Lutes in the Library

Lute in the Library
1. The lute has never been an instrument of the multitude, both theoretical and practical factors preventing it from ever becoming popular … Among the practical factors I may mention the paucity of competent teachers, the difficulty of the technique, the high price and the rarity of good instruments. So the lute remained reserved for the small circle of the happy few, an exquisite treasure jealously guarded by the literati.
2. In a country like China, where literature is held in so high an esteem, and where until recent years (1905) the only way to an official position was through the gate of the literary examinations, the library has a deeper meaning than anywhere else. It was the sanctum where the literatus passed the greater part of his life, writing and reading …
3. In the course of time there was formed a fixed tradition regarding the library, which minutely described the things a literatus should always have near at hand. On his desk should lie the inkslab, a stick of ink on a special stand, a vase containing some thoughtfully chosen and well arranged flowers, an antique vessel to wash his writing brushes, a stand to lay the wet brush on, paper weights, seals, etc.
4. On a small table there should be a chess board, and on another an incense burner. In all available corners bookstands should be arranged, while the remaining parts of the walls should be covered with scrolls showing graceful lines of characters or a famous painting. And in a dry corner, far from the window and not reached by the rays of the sun, there should be hanging one or more lutes. Chapter I, Page 16 - 17