Printing of the Buddhist Canon in the Song Dynasty

Timeline

1. 1121–1124Guozijian, Kaifeng · HenanThe Chongning Canon was printed at Dongchan Temple in Fuzhou during the Chongning era of Northern Song (carving begun 1102–1106, completed c. 1113). In the early 1120s the court and temples continued to use existing blocks to print and distribute copies to temples and believers across the realm, promoting standardized circulation of the canon within Northern Song.
2. 1122–1126Hangzhou · ZhejiangTemples in Jiangnan, such as those in Hangzhou and Mingzhou (modern Ningbo), independently raised funds in the 1120s to print single Buddhist works and commentaries, some supplementing missing volumes in the format of the Chongning Canon. As one of the Song printing centers, Hangzhou's woodblock craft grew ever more refined, and the binding and typeface standards of its sutra volumes influenced later editions.
3. 1125–1127Central Plains and Jiangnan · ChinaAs the Jurchen threat from the north intensified in the late Northern Song, temples everywhere hurried to print and store Buddhist scriptures to pray for blessings and protection of the state. After the Jingkang Incident of 1127, some blocks in Bianjing were lost, but the blocks carved in Jiangnan provided the technical and textual basis for new canons of the early Southern Song, such as the Pilu Canon and the Sixi Canon.