In China, during the 9th Century AD, a man named Wang Jie copied a book significant to his Buddhist religion. Translated from the Sanskrit, the title of Wang Jie's book is The Perfection of Wisdom which Cuts Like a Thunderbolt. It is the earliest dated book in the world today and is commonly called the Diamond Sutra. It is at the British Library in London.

The book's inscription is interesting:

"Reverently caused to be made for universal free distribution by Wang Jie on behalf of his two parents on the 13th of the 14th moon of the 9th year of Xiantong."

In English, that's May 11, 868 AD.

The book was part of a library that was sealed in a walled-up cave in Dunhuang, China in about 1000 AD. It was found in 1907. We don't know why it was sealed in the cave, but protecting religious works from invading enemies had been the role of monks for centuries.

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