Workshop: The Jiaxing Canon in East Asia
When: Thu, 23.07.2026 1:00 PM until Fri, 24.07.2026 4:00 PM
Where: Warburgstraße 26, 20354 Hamburg
This workshop focuses on the production and transmission of the Jiaxing Canon 嘉興藏 as a promising source for enriching our understanding not only of the spread of Northern Buddhism to East Asian countries but also the cross-cultural dimensions of printing history in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Printed from woodblocks between the late sixteenth and early eighteenth centuries, the Jiaxing Canon represents a unique Chinese collection, or canon, of sacred Buddhist scriptures. Unlike other canons that were state-sponsored, the Jiaxing Canon was produced as a private monastic enterprise and it is particularly valuable for including works not found in other canons. Despite being the most widely circulated canon in the history of Chinese Buddhism, the exact number of fascicles in the Jiaxing Canon, especially those within the “Sayings” section, remains unknown and understudied due to its complex production history. The recent discovery of a seemingly complete Jiaxing Canon set at Ten-Stupas monastery in Gia Lai Province in Central Vietnam has introduced new momentum to research on the carving and printing history, circulation, and transmission of the Jiaxing Canon in East Asia. Ten talks by leading scholars from East Asian, American, and European institutions will examine how modern technologies, including artificial intelligence, can generate new knowledge on this topic and help develop innovative methodologies for the study of the material and socio-cultural dimensions of imprinted artefacts in general.