One of his reasons for writing was to correct some misconceptions about Ming furniture, because "strictly speaking they [the early foreign collectors] were biased, for they neglected the fact that there is also a side to Ming furniture of fine carving and intricate decoration, which of course is quite different from the elaborate ornamentation of Qing dynasty palace-style furniture."
他寫書，一個動機是為這些傢具「翻案」，因為「嚴格說起來，他們（指洋人始祖們）又偏了，沒有強調明式傢具也有精雕細琢的一面，當然這精細跟清朝宮廷式的瑣碎又不一樣。」