The Diamond Sutra: the oldest dated printed book

A woodblock-printed copy of the Diamond Sutra, made in 868 and bearing its own colophon, was preserved in Dunhuang's sealed cave library.

Why it matters

Print arrived five centuries before Gutenberg, and the first dated book was itself about the impermanence of all things. Printing spread Buddhist texts across East Asia long before it reached the West.

Threads

This event sits on Communication.

Related events

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Sources

• British Library — The Diamond Sutra