Former Japanese PM donates large number of books to Chinese library

Few in China know that former Japanese prime minister Morihiro Hosokawa is an enthusiast of traditional Chinese culture, particularly poetry from the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

Hosokawa, who nows heads Eisei Bunko, a Tokyo-based private archive and museum, was in Beijing for the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between China and Japan on Tuesday, when he also donated 4,175 copies of ancient books in the Chinese language from his own collection to the National Library of China.

Eisei Bunko houses more than 100,000 artworks and literary files since the 14th century.