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Jikji
printed 1377· Book, artwork, monument or document· Culture, religion & science
Well documentedSolid records, physical evidence or scientific consensus.
The world's oldest surviving book printed with metal movable type, made at a Cheongju temple in 1377.
See it on the Korean History map →What happened
Jikji (직지), short for Baegun hwasang chorok buljo jikji simche yojeol, is an anthology of Buddhist teachings compiled by the Seon monk Baegun (1298–1374). His disciples printed it with metal type at Heungdeoksa temple in Cheongju in 1377, about 78 years before Gutenberg's Bible. Only the second of its two volumes survives. A French diplomat in Seoul, Victor Collin de Plancy, acquired it; it was sold in 1911 and reached the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris in 1950.
Why it matters
It is the physical proof that Korea printed with metal type before Europe; UNESCO added it to the Memory of the World register in 2001.
How we know
The book itself, whose last page names Heungdeoksa and the year; the temple site, located in Cheongju in 1985 from inscribed bronze objects.
Still debated
Korea seeks its return; France says it was acquired legally. What became of the lost first volume is unknown.
Connections (2)
▸Goryeo metal movable type produced JikjiWell documented
The connection
Metal type, used at the Goryeo court from at least the 1230s, spread to Buddhist temples. In 1377 monks at Heungdeoksa in Cheongju cast their own type and printed Jikji. Uneven lines, a few upside-down characters and blotchy ink show a local, less polished casting than the court's.
When and how
Seventh lunar month of 1377, at Heungdeoksa temple outside Cheongju; Baegun's disciples Seokchan and Daljam, funded by the nun Myodeok.
How we know
The colophon states it was 'printed with cast type' at Heungdeoksa in 1377; the type's features match metal casting, not woodblocks.
Debates and open questions
How Heungdeoksa cast its type, possibly by the lost-wax method, and how many other Goryeo temple printings have been lost.
▸Jikji is a Seon (Zen) handbook of Buddhism in KoreaWell documented
The connection
Buddhism reached Korea in 372, and Seon, Korea's form of Chinese Chan (Zen), spread from Tang in the 9th century and came to dominate Goryeo. Jikji collects sayings of Buddhas and Seon masters to teach that one awakens by 'pointing directly' (jikji) at one's own mind. Its compiler studied with a Chan master in Yuan China.
When and how
Compiled by the monk Baegun around 1372 and printed in 1377 at Heungdeoksa, Cheongju, for monks in training.
How we know
The text's title, contents and preface name its Seon sources and purpose; Baegun's own records note his studies in China.
Debates and open questions
How widely Jikji was used in Goryeo monasteries, and why so few copies survived, is unknown.