This monograph on the artist Li Yuan-Chia (1929-1994) documents his life and work for the first time and includes photographs that have never before been reproduced. Li is undoubtedly one of the most significant Chinese artists of the 20th century. As well as producing visual work, he made a number of hand-painted, limited edition calligraphic books and wrote intensively during his lifetime.

His short texts and poems reflect on his feelings regarding the endlessly open question of the relationship between art and life. A selection of these writings, incorporating the aesthetics of his hand-made books, are included in this publication. His work is not only a subtle synthesis of different cultural traditions and experiences but also a radical proposition for relating the domains of art and of a lived-life. With extensive chronology and bibliography.