The Dunhuang Library Cave: A 900-Year-Old Sealed Chamber of Ancient Manuscripts Discovered in China
By
Hana Lee Goldin, MLIS
Summary
In June 1900, Daoist monk Wang Yuanlu discovered a sealed chamber in the Mogao cave complex near Dunhuang, China, containing tens of thousands of manuscripts, paintings, and printed documents preserved for nearly 900 years. The collection, dating from the 4th to 11th centuries, included Buddhist scriptures, government records, legal documents, astronomical charts, and medical texts in multiple languages. After Chinese authorities failed to respond due to the Boxer Rebellion, foreign expeditions dispersed the collection across London, Paris, Beijing, St. Petersburg, and Tokyo. Among the treasures was a 5-meter-long woodblock-printed Diamond Sutra from 868 CE—the oldest dated printed book in the world. The International Dunhuang Programme has since worked to digitize and reunify the collection online.
Source
bskyThe Dunhuang Library Cave: A 900-Year-Old Sealed Chamber of Ancient Manuscripts Discovered in Chinasubstack.comKey quotes
· 5 pulledReverently made for universal free distribution by Wang Jie on behalf of his two parents
The manuscripts dated from the 4th through the 11th centuries and were written in multiple languages, including Chinese, Tibetan, and Sanskrit
The cave had been sealed around 1000 CE and hadn't been opened since
That makes it the oldest dated printed book in the world, predating the Gutenberg Bible by nearly six hundred years
The Diamond Sutra and thousands of other Dunhuang manuscripts are now freely viewable through the International Dunhuang Programme's digital archive
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