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Tripitaka Koreana
carved 1236–1251; 81,258 blocks· Book, artwork, monument or document· Culture, religion & science
Well documentedSolid records, physical evidence or scientific consensus.
The world's most complete surviving set of Buddhist scriptures on woodblocks, carved 1236–1251 and kept at Haeinsa temple.
See it on the Korean History map →What happened
The Tripitaka Koreana (팔만대장경, Palman daejanggyeong, 'Eighty Thousand Tripitaka') is 81,258 wooden printing blocks carved on both sides with over 52 million Chinese characters. The court had it carved while sheltering on Ganghwa Island, to replace an earlier set burned by the Mongols. The editor-monk Sugi checked texts against Song Chinese, Khitan and earlier Goryeo editions, so errors are very rare. Since 1398 the blocks have been kept at Haeinsa temple near Hapcheon.
Why it matters
It is the most accurate early edition of the Buddhist canon and the base of Japan's modern Taishō edition, used by scholars worldwide.
Think of it like
A library stored as printing plates: each block is two pages that can still be inked and printed.
How we know
The blocks themselves, each with a carved date; Haeinsa's 15th-century storage halls (UNESCO World Heritage, 1995); and the blocks' 2007 listing in UNESCO's Memory of the World.
Still debated
Where exactly the carving was done, on Ganghwa, at a branch office in Namhae, or both, and how the wood was seasoned, are still studied.
Connections (2)
▸Tripitaka Koreana was carved to seek protection from Mongol invasions of KoreaWell documented
The connection
The Mongols burned Goryeo's first Tripitaka blocks in 1232. From Ganghwa, King Gojong and the Choe regime set up a Tripitaka Directorate and carved a new set by 1251 as an act of faith. Yi Gyu-bo's prayer for the project asked the Buddhas to drive off the Mongols, as the first set was believed to have driven off the Khitans.
When and how
1236–1251, at a directorate on Ganghwa Island and a branch office, probably on Namhae Island; funded largely by the Choe family.
How we know
Yi Gyu-bo's prayer text, kept in his collected works, states the purpose; carved notes on the blocks give the years and the directorate's name.
Debates and open questions
How much the project was sincere faith, and how much propaganda to rally the country behind the Choe regime, is debated.
▸Tripitaka Koreana replaced an edition begun during Goryeo–Khitan WarsWell documented
The connection
Goryeo began carving its first full Tripitaka in 1011, during the second Khitan invasion, as a prayer for the Buddha's protection; the work went on until about 1087. After the Mongols burned those blocks in 1232, the Tripitaka Koreana was carved to replace them, and its editors checked their texts against prints from the old edition.
When and how
First edition carved from 1011 to about 1087; its blocks were kept at Buinsa temple near Daegu until 1232.
How we know
Yi Gyu-bo's 1237 prayer recounts the first edition's origin; over a thousand printed scrolls from it survive, many at Nanzenji temple in Kyoto, Japan.
Debates and open questions
Whether the first edition was begun mainly for protection in war, as Goryeo tradition says, or as a long-planned act of royal piety.