainy season dampened hostilities.
In 1961, Durdin returned to New York to become the Far East Specialist on the editorial board of the
New York Times. He also worked as a consultant for the Institute for Defense Analyses researching the possible regional impacts of Communist
China's development of an atomic bomb. In late 1963 he took a year's leave to work on a study project on Taiwan for the Council
on Foreign Relations. Dissatisfied with his position on the editorial board, Durdin transferred back to the news department
and accepted an assignment in Australia. He left in late 1965 for Sydney to become the first permanent
New York Times correspondent in the South Pacific, where he established a bureau for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.
Durdin felt that Australia was out of the mainstream of world events. In 1967, he applied for a transfer to Asia to renew
his focus on China and report on the region without the responsibilities of a bureau chief. Durdin loosely based himself at
the Hong Kong office and followed important stories under direction from New York.
In April 1971, China issued an entry visa to Durdin to cover a British ping pong team touring the country. Durdin, the first
American journalist granted a visa by the post-war Communist regime, travelled with a group of British journalists on a tour
which focused more on the press than on the players. Tillman Durdin died July 7, 1998.
Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.
Tillman Durdin Papers, MSS 95. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego Library.
Acquired 1976
Subjects and Indexing Terms
China -- Economic conditions -- 1912-1949
China -- Politics and government -- 20th century
Sino-Japanese Conflict, 1937-1945
Indochina -- History
Photographic prints -- 20th century
China -- Social conditions -- 1912-1949
China -- Social conditions -- 1949-1976
China -- Economic conditions -- 1949-1976
Southeast Asia -- Description and travel
Southeast Asia -- History -- 20th century
Japan -- History -- 20th century
Japan -- Armed forces -- East Asia -- History
Indochina -- Description and travel
Indochina -- Foreign relations -- United States
East Asia -- Description and travel
East Asia -- History -- 20th century
China -- Description and travel
Japan -- Colonies -- East Asia
China -- History -- 20th century
Durdin, Tillman -- Archives
Durdin, Peggy
Mao, Zedong, 1893-1976
Jiang, Qing, 1914-1991
New York times