Tripitaka Koreana
collection of wooden blocks imprinted with Korean Buddhist scriptures housed in a temple
The Tripiṭaka Koreana (naming controversial, see below) refers to a Korean collection of Tripiṭaka scriptures carved onto 81,352 wooden printing blocks in the 13th century of the Goryeo period (hence also: The Goryeo Tripiṭaka). They are currently located at the Buddhist temple Haeinsa, in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is the oldest intact version of the Chinese Buddhist canon, the shared canonical collection of East Asian Buddhism written in Buddhist Chinese. It contains 1,496 titles divided into 6,568 books, spanning 81,258 pages, for a total 52,330,152 characters. It is often called the Palman Daejanggyeong ("Eighty-thousand Tripitaka") due to the number of the printing plates that comprise it.
Each wood block (page) measures 24 centimetres in height and 70 centimetres (9.4 in × 27.6 in) in length. The thickness of the blocks ranges from 2.6 to 4 centimetres (1.0–1.6 in) and each weighs about three to four kilograms (6.61 - 8.81 lbs). The woodblocks would be almost as tall as Paektu Mountain at 2.74 km (1.70 mi) if stacked and would measure 60 km (37 mi) long if lined up, and weigh 280 tons in total. The woodblocks are in pristine condition without warping or deformation despite being created more than 750 years ago.
The Tripiṭaka was designated a National Treasure of South Korea in 1962, and inscribed in the UNESCO Memory of the World international register in 2007.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Tripitaka Koreana” as collection of wooden blocks imprinted with Korean Buddhist scriptures housed in a temple. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as collection of wooden blocks imprinted with Korean Buddhist scriptures housed in a temple. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q138733. VIAF identifies the subject as 185891892. The Library of Congress control number is n82137296. Authority coordinates are 35.802, 128.099. 2 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1962 and 2007.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Tripitaka Koreana”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Tripitaka Koreana primary sources, Tripitaka Koreana archive and Tripitaka research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Tripitaka Koreana”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Tripitaka Koreana” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.