⚠The bottom edge of the manuscript scroll is severely damaged and frayed across the entire width, resulting in the loss of characters at the end of every column. The text below represents the visible portions.

THE OLDEST CHINESE PRINTED WORK IN THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

This specimen, dated 975 AD, is the earliest example of Chinese printing in the Library of Congress. It is a Buddhist invocation sutra A sutra is a sacred scripture or discourse in the Buddhist tradition. recovered from the foundations of the famous Thunder Peak Pagoda original: Lei-fêng-t'a (雷峯塔), which for nearly 1,000 years stood on the banks of West Lake in Hangzhou original: Hangchow but which collapsed on September 25, 1924. A number of Buddhist sutras had been placed in hollow bricks when the pagoda was erected during the reign of King Qian Chu original: Ch'ien Shu (ruled 929–988 AD), prince of the Kingdom of Wuyue.

Glossary of terms from the original record: Chinese printing, Buddhist invocation sutra, Thunder Peak Pagoda, West Lake, Hangzhou, King Qian Chu, Kingdom of Wuyue, 975 AD.

The Sutra of the Heart of All Tathagatas original: Yiqie Rulai Xinjing (一切如來心經). This is an influential esoteric Buddhist text centered on a powerful dharani (incantation) believed to possess the collective spiritual power of all Buddhas.

(Early Northern Song Dynasty Woodblock Print) original: Beisong chukebon (北宋初刻本). The Northern Song (960–1127 CE) was a pivotal era for the advancement of printing technology in China.

(Fragmentary Scroll Unearthed from the Leifeng Pagoda) original: Leifengta chutu canjuan (雷峯塔出土殘卷). The Leifeng Pagoda in Hangzhou collapsed in 1924, revealing a hidden cache of printed scrolls commissioned by King Qian Chu of Wuyue around 975 CE.

# THUNDER # PEAK PAGODA ### V ### J614 ### T55

[...] will ultimately result in many benefits. At that time,

[...] all those Buddha lands and everything they possess.

[...] within those lands. Those Buddhas...

[...] [at the] place of the Buddha, they preached it. At that time,

[...] all the various worlds and...

[...] made offerings to the Tathagatas original: Rulai (如來). A title for a Buddha, meaning "One who has thus come" or "Thus gone," referring to one who has attained realization of the ultimate nature of reality.