A classic in Chinese Philosophy of Aesthetics for the last twenty years, Li Zehou's Four Essays on Aesthetics (Meixue-sijiang) is finally translated in English to bring philosophical insight to Western readers. Drawing upon the influences of both Eastern and Western philosophers and writers, Li discusses the origination of the practices of beauty and aesthetics, and the origins of art credited to Shamanistic rituals, while rejecting the concepts of Western aesthetics and embracing the traditional Chinese purpose for art: to mold human minds.