Introduction to the Needham Research Institute

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE 20TH CENTURY, Dr. Joseph Needham embarked on a long-term project to investigate the scientific and technical contribution that the Chinese people have made to human culture. This grew into the Science and Civilisation in China project, which to date has resulted in twenty-five substantial published works written by Joseph Needham and his collaborators. Further parts are in preparation. The project has been characterised as “perhaps the greatest single act of historical synthesis and intercultural communication ever attempted…”. In the course of this research Joseph Needham began to assemble a unique collection of Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Western language materials. The collection’s original home was in Gonville and Caius College, where Dr. Needham was Master until his retirement in 1976. Its subsequent growth dictated a succession of moves until it finally reached its present purpose-built home, which was completed in 1991.

THE INSTITUTE AND ITS LIBRARY offer scholars facilities for research and writing unrivalled by any other academic institution in its field. The library now holds about 40,000 titles, including a number of important collectanes, and about 20,000 offprints. This is complemented by rich archives detailing the research processes of Needham and his collaborators, as well as his many visits to East Asia, and the evolution of the Institute. The collections continue to grow steadily, allowing it to maintain its status as a world leader in its field. Whether this continues will depend on the continued generosity of benefactors.

THE INSTITUTE PROVIDES its visitors with spacious and peaceful surroundings and a lively intellectual environment. There is ample working space for readers, and long-stay visitors are allocated a shared office. Scholars working in the Institute typically include collaborators on the Science and Civilisation in China project, established academics on sabbatical, doctoral and post-doctoral researchers on one-year fellowships, and other shorter-term visitors from around the world. In addition, there is a constant stream of academics from the wider Cambridge environment. One of the ways in which the Institute exploits the opportunities provided by its unique role as a meeting place is its regular programme of seminars held weekly throughout the academic year. From time to time the Institute hosts other meetings, ranging from small workshops to full-scale international conferences.

THE ULTIMATE RESPONSIBILITY for the management of the Institute rests with the Trustees of the Needham Research Institute, which is a registered charity (previously operating under the title of the East Asian History of Science Trust). The Trust acts through a full-time salaried Director, Professor Jianjun Mei, who took up his post in January 2014. He is supported by a full-time Administrative Manager, Ms. Susan Bennett, a full-time Librarian, John Moffett, a part-time Bursar, Christopher Jagger, and a part-time Archivist, Dr. Rosalind Grooms.