This book contains the biographies and imagined portraits of 40 notable heroes and heroines from the Han dynasty to the Song dynasty, all accompanied by a brief introduction and guided by a related poem in yuefu style.

[1][2] The illustrations from the book were widely distributed and re-used, often as motifs on Chinese porcelain.

In January 2006, an original hand-painted book of Wu Shuang Pu was sold at the Chongyuan auction house in Shanghai for 2.86 million CNY (US$440,000/£320,000).

Jin Guliang was inspired by Chen Hongshou and was following the examples of Cui Zizhong,[6] who initiated the first major revival of figure painting since the Song dynasty.

Jin Guliang compiled the book together with woodcarver Zhu Gui.