Enlightenment in Ink

Introduction

The history of Chinese Buddhist prints is long and complicated. Though Buddhism and printing coexisted in China since at least the Later Han dynasty (25–220), it was not until the height of Buddhism during the Tang dynasty (618–907) that the full potential of printing technology for propagating the faith was realized. The oldest dated print in the world is an 868 copy of the Diamond Sūtra, and from the subsequent Song dynasty (960-1279) onwards it was not uncommon for emperors to commission printings of the entire Chinese Buddhist canon, whose thousands of entries created a wealth of documents that have at times been fortunate enough to survive to the present day.

This exhibit showcases the Claremont Colleges Library’s collection of rare Buddhist prints and manuscripts, most of which date from the late imperial period (Ming and Qing dynasties, 1368-1912). The flourishing of print culture following advances in technology during the Song dynasty likely accounts for the abundance of texts we have from this period. During this time, Buddhist printing grew beyond the domain of imperial commissions and became increasingly accessible to wider sectors of society. This exhibit contains examples of works of both the former and latter type, as well as modern reprints of these old texts. This array of items ranging from medieval to modern attests to Buddhism’s role both as a continuing object of scholarly fascination and as a vibrant living tradition that transforms the trajectory of East Asia even to this day.

Click here for the Bibliography and Resources.

Pomona College student Xiaoxing Yu championed this exhibit through an Undergraduate Summer Research Project grant from Pomona College, sponsored by Dr. Zhiru Ng who holds expertise in Chinese Buddhist history and art.

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