In the midst of political turmoil and the collapse of an empire, the literati painter Xiao Yuncong (1596-1673) sat in a flooded hut and painted ten deceptively simple images. These were landscapes a connoisseur might savour, or where a child could dream.

Having survived in the private hands of Eric Wear, Xiao's ten landscape paintings are put together in a quasi-traditional Chinese album, accompanied by ten prose poems written by Eric Wear, and some casual notes addressing his three small daughters on how to enjoy Chinese painting.

Written 'in the manner' of Chinese literati taste, the book seeks to evoke the kinds of association and poetic flavour that must be re-imagined in each generation. The whole is presented through a design that strives to marry past and present sensibilities. This appreciation of the work of art will appeal to the world-weary adult and the curious child alike.