The Jikji
The printing press is generally regarded as one of the most important inventions in history. It has enabled people to communicate and gain access to knowledge once reserved for the highest social classes.
Johannes Gutenberg is known as the father of metal moveable types in the West. His machine set the stage for enlightenment and revolution in Europe that forever shaped the continent. In the West, students are commonly taught that the Gutenberg Bibles printed in 1452-1455 are the oldest extant printed books. However, there is a metal moveable type book that precedes the Gutenberg Bibles by 78 years — the Jikji.
The Jikji was printed in 1377 at Heungdeok Temple in Korea, the product of innovative monks residing there. Jikji is an abbreviation of the title “The Monk Baegun’s Anthology of the Great Priests’ Teachings on Identification of the Buddha Spirit by the Practice of Seon.” The book was written by Baegun, the chief priest of Anguk and Shingwang temple, as a guide for Buddhist monks training students in Zen Buddhism, the dominant religion during the Goryeo Dynasty when it was printed.
The first edition of the Jikji printed in 1372 used wood block printing. The Chinese inventor Bi Sheng developed both ceramic and wooden moveable type systems around 1040 A.D. and bronze movable type presses appeared in China during the 12th century. However, for years following these innovations, wood block printing remained the prevailing printing style. It was a painstaking process in which the entire image or text was carved into a single block. Following Baegun’s death, his disciples, priests Seoksan and Daldam and priestess Myodeok, printed a second edition of the Jikji using a metal moveable type system. The Jikji consisted of two volumes with 307 chapters total and its dimensions were 24.6 x 17.0 c.m.
Today, the location of the Jikji’s first volume is unknown. However, the second volume can be found in the Manuscrits Orientaux Department of the National Library of France. The book was taken to France during the early 1900s by Victor Collin de Plancy, Korea’s first French Consul. During his service in Korea, Plancy was an avid collector and by unknown means came into possession of the book. The National Library of France acquired the book in an auction, and the importance of its existence was little acknowledged until the book was displayed at the “International Book Year” hosted by the National Library of France in 1972. Many Koreans have asked for the book to be returned to Korea, and France’s reluctance has sparked controversy. Dr. Park Byeong-seon, a Korean historian who resided in France, had been one of the most vocal advocates for the book’s homecoming until her death in 2011.
UNESCO has formally recognized the Jikji on its Memory of the World Register and created a world prize in its honor. The UNESCO Memory of the World program seeks to “preserve and promote documentary heritage.” The Jikji Prize awards $30,000 to organizations promoting documentary preservation.
The Jikji is triumphant evidence that though Korea is a small country, its presence has already been felt in the annals of global history.