Under the Microscope

The present volume presents a wood anatomist's study of the Tripitaka Koreana, the world's oldest surviving printing artifact from 13th-century Korea. Whereas existing research on this most comprehensive and accurate version of the Buddhist canon in East Asia has relied primarily on incomplete textual evidence and on less than reliable oral traditions in addressing the secrets of the creation, birthplace, material, and miraculous conservation of the Tripitaka Koreana, the author of this volume looks to physical evidence - the woodblocks themselves - for answers.