Colophon

The colophon at the end of a printed copy of the Diamond Sutra, the world's oldest surviving printed book, states the date of printing (868 AD), the donor's name, the printing house, and that it was printed for free distribution.

A colophon denotes a written addition to a primary text.

In traditional Buddhist manuscripts, colophons provide historical context such as scribe details, and information on the text's creation.

Within the Chinese and Tibetan canons, colophons were added to translated texts (from Indian source texts) that included details on translators and their origins. These colophons are referenced in order to determine the authenticity of translated texts.

Commentaries composed in China and Tibet also typically contain a colophon that identifies the author of the commentary and (possibly) the time and place it was written. Pali commentaries written in South Asia may also contain colophons.

In early printed texts, the colophon, when present, provided information such as the place of printing, the name of the sponsor or printer, etc.

Further reading

• Colophon (publishing), Wikipedia
• The Colophons of Sutra Stone Valley, Buddhist Stone Sutras in China