A classic, seventeenth-century Chinese guide to the harmony of ordinary objects of everyday life Written in the seventeenth century by Chinese scholar Wen Zhenheng, Treatise on Superfluous Things offers a compelling glimpse into the tastes and cultural values of the educated elite in late Ming China. This guide to everyday items--from window frames and old master paintings to caged birds, fruits, and vegetables--is the most complete surviving account of the material and cultural tastes of the era in one of China's largest and richest cities. It is also a guide to finding joy, pleasure, and harmony in the everyday objects that surround us.