A treasure chest of Chinese literature beneath the Spanish moss of Florida

Sarasota, Florida

IN 1971, Elling O Eide was a promising young scholar of Chinese poetry, working on his doctoral thesis and teaching at the University of Illinois. Then came a letter that set in motion the creation of either a wonder or a folly: a great library of Chinese literature housed amid the Spanish moss and alligator ponds of Florida's gulf coast.

The newly opened library is a testament to one man's vision of bringing a sliver of the academy to this quiet area of beaches, bars and subdivisions. Instead of hiring connoisseurs and agents to buy up recognisable treasures, he worked mostly alone, pursuing a passion that few neighbours were aware of until after his death five years ago.