Curious Facts / History
What does Jikji’s “oldest” record mean?
A historical record depends on what is being compared, as well as its date.
Surviving evidence is not an invention date
UNESCO notes that older Korean texts mention earlier printing with metal type. The date of a surviving book therefore does not establish when the technology was invented.
The record has two conditions: the book survives, and it was printed with movable metal type. Dropping those conditions turns it into a much broader claim about all books.
One work, different editions
Jikji is a Buddhist work from the Goryeo period. Its metal-type edition, printed at Heungdeok-sa in Cheongju, differs from the woodblock edition produced the following year.
| Printing year | Edition |
|---|---|
| 1377 | Movable metal type |
| 1378 | Woodblock printing |
The Bibliothèque nationale de France preserves the second volume of the 1377 metal-type edition.
What did you discover?
3 questions · Read the explanation and evidence, then continue to the next question.
Sources and scope
- UNESCO Memory of the World — Jikji, vol. II
Opening description: July 1377, Heungdeok-sa, and earlier printings mentioned in records
- BnF — Jikji, a treasure of the world of printing
What is Jikji?; A treasure of humanity: 1378 woodblock edition and surviving second volume
- BnF — Printing! Gutenberg’s Europe
Opening overview and The invention of printing: oldest preserved movable-metal-type work
Scope of this fact
- This concerns surviving books printed with movable metal type, not the first book of any kind or the invention date of metal type.
- The comparison separates two editions of one work. It makes no claim about technological transmission or ownership.
Original writing and English translation by Rantap