"Famous Things in the Book of Songs" Author: [Japan] Hosoi Jun Publisher: Zhejiang People's Fine Arts Publishing House

The three-volume "Illustrated Explanation of Famous Things in the Book of Songs" is divided into six sections: grass, wood, bird, beast, fish, and insect, and contains more than 200 illustrations. The book has a preface by the author Hosoi Jun in the fourth year of the Honghua era (1847), a preface by Shodo Seiyu in the Wushen year of the Jiaei era (1848), and a postscript by Hanamuki Hong in the Xinhai year of the Jiaei era (1851).

Hosoi Xun, also known as Dongyang, was a monk and a doctor. He wrote "Sizhen Jieyao" and other works. Hosoi saw that due to the differences in time and place, and the differences between ancient and modern times, many names of things in the Book of Songs were difficult to distinguish, and Confucius's goal of knowing the names of plants, birds, beasts, insects and fish was difficult to achieve. Moreover, the works of predecessors were often insufficient, so he discussed with painters and businessmen in Kyoto to jointly compile the book, which was personally reviewed by Hosoi, "adding color and distinguishing the colors to make it easy for children to identify", and thus this book was created.