Studio scenes

"To me, they are of unparalleled importance in the cultural history of China," says Flacks of his love for these objects.

The role of the scholars as the dominant force in Chinese culture endured from the Song Dynasty (960-1279) right until the end of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The habits, rituals, pastimes and moral values of the literati and all of the fine art that went with them formed a pivotal part of cultural life in China, he explains.

The original English version of the book was published in 2014 and sold well among collectors with a cover price of $200. It took him two-and-a-half years to write, design and see it through to print. But the research and planning stages of the book cost him many more years than this, not to mention his decades of collecting experience.

And four years later, the Chinese version proved to be a major undertaking in itself. "There was a long period of negotiation and compromise with Flacks in the making of the book. He was meticulous about every detail", says Zhu Shuai, founder of the Paragon Book Gallery Beijing, the publisher behind the Chinese version.