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A woodblock-printed scroll of the Diamond Sutra, over five metres long, carries a colophon dated 868 saying that Wang Jie had it made for free distribution on behalf of his parents; it is the oldest complete printed book that bears a date. It lay in a cave library at Dunhuang sealed around 1000, was acquired by Aurel Stein in 1907 and is in the British Library (Or.8210/P.2).
The mechanism
A TECHNOLOGY THAT TURNS THE BOARD
How it was checked
- EvidenceT5 INDEPENDENT SECULAR; Status: ADDED 2026-09-19
- Letter eraTHE CAPTURE 313 to 1302
- SourcesRECORD — Smithsonian Magazine, 'Five Things to Know About the Diamond Sutra' (2016); Columbia University, Asia for Educators, 'Printing' (block printing by the 9th century) · checked 19 September: Wikipedia, 'Diamond Sutra' (the Dunhuang copy; citing the British Library)