The great Song Dynasty poet and artist, Mi Fu (1051-1107), wrote treatises on painting and calligraphy, in addition to this work on inkstones, translated here by the eminent Dutch diplomat and Sinologist, Dr. R H van Gulik. In the case of the first two works, the subjects of Mi Fu's deliberations have long since disappeared. There remain, however, numerous surviving examples of inkstones from the Song and earlier dynasties, enabling us to compare Mi Fu's words with the actual objects he describes. The importance of the inkstone as an essential tool of the Chinese literati and thus the importance of our understanding its nature to our overall comprehension of Chinese brushwork, is but one aspect of this work. The inkstone is, in addition to a tool, a work of art in its own right, combining the skill and wit of the sculptor with the ancient Chinese tradition of appreciation of beautiful stones. In this book, Dr. van Gulik provides not only a guide to the connoisseurship of this essential treasure of the scholar's studio, but also an illuminating glimpse into the mind of this brilliant eleventh century artist.