William Doberck and the Chinese Maritime Customs Meteorological Standards Germination

Abstract

After a review of the publications issued by the Chinese Maritime Customs, it is evident that William Doberck, the inaugural director of the Hong Kong Observatory, imparted expert advice on meteorological observations to the Chinese Maritime Customs department in the late 19th century. While Doberck's directorship at the Hong Kong Observatory (1883-1907) proved professionally contentious, his scholarly legacy endures through two meteorological works: Instructions for Making Meteorological Observations Prepared for Use in China (1883), establishing standardized meteorological recording protocols, and The Law of Storms in the Eastern Seas (1886), an analytical treatise on typhoon pattern. In 1887, the Director of the General Administration of the Chinese Maritime Customs, co-published these two works of Doberck. Specifically, the Instructions for Making Meteorological Observations Prepared for Use in China as a guiding document for the customs' meteorological work during that era. During this collaborative period, Doberck's insights on meteorological observations served as the foundation for the Chinese Maritime Customs Meteorological Observation instructions, which were adopted at several meteorological stations. The objective of this study is to trace Doberck's interactions with Customs, analyze the utilization of his publications and summarize the significance of Doberck and his works in guiding meteorological efforts by Customs during this period.