May 11, AD 868

Diamond Sutra

Wang Jie sponsors the dated Diamond Sutra scroll

The world-famous early printed book names its donor and both his parents — and not a single printer, block-cutter or illustrator.

A date written on the object itself

The scroll's colophon states that Wang Jie sponsored its production for universal distribution on behalf of his two parents, on the fifteenth day of the fourth month in Xiantong year nine. The International Dunhuang Programme converts that to 11 May 868.

The date is unusually secure precisely because it is written on the artifact rather than reconstructed around it.

Seven sheets, five metres

The Chinese text and an illustrated frontispiece were woodblock-printed on seven sheets of yellow-dyed paper, joined into a horizontal scroll roughly five metres long.

The ornate scene of the Buddha teaching comes before the text — sophisticated illustration and printing already being combined.

What "earliest" is actually claiming

It is the earliest known complete printed book bearing a date. It is not the earliest surviving example of printing: earlier printed materials exist.

The colophon's universal distribution describes a Buddhist devotional purpose — merit for Wang Jie and his parents — not a modern public-domain dedication. It records neither a print run nor any recipients.

Dunhuang Cave 17 is where the scroll was found, not a demonstrated place of manufacture; specialists have suggested Sichuan, but the workshop is unknown.

Sources

Researched 23 Aug 2026 6 sources 2 audit passes, 1 issue open

How this was checked

Researched from the web into a fact sheet, rewritten from that sheet, then audited against it by a different model. How the pipeline works →

What the sources leave uncertain

The date is unusually secure because it is written on the artifact itself; the International Dunhuang Programme converts it to 11 May 868.
Dunhuang Cave 17 is the scroll’s archaeological findspot, not a proven place of manufacture. Specialists have suggested Sichuan as a possibility, but the workshop is unknown.
“Earliest dated printed book” must retain the qualifiers “complete” and “dated”; earlier surviving printed materials exist.
The scroll’s survival does not show whether this particular copy was newly printed, completed, dedicated or distributed precisely on every part of 11 May; the colophon associates the making with that date.