Printing of the Song Buddhist Canon

Name: Printing of the Song Buddhist Canon
Start: 1006
End: 1020

Type Event Region China Time 1006–1020

Around 1006, the Northern Song court under Emperor Zhenzong continued printing and distributing the Buddhist canon, building on the Kaibao Canon comp…

Timeline

1006Kaifeng · ChinaUnder a policy of Buddhist revival, Emperor Zhenzong decreed continued printing and collation of the Buddhist canon based on the Kaibao Canon, allocated palace funds, and had Hanlin Academy scholars participate in textual review, promoting the establishment of printing workshops at capital and local monasteries.
c. 1007–1020Sichuan and Zhejiang printing centers · ChinaMonasteries throughout the country printed large quantities of Buddhist scriptures by woodblock, and the Song-printed canon system gradually matured and spread to East Asian countries, establishing China's position as the earliest country to print Buddhist scriptures on a large scale.

Sources

宋版佛经考 — 方广锠 (2011)
A History of Printing in China — T. H. Carter (1955)