The Diamond Sutra

Vajracchedikā Praj?āpāramitā Sūtra, or The Diamond Sutra, housed in the British Library, is recognized as the oldest known printed book in the world with a specific publication date. This edition is a translation by Kumārajīva, and it remains complete with both the front and back pages intact. It consists of seven connected sheets totaling nearly 500 centimeters in length, with each sheet measuring 27 centimeters in height, 75 centimeters in width. Each sheet features 48 to 52 lines of text, with each line containing 18 to 21 characters, along with margins at the top and bottom. The first sheet of the scroll includes a woodblock print, while the remaining six sheets contain the sutra text. The colophon at the end of the scroll indicates that it was printed on the 15th day of the fourth month in 868. Due to this precise printing date, The Diamond Sutra has become a significant artifact in the history of Chinese printing, with the British Library referring to it as "the earliest printed book in the world".

The frontispiece of The Diamond Sutra features a woodblock print illustrating the preface section of the sutra. It depicts Sakyamuni returning to the Jeta Grove after begging for alms, where Subhūti poses a question to him, prompting the Buddha to begin his discourse on The Diamond Sutra. The text throughout the sutra is elegantly formatted, showcasing the style of the regular script by Yan Zhenqing (709-784) and Liu Gongquan (778- 865), both renowned calligraphers of the Tang Dynasty for their regular script. Both the print and text demonstrate the skillful carving techniques of woodblock printing, with the ink color being uniform and clear, marking it as a superior example of printing craftsmanship of the time. In 1914, this edition was exhibited for the first time at the British Museum, and in 1973, it was transferred to the British Library.

《金剛經》

《金剛經》全稱為《金剛般若波羅蜜經》，現藏于英國國家圖書館，它是世界上現存最早的、有明確刊印日期的雕版印刷品。這件《金剛經》為鳩摩羅什譯本，全卷首尾完整，由7紙相連成卷，總長近500厘米，每紙高約27厘米，寬約75厘米。每紙刻印佛經48—52行不等，每行18—21字不等，有上下書欄。卷首第1紙為版畫，其余6紙為佛經，經卷的尾部書寫題記。從這些文字可知它印刷于唐咸通九年（868）農歷四月十五，因為有準確的刊印時間，它成為中國印刷史上的一件標志物，并被英國國家圖書館稱為“世界上最早的印本書籍”。

這件《金剛經》的卷首版畫，表現《金剛經》的序品部分，描繪佛祖釋迦牟尼乞食回到給孤獨園坐定，長老須菩提向他提問，于是佛祖開始講說《金剛經》。整部佛經上的文字端正大方，有顏柳楷書風骨。版畫和文字都顯示出雕版的刀法嫻熟，印刷墨色勻稱、清晰，屬上乘的印刷作品。1914年，這部《金剛經》第一次在英國國家博物館展出，1973年被轉交給了英國國家圖書館。