Diamond Sutra
868 CE
The type of writing used to make the oldest Chinese books, like the Diamond Sutra is called zhu. Zhu is described as a type of method where glosses are weaved into the paper for the main text (Buswell 209). This type of method is called woodblock printing.There are 34 types of woodblook printing that are known.(Sheng-Xiang 155) These prints are crucial to the basis of Chinese culture and Buddism tradition. While this practice took place over the course of 124 years, it was very sacred. It either took place in lijiang or in Suzhou. These were two sacred remote locations of the Mu Family, who hired Mao Jin for most of the work. It's believed that he is the creator of the Diamond Sutra, but it is credited to the Tang Dynasty as a whole as that is how they strive to keep the work as sacred and official as possible (Sheng-Xiang 155). The Diamond Sutra particularly was printed on 7 sheets of paper, glued together. This then turned into a scroll that was about 16 feet long. The writing was found in a cave near Dunhaung, in the desert northwest of China. This was along the silk road. "The cave is one of nearly 500 caves that were dug out of a one-mile stretch of soft rock by Buddhist Monks," (Linda Hall, 1) demonstrating the importance the Buddhist Monks put into their work. It was believed to be preserved for nearly 900 years, unopened.