Tang Woodblock Printing

Timeline

1. c. 700–740Chang'an, Luoyang · ChinaFrom the early Tang through the early High Tang, temples and private bookshops began carving blocks of hard woods such as pear and jujube to print Buddhist scriptures and incantations. Early printed items unearthed at Dunhuang, such as the Diamond Sutra, show that woodblock craft could reliably reproduce text and images, though no nationwide official system had yet formed.
2. c. 741–780Chang'an · ShaanxiDuring the Kaiyuan and Tianbao eras, the court, regional military governors, and temples printed Buddhist scriptures, calendars, and Confucian classics on a large scale. The Guozijian and various bureaus began using woodblocks to print statutes, regulations, and examination texts; carving, paper, ink, and binding grew increasingly specialized, and Chang'an became the northern printing center.
3. c. 781–900Chengdu, Hangzhou, Dunhuang · ChinaAfter the An Lushan Rebellion, northern printing centers shifted south; temples and bookshops in Chengdu, Hangzhou, and elsewhere printed Buddhist scriptures, medical prescriptions, and literary collections. Printed items surviving in the Dunhuang library cave show that woodblock printing had penetrated daily religious life in the frontier, and the technique spread to the Korean peninsula and Japan.