These files contain mostly correspondence dated 1987 onwards. They relate to administrative matters for the Needham Research Institute and Science and Civilisation in China project, also requests by individuals to visit Joseph Needham, requests to give lectures or contribute articles, letters of support for applicants to academic posts, donations (such as the gift of pigeon whistles from Jeffery Boswall), requests for biographical information (including about his time at UNESCO), acknowledgement of financial donations, and requests to reprint from Joseph Needham’s work. They contain incoming and outgoing correspondence, handwritten notes and newspaper cuttings.

Correspondents include friends such as Rewi Alley and Teruyo Ushiyama [Ushiyama Teruyo 牛山輝代], Peter Burbidge, W.H. [Ping] Ferry, Huang Hsing-tsung, Brian and Elisabeth Harland, Ma Kan-Wen, Vasile Mârza, Nakayama Shigeru, Wang Ling, Tshao Thien-Chhin [曹天欽 / Cao Tianqin] and Danyll Wills.

The files also contain official correspondence from the British Council, the Royal Society, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Cambridge University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and collaborators on the Science and Civilisation in China project.

Importantly, there are 3 letters from the mechanic Kuang Wei, written in Chinese (he drove with Joseph Needham in the converted ambulance in China 1942-1946).

Some letters were answered on Joseph Needham’s behalf by Gregory Blue, Michael Loewe, Angela King (Secretary to the Institute) and Tracey Sinclair (Research Assistant to Joseph Needham). Some files include CVs. The files contain black and white photographs of Chu Kho-Chen and Wang Chin sent by Ting Ching (Ding Jing).