Joseph Needham : Joseph Needham's journal of his tour of South-East China, Apr.8-July 1, 1944 and South-West China, Aug.1-Oct.31, 1944

Joseph Needham

<p style='text-align: justify;'>Needham's South-East tour is recorded on pages <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(4);return false;'>1-117</a>. On this long journey, he and SBSCO staff member H.T. Huang (Huang Hsing-Tsung / Huang Xingzong) 黃興宗 travelled from Chungking (Chongqing) 重慶市 through the provinces of Kweichow (Guizhou) 貴州省, Kuangsi (Guangxi) 廣西省, Chiangsi (Jiangxi) 江西省, Kuangtung (Guangdong) 廣東省 and Fukien (Fujian) 福建省 to the free city of Foochow (福州 Fuzhou) and back. [Full itinerary]. They did not travel all the way by truck, covering some parts by train or boat. He visited a wide range of universities, research institutes and schools, factories and workshops, as well as many other sites of interest. He notes in detail the state of the roads, maintenance of the truck, names of people met and travelled with, scenery passed, and the purchase of supplies and his expenses. He and Huang have a tense journey home due to a Japanese offensive in the region, just making it through the vital railhead at Hengyang 衡陽 before the city is captured by the Japanese. A typescript of his report to the British Embassy on the trip can be viewed <a target='_blank' class='externalLink' href='http://www.nri.cam.ac.uk/wartime_extras/Needham_Southeast_Journey_Report.pdf'>here</a>.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>Photographs for the journey are included in SE - Southeast journey (<a href='/view/PH-NRI-00002-00010-00001-00001-00004/1'>NRI2/10/1/1/4</a>). These images are also available to view in date order <a target='_blank' class='externalLink' href='http://www.nri.cam.ac.uk/JN_wartime_photos/home.htm'>here</a>.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>His South-West tour is recorded on pages <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(139);return false;'>118-170</a>. Accompanied by SBSCO staff members Dorothy Needham and Tsao Tien-Chin (Cao Tianqin) 曹天欽, Needham travelled from Chungking (Chongqing) 重慶市 to Kunming 昆明市, west through Yunnan Province 雲南省 past Tali (Dali) 大理 to Baoshan 保山市, then back to Kunming and on to Meit'an (Meitan) 湄潭 in Kweichow (Guizhou) province 貴州省. [Full itinerary]. Laurence Picken joins the team in Kunming in October 1944. A typescript of Needham's report to the British Embassy on the trip can be viewed .</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>Photographs for the journey are included in SW - Southwest journey (NRI2/10/1/1/5). These images are also available to view in date order <a target='_blank' class='externalLink' href='http://www.nri.cam.ac.uk/JN_wartime_photos/home.htm'>here</a>.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>Further information and resources are available about Needham's time in China from 1943-1946 as Director of the Sino-British Science Cooperation Office <a target='_blank' class='externalLink' href='http://www.nri.cam.ac.uk/JN_wartime.htm'>here</a>.</p>