Abstract
In this paper, the present author focus on the three printed images of Buddha on the precept certificate from the Dayun Monastery of Dunhuang preserved in St. Petersburg (Дх.02881+Дх.02882). It is the earliest extant example of woodblock printing, with a definite date the 9th day of the 2nd month of the 29th year of Kaiyuan 開元 (A.D. 741), which has long been ignored by the specialists on the history of printing. The certificate was given the monk Daojian from the Great Anguo Monastery from the capital Changan, as the representative of the royal monastery. The precept certificate with printed Buddha images has great significance in the history of printing. Based on the facts that Sinicized monasteries in Central Asia and Japan should have the same institution as in Dunhuang and Changan, we can assume the certificate with the same woodblock printing was very likely to be spread to the Western Region (Central Asia) as well as to Japan.
Highlights
The Earliest Extant Example of Woodblock Printing: The Precept Certificate of the 29th Year of Kaiyuan (741 A.D.) RONG Xinjiang
Some scholars have argued that the seal-like stamps emerged in the early Tang time, based on the record that the monk Xuanzang printed the image of Samantabhadra on huifeng paper 回鋒紙 in Sengyuan yilu 僧園逸錄 cited by Feng Zhi 馮贄 of the later Tang time in his Yunxian sanlu 雲仙散錄
As for the early examples of woodblock printing, the Dunhuang scroll BD14711 from the National Library of China, Chinese version of Saṃyuktābhi-dharma-hṛdaya, bears the seal of the county of Yongxing 永興郡 at the end and on the back, along with 10 sets of Buddhist images printed on the back
Summary
The Earliest Extant Example of Woodblock Printing: The Precept Certificate of the 29th Year of Kaiyuan (741 A.D.) RONG Xinjiang. A b s t ra c t : In this paper, the present author focus on the three printed images of Buddha on the precept certificate from the Dayun Monastery of Dunhuang preserved in St. Petersburg (Дх.02881+Дх.02882).
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