{"product_id":"journeys-on-the-silk-road-a-desert-explorer-buddhas-secret-library-and-the-unearthing-of-the-worlds-oldest-printed-book","title":"Journeys on the Silk Road: A Desert Explorer, Buddha's Secret Library, And The Unearthing Of The World's Oldest Printed Book","description":"When a Chinese monk broke into a hidden cave in 1900, he uncovered one of the world’s great literary secrets: a time capsule from the ancient Silk Road. Inside, scrolls were piled from floor to ceiling, undisturbed for a thousand years. The gem within was the Diamond Sutra of AD 868. This key Buddhist teaching, made 500 years before Gutenberg inked his press, is the world’s oldest printed book.\n\nThe Silk Road once linked China with the Mediterranean. It conveyed merchants, pilgrims and ideas. But its cultures and oases were swallowed by shifting sands. Central to the Silk Road’s rediscovery was a man named Aurel Stein, a Hungarian-born scholar and archaeologist employed by the British service.\n\nUndaunted by the vast Gobi Desert, Stein crossed thousands of desolate miles with his fox terrier Dash. Stein met the Chinese monk and secured the Diamond Sutra and much more. The scroll’s journey—by camel through arid desert, by boat to London’s curious scholars, by train to evade the bombs of World War II—merges an explorer’s adventures, political intrigue, and continued controversy.\n\nThe Diamond Sutra has inspired Jack Kerouac and the Dalai Lama. Its journey has coincided with the growing appeal of Buddhism in the West. As the Gutenberg Age cedes to the Google Age, the survival of the Silk Road’s greatest treasure is testament to the endurance of the written word.\u003cbr\u003eASIN: 0762782978\u003cbr\u003eVSKU: PKV.0762782978.A\u003cbr\u003eCondition: Acceptable\u003cbr\u003eAuthor\/Artist:Morgan, Joyce|Walters, Conrad\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNote:\u003c\/b\u003e Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition Notes\u003c\/b\u003e: It's been through some chapters of life! Expect visible wear—creases, notes, highlights, maybe even a splash of water here and there. Perfect for readers who love a book with history.  \u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Aspen Book Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51600812638495,"sku":"PKV.0762782978.A","price":2.76,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0894\/0470\/3007\/files\/0762782978-0.jpg?v=1770397715","url":"https:\/\/www.aspenbookco.com\/products\/journeys-on-the-silk-road-a-desert-explorer-buddhas-secret-library-and-the-unearthing-of-the-worlds-oldest-printed-book","provider":"Aspen Book Company","version":"1.0","type":"link"}