Buddhist Sutra Copying System

Timeline

1. 501–550Luoyang · HenanAfter the division of Northern Wei, the Eastern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Qi, and Northern Zhou regimes, with imperial and temple support, established copying workshops, organizing sutra transcription according to texts like the Sutra on the Merit of Making Scriptures, standardizing scripture titles, scroll counts, and donor colophons; sutra copying was ranked alongside statue-making and cave excavation as a merit-making practice.
2. 520–570Mogao Caves, Dunhuang · DunhuangIn the 6th century, sutra copying flourished in the Dunhuang region; excavated scrolls show multilingual transcription in Chinese, Sogdian, and other scripts, with mature paper, pigment, and binding techniques. Sutra copying, together with murals and sculptures, formed a Silk Road Buddhist cultural complex, with scrolls circulating along trade routes to Central Asian states.
3. 571–600Daxingcheng (Chang'an) · ShaanxiAfter Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou's persecution of Buddhism, Buddhism revived; Emperor Wen of Sui promoted Buddhism, establishing state ritual programs for sutra copying, statue-making, and ordination. By the late 6th century, the sutra copying system in East Asia formed a hierarchical structure from court to temple, from center to locality; Silla and Baekje on the Korean Peninsula also sent envoys seeking scriptures and transcribed them locally, making sutra copying a transnational Buddhist cultural bond.