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Precursors of Chinese Woodblock Printing

Type Object Region China Time c. 1–500

Techniques developed in China from the 1st to 5th centuries CE—carving mirrored text or images, inking, and pressing paper—laying the groundwork for …

Timeline

  1. c. 1–200Central Plains · ChinaSince the Qin and Han, seals were widely used to seal and mark official documents; with flourishing Han stele carving and the invention of paper, rubbing technology allowed stone inscriptions to be reproduced in bulk, providing the 'carve-mirror, ink, press-paper' process prototype for woodblock printing.
  2. c. 200–400Dunhuang–Turfan · GansuBuddhism flourished in the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties, producing wood-carved Buddha images and simple printed items such as 'duima'; finds from Dunhuang and Turfan show monks already printing dharanis and merit images from single blocks, the craft transitioning from stamping to woodblock.
  3. c. 400–500Jiankang–Yecheng · ChinaTemples of the Southern Liang and various Northern Dynasties could woodblock-print short sutras such as the Dharani Sutra and Buddha images; improved paper and ink made reproductions clearer, laying direct technical groundwork for the Sui Diamond Sutra edition and large-scale official and private Tang woodblock printing.

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