Bosom Friend (Chinese: 知音) is a Chinese language bimonthly celebrity and women's magazine published in Wuhan, China. The magazine is among the leading titles in the country.^[1] The title of the magazine is a reference to the idiom "bosom friend" which means a very close friend.^[2]

Bosom Friend was established in Wuhan in 1985.^[3][4][5] The magazine is part of Bosom Friend Publishing Group.^[6] As of 2004 its publisher was the Hubei Women's Federation.^[7] Its publisher is Bosom Friend Publishing.^[5]

During its early period Bosom Friend was published monthly^[8] and then biweekly.^[9] Later it appeared on a bimonthly basis.^[5] Later its frequency was switched to three times per month.^[10]

Bosom Friend was described by Chen Peiqin as aiming at lonely and undereducated Chinese housewives^[4] as well as elderly people living in small towns.^[11] Hu Xunbi is both the founder and the editor-in-chief of the magazine,^[11][12] who launched its Hong Kong edition in 2005.^[13]

Bosom Friend had a circulation of 1.7 million copies in 1987.^[14] In 1994 it was the sixth largest magazine by advertisement revenue in China.^[15] The circulation of the magazine was 1,280,000 copies in 1996.^[7]

The magazine sold 4,269,000 copies in 2000.^[7] In 2001 it was the fifth best-selling general interest magazine worldwide with a circulation of 4,230,000 copies.^[16] In 2003 Bosom Friend was the third best-selling magazine in China and its circulation was 2,450,000 copies.^[17] In 2006 it was the largest fourteenth magazine worldwide with a circulation of 2,500,000 copies.^[18] In January 2010 the magazine sold 3,150,000 copies.^[9]

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