The collection concerns General Charles George Gordon (1833-1885) and his visit China in 1880, which was prompted by a telegram he received from Sir Robert Hart (1835-1911), commissioner of customs in Peking. Gordon's mission was to advise the Chinese government on the threat of war with Russia. During his time in China he visited his old friend Li Hung-Chang.
Other individuals that figure in the collection are Sir Henry William Gordon (1818-1887), author of Events in the life of Gordon (London, 1886); Thomas Francis Wade (1818-1895), diplomat and first professor of Chinese at Cambridge; Sir Philip Henry Wodehouse Currie (1834-1906); Colonel Sir John Fretcheville Dykes Donnelly (1834-1902); Amelia Wade (ne Herschel), wife of T.F. Wade; Colonel Thomas Wade (d. 1846), father of T.F. Wade; and the Rev. John Charles Pollock (b. 1923).
From the guide to the Sir Thomas Wade, Sir Henry Gordon and others: Papers concerning General Charles George Gordon, c.1880-1886, (Cambridge University Library, Department of Manuscripts and University Archives)
