Treatise on Superfluous Things English 2026

The first complete English translation of the classic late Ming Chinese treatise on good taste

'Be ancient rather than fashionable, be simple rather than merely clever, be restrained rather than vulgarly ostentatious'

Written in the seventeenth century by Chinese scholar Wen Zhenheng, Treatise on Superfluous Things provides a compelling glimpse into the tastes and values of the educated elite in late Ming China. Offering instruction on everything from hanging paintings to planting peach blossom, arranging books and furniture to drinking tea and burning incense, it is the most complete surviving account of the material and cultural concerns of the era in one of China's largest and richest cities. It is also a delightful attempt to find order and harmony amid an excess of things.

Translated by Tony Blishen
With an Introduction by Craig Clunas