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The Diamond Sutra: The Story of the World's Earliest Dated Printed Book
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The Diamond Sutra: The Story of the World's Earliest Dated Printed Book Unknown - 2010

by Wood, Frances, And Barnard, Mark


From the publisher

The Buddhist text known as the "Diamond Sutra" is believed to be the oldest surviving printed book in the world. Made in 868 AD and written in Chinese, the text contains a significant dialogue on perception, and is one of the most important sacred works of the Buddhist faith. The "Diamond Sutra "was hidden for centuries in a cave in northwest China, and it was created from seven strips of yellow-stained paper that were printed from carved wooden blocks and pasted together to form a scroll over five meters long. The oldest dated example of wood block printing produced some six hundred years before Gutenberg s movable type printing in Europe it is clearly the product of a mature printing industry in China.

This beautifully designed book, the first to focus solely on the "Diamond Sutra," features a full-color reproduction of the work, along with an account of the discovery of the Sutra by Sir Aurel Stein in May 1907 in a hidden cave on the edge of the Gobi desert. The book extensively discusses the content of the Sutra and also describes the invention of paper in China and the origins of Far Eastern printing. It reveals how the Sutra was originally made and the conservation work that the British Library employs to preserve it.

"The Diamond Sutra "is a stunning book for anyone curious about the earliest origins of printing and the sacred foundations of Buddhism."

Details

  • Title The Diamond Sutra: The Story of the World's Earliest Dated Printed Book
  • Author Wood, Frances, And Barnard, Mark
  • Binding unknown
  • Edition First Edition
  • Pages 112
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher British Library, London
  • Date 2010-10
  • ISBN 9780712350907

About the author

Frances Wood is head of the Chinese section at the British Library. Her previous publications include "Did Marco Polo Go to China?," "Hand Grenade Practice in Peking: My Part in the Cultural Revolution, ""The Silk Road: Two Thousand Years in the Heart of Asia," "The First Emperor of China," and "The Lure of China." Mark Barnard is manager of the Conservation Section at the British Library and is currently undertaking the conservation of the "Diamond Sutra.""

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The Diamond Sutra: The Story of the World's Earliest Dated Printed Book
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

The Diamond Sutra: The Story of the World's Earliest Dated Printed Book

by Wood, Frances; Barnard, Mark

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1st Edition
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780712350907 / 071235090X
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Item Price
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Description:
British Library, 2010. 1st Edition . Hardcover. As New/As New. 4to - over 9¾ - 12" tall.
Item Price
$78.55
$25.34 shipping to USA