Poem concerning the Pavilion with Various Views (Duojing lou), in semicursive script (xingshu)

Members of the Yeh family made a conscious effort to collect works by leading Song dynasty (960–1279) calligraphers. The Northern Song has long been considered a period when Chinese arts reached a high level of sophistication. A surprising number of important pieces dating to this era in collections around the world have notes or seals that indicate they once belonged to the Yeh family or that family members had viewed them. Many works left the collection because of economic hardship or were lost during the turbulence that plagued China for much of the twentieth century. This large album is the only example from that period remaining in the Yeh collection.

This version of the 95-character poem about the Duojing lou, which can be translated as "Pavilion with Various Views," is written in semicursive script and, while there is no signature or seal impression by the artist, has long been associated with Mi Fu, one of the great calligraphers of the Northern Song dynasty. This calligraphy bears three colophons and 193 seal impressions of later collectors and viewers.
The Duojing lou was a famous spot in Jiangsu province. It was named after a description in the poem "Hanging Windows for Various Views" by Li Deyu (787–849). The scenery around the pavilion varied depending on the seasons, and it was praised in Song texts as the "number-one viewing pavilion in the world." The pavilion has since been completely destroyed.