The British Library’s printed Diamond Sutra is dated to 868 CE.
A documented object#
The International Dunhuang Programme discusses its printed frontispiece as part of the object’s production and religious context. A surviving dated print does not establish the day that printing was invented.
Study exercise#
Separate the date of an individual surviving object from the origin of a technique. Distinguish woodblock printing from movable type when comparing accounts. Look for a named object and catalogue reference before accepting a claim of “the first.”
Scope#
The questions above are editorial suggestions for evaluating evidence. No reproduction of the source’s image or literary text is included here.