After attending school in Hirschberg he studied Theology in Halle until 1795, followed by Philology.
In 1798 he taught natural history at the Mary Magdalene School in Breslau before retiring in 1843.
During his time as a teacher, he published magazines and books for the general education of children and young people.
In his free time, Schilling studied the insect fauna of his homeland.
He was a member of the Association of entomology in the Silesian Society (Schlesischen Gesellschaft für vaterländische Kultur) where he published a number of his scientific contributions.