Record #00249Culture & Entertainment archive
Earliest Surviving Complete Dated Printed Book
The Tang-dynasty printed Diamond Sutra held by the British Library is the earliest surviving complete printed book bearing a verifiable date. Its colophon corresponds to 11 May AD 868, and the scroll was found in Mogao Cave 17 near Dunhuang.
ARCHIVE VISUAL / 01
NOT TO SCALE
Achievement date
0868
0868-05-11
- Location
- Recovered from Mogao Cave 17 near Dunhuang, Gansu, China; printing location unknown; now held by the British Library in London · Mogao Cave 17 (Library Cave) · Mogao Caves · Gansu Province
- Record status
- VerifiedReport an issue
Overview
Archive NoteThis Diamond Sutra copy is a paper scroll around five metres long, woodblock-printed onto seven sheets of yellow-dyed paper joined together. Its illustrated frontispiece shows the Buddha addressing an audience including Subhuti.
A colophon records that Wang Jie sponsored its production on behalf of his parents, dated the fifteenth day of the fourth month in the ninth year of Xiantong, equivalent to 11 May 868. The British Library stresses that earlier printing exists: this is the earliest known complete printed book with its own explicit date.
The scroll was discovered in Cave 17, the Library Cave at the Mogao Caves near Dunhuang. It is held by the British Library under shelfmark Or.8210/P.2. Its original printing workshop is not securely identified, so the structured place of discovery should not be mistaken for the place of manufacture.
Record history
1 Milestones- First achievementDiamond Sutra printed scroll of 868Recovered from Mogao Cave 17 near Dunhuang, Gansu, China; printing location unknown; now held by the British Library in LondonFirst achievement
Sources
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