Abstract When and how did the Chinese characters and Chinese classics spread to Japan?Why did the Japanese ancestors take theinitiative toabsorb the profound Chineseculture and thoughts which were not practical in daily life？This is a crucial issue which has received no in-depth study in the Chinese cultural studies in East Asia . A study of the inheritance relationship between the Chinese classics and the″horse″and the historical data on Japan and China reveals that the East Asian nations around China appreciated the profound civilization of Chinese characters through Xiangma Jing and similar books . This led to an important step toward the study of Confucian classics and the active admission of Chinese culture and thoughts so that a cultural circle with Chinese characters at the centre gradually formed in East Asia .
