FUCHI, Arihiro (ed.).

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Moshi: Riku-shi somoku choju chugyoso zukai ("An Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Animals and Plants from the Classic of Poetry"). First edition, featuring over 200 animals and plants. The fifth volume introduces cultural products of the Zhou period (c. 1046-771 BCE) including musical instruments like the zither, clothing such as the Chinese imperial crown, and the fundamentals of astronomy..This work is based on Maoshi caomu niaoshou chongyu shu, a treatise written by Lu Ji during the Three Kingdoms period (220-280). Even by the third century, many of the terms used in the Shijing ("Classic of Poetry") needed to be explained. Over the following millennium hundreds of commentaries and editions of Lu Ji's work were published and by the 18th century it became popular in Japan.Fuchi Arihiro, a scholar based in Edo, appended his own explanations to Lu Ji's. The first four volumes focus on plants and animals, with sections devoted to birds, fish, and mammals. Many of these are legendary, such as the Chinese Phoenix (ho'o), dragon, and qilin.

• Printing: later

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