1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,840 Speaker 1: Hello, everyone, it's Eves checking in here to let you 2 00:00:02,880 --> 00:00:04,960 Speaker 1: know that you're going to be hearing two different events 3 00:00:04,960 --> 00:00:07,440 Speaker 1: in history in this episode. They're both good, if I 4 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:13,280 Speaker 1: do say so myself. On with the show. Hi, I'm Eves, 5 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:16,760 Speaker 1: and welcome to this Day in History Class, a show 6 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:25,400 Speaker 1: that uncovers a little bit more about history every day. 7 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:31,080 Speaker 1: The day was May eleven, eight hundred sixty eight. A 8 00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:34,520 Speaker 1: copy of the Diamond Sutra, one of the Buddhist teachings, 9 00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:37,879 Speaker 1: was published on seven pages of paper pasted together to 10 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:44,040 Speaker 1: create a scroll. Today, the text is considered the oldest surviving, complete, dated, 11 00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:48,640 Speaker 1: imprinted book. The Diamond Suture contains teachings on the Buddhist 12 00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:52,600 Speaker 1: principles of non abiding and non attachment, and it's a 13 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:57,760 Speaker 1: key scripture in Mahayana Buddhism. The text also provides meditations 14 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:01,560 Speaker 1: on illusion and perception. The copy of the Diamond Sutra 15 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:05,880 Speaker 1: that was published on mayn is not the earliest example 16 00:01:05,959 --> 00:01:08,480 Speaker 1: of block printing, but it is the oldest book to 17 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:12,200 Speaker 1: include a colophon that has a verifiable date. A colophon 18 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:14,120 Speaker 1: is an inscription at the end of a book or 19 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:18,720 Speaker 1: manuscript that provides details of the works publication. The Diamond 20 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:22,080 Speaker 1: sutra was first translated from Sanskrit to Chinese around four 21 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:27,120 Speaker 1: hundred CE. In eighth century China, printing was done with woodblocks. 22 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:30,280 Speaker 1: Paper was made from mulberry or hemp, then it was 23 00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:33,520 Speaker 1: dyed yellow with bark from the amer cork tree. The 24 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:36,280 Speaker 1: text was painted onto tracing paper, which was put onto 25 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:39,680 Speaker 1: a wooden block. A carver then followed the trace text 26 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:42,920 Speaker 1: to carve the shapes into the block. Then the block 27 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:47,960 Speaker 1: was inked and stamped onto the paper. In Taoist emperor 28 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:52,400 Speaker 1: Wuzong of the Tong dynasty suppressed Buddhism as China denounced 29 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:57,120 Speaker 1: foreign influences and old confusion and Taoist ideas re emerged. 30 00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:01,880 Speaker 1: Temples and monasteries were shut down and adherents were banned 31 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:06,040 Speaker 1: from practicing. The band was rolled back not long after 32 00:02:06,080 --> 00:02:09,360 Speaker 1: it was instituted, but Buddhism did not thrive as it 33 00:02:09,440 --> 00:02:14,560 Speaker 1: had before. A monk named wong U n Lou originally 34 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:18,480 Speaker 1: discovered wang Ji's Diamond Sutra in don Huang, China in 35 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:21,919 Speaker 1: nineteen hundred. He was in a place now known as 36 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:24,880 Speaker 1: the Caves of a Thousand Buddhas, a cliff wall with 37 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:28,280 Speaker 1: hundreds of caves carved out of it he found the 38 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:31,400 Speaker 1: entrance to a secret library that had been sealed, where 39 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:35,400 Speaker 1: there were tens of thousands of documents. It's not completely 40 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:37,920 Speaker 1: clear who and why the documents were placed in the 41 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:41,480 Speaker 1: library cave, nor is it known why and when the 42 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:45,040 Speaker 1: cave was sealed shut. But in nineteen o seven British 43 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:49,120 Speaker 1: Hungarian archaeologist Mark R. L. Stein was mapping the Silk 44 00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:53,720 Speaker 1: Road when he found out about the library. After some negotiation, 45 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:57,960 Speaker 1: Stein bribed Wong into selling about ten thousand documents and 46 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:01,760 Speaker 1: painted scrolls for a hundred and thirty pounds by invoking 47 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:06,240 Speaker 1: Wong's patron, saint Chuan Zan, a Buddhist monk and scholar 48 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:08,760 Speaker 1: who had taken a pilgrimage to India in the seventh 49 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:13,360 Speaker 1: century and was a translator of Buddhist scriptures. One of 50 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:17,240 Speaker 1: the documents Stein acquired was the Diamond Sutra. The scroll 51 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:21,240 Speaker 1: is about sixteen feet or five meters long and ten 52 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:24,600 Speaker 1: and a half inches or about twenty seven centimeters wide. 53 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:28,400 Speaker 1: It's made up of seven pieces of yellow stained paper 54 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:32,040 Speaker 1: pasted together, with an elaborate illustration on the first paper 55 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:35,960 Speaker 1: that shows the Buddhas speaking to a disciple. An inscription 56 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:40,480 Speaker 1: on the scroll says the following in translation reverently made 57 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:43,920 Speaker 1: for universal free distribution about Wang Gi on behalf of 58 00:03:43,960 --> 00:03:46,960 Speaker 1: his parents on the fifteenth of the fourth moon of 59 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:50,720 Speaker 1: the ninth year of shoon Long. That would work out 60 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:54,760 Speaker 1: to be May eleventh eight. It's not clear who Wong 61 00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:57,560 Speaker 1: Gi was or why he had the Diamond Sutra printed, 62 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:00,360 Speaker 1: but it's likely that monks used the scroll to chant 63 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:03,480 Speaker 1: the sutra and that printing copies of the sutra allowed 64 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:08,000 Speaker 1: for wider dissemination of the Buddhist teachings. Today, the scroll 65 00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:12,240 Speaker 1: is located at the British Library. I'm each Jeff Coote 66 00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:14,840 Speaker 1: and hopefully you know a little more about history today 67 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:18,839 Speaker 1: than you did yesterday. And here's an additional note on 68 00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:21,960 Speaker 1: really old books. Books have been dated back to the 69 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:26,479 Speaker 1: BC years, like the manuscript Bulgaria's National Museum of History Holes, 70 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:30,520 Speaker 1: which is more than years old. But what should be 71 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:34,000 Speaker 1: considered a book is up for debate. Scrolls and clay 72 00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:38,120 Speaker 1: tablets exists that are thousands of years old as well. Also, 73 00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:41,520 Speaker 1: the International don Juang Project is a collaboration that has 74 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:45,839 Speaker 1: digitized archaeological materials from Dunhuang and other sites on the 75 00:04:45,839 --> 00:04:51,160 Speaker 1: Eastern Silk Road. Keep up with us on Twitter, Instagram, 76 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:56,680 Speaker 1: and Facebook at T d i h C Podcast. Thanks 77 00:04:56,680 --> 00:05:06,719 Speaker 1: again for listening and we'll see you tomorrow. Hello everyone, 78 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:10,279 Speaker 1: I'm Eves and welcome to The Stand History Class, a 79 00:05:10,360 --> 00:05:19,159 Speaker 1: podcast that brings you a new slice of history every day. 80 00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:26,279 Speaker 1: The day was May eleventh. Composer William Grant Still was 81 00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:30,520 Speaker 1: born in Woodville, Mississippi. He wrote more than one and 82 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:34,400 Speaker 1: fifty compositions, and he was the first Black American conductor 83 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:38,159 Speaker 1: of a major orchestra. Still it's often referred to as 84 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:42,800 Speaker 1: the Dean of African American composers. When Still was a teenager, 85 00:05:42,920 --> 00:05:47,720 Speaker 1: he began studying the violin. His stepfather, Charles Shepherdson, encouraged 86 00:05:47,760 --> 00:05:50,840 Speaker 1: his love of music by taking him to recitals and 87 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:55,400 Speaker 1: introducing him to opera on Red Seal records. After graduating 88 00:05:55,440 --> 00:05:59,040 Speaker 1: from high school in nineteen eleven, Still enrolled at Wilberforce 89 00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:03,040 Speaker 1: University in A, Ohio. He learned to play multiple instruments, 90 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:08,400 Speaker 1: including the cello and obo. His musical talent flourished in college, 91 00:06:08,480 --> 00:06:12,880 Speaker 1: where he conducted the university band, composed music, and formed 92 00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:17,039 Speaker 1: a string quartet. But Still left the school before graduating. 93 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:21,080 Speaker 1: He was interested in pursuing a career as a classical composer. 94 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:25,440 Speaker 1: He studied composition at Oberlin Conservatory of Music and at 95 00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:28,839 Speaker 1: the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston under George 96 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:33,000 Speaker 1: Whitefield Chadwick, and he began working as a freelance performer 97 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:38,240 Speaker 1: and arranger in nineteen fifteen. Still married Grace Bundy, and 98 00:06:38,279 --> 00:06:42,120 Speaker 1: they eventually had four children together, though they divorced in 99 00:06:42,200 --> 00:06:46,279 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty nine. Still served in the Navy during World 100 00:06:46,279 --> 00:06:50,160 Speaker 1: War One, but beyond that he dove head first into music. 101 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:55,480 Speaker 1: He worked as an arranger for composer and musician W. C. Handy. 102 00:06:55,640 --> 00:06:58,640 Speaker 1: He played oboe in the musical Shuffle Along, which had 103 00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:01,520 Speaker 1: a successful run on broad Way and featured people like 104 00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:05,720 Speaker 1: Josephine Baker, Florence Mills, and Paul Robeson. He took a 105 00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:09,920 Speaker 1: job with Harry Pace's past Phonograph company, doing arrangements for 106 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:14,840 Speaker 1: artists who recorded on the Black Swan label. In the 107 00:07:14,960 --> 00:07:20,200 Speaker 1: Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra performed Stills Afro American Symphony. It was 108 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:23,200 Speaker 1: the first time a major orchestra performed a symphony composed 109 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:26,960 Speaker 1: by a Black American, and it's still's best known composition. 110 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:31,160 Speaker 1: He said the following about the Symphony. I knew I 111 00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:33,920 Speaker 1: wanted to write a symphony. I knew that it had 112 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:37,240 Speaker 1: to be an American work, and I wanted to demonstrate 113 00:07:37,240 --> 00:07:41,200 Speaker 1: how the blues, so often considered a lowly expression, could 114 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:45,280 Speaker 1: be elevated to the highest musical level. The symphony featured 115 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:49,880 Speaker 1: elements of spirituals, blues, jazz, and call and response. It 116 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:53,600 Speaker 1: was also the first symphony to use a banjo. Many 117 00:07:53,640 --> 00:07:57,040 Speaker 1: of Still's works incorporated Black American forms, like the blues, 118 00:07:57,400 --> 00:08:02,120 Speaker 1: spirituals in jazz. By the time Afro American Symphony premiered, 119 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:05,440 Speaker 1: Still had been to Los Angeles and composed more than 120 00:08:05,520 --> 00:08:08,520 Speaker 1: one hundred songs for the band leader in orchestral director 121 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:12,440 Speaker 1: Paul Whiteman. He moved to Los Angeles permanently in nineteen 122 00:08:12,480 --> 00:08:16,400 Speaker 1: thirty four. Throughout the nineteen thirties, he arranged music for 123 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:20,160 Speaker 1: films like Pennies from Heaven and Lost Horizon, and he 124 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:23,679 Speaker 1: continued to collect first in his musical career. He became 125 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:26,960 Speaker 1: the first black American to conduct a major symphony orchestra 126 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:29,880 Speaker 1: in the United States when he led the Los Angeles 127 00:08:29,920 --> 00:08:33,400 Speaker 1: Philharmonic in nineteen thirty six, and he was the first 128 00:08:33,440 --> 00:08:36,439 Speaker 1: to have an opera performed on national television when his 129 00:08:36,520 --> 00:08:40,320 Speaker 1: opera A Bayou Legend, finished in nineteen forty one, premiered 130 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:45,600 Speaker 1: on PBS in nineteen one. Right after still divorced Grace Bundy, 131 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:50,120 Speaker 1: he married Verna Rvy in Mexico, where interracial marriage was legal. 132 00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:53,360 Speaker 1: Rvy was a pianist and writer who wrote the libretti 133 00:08:53,480 --> 00:08:56,960 Speaker 1: for many of his operas. Over the course of his career, 134 00:08:57,400 --> 00:09:02,760 Speaker 1: Still composed nearly two hundred symphonies, ballets, operas, chamber music pieces, 135 00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:07,000 Speaker 1: and works for solo instruments. He collaborated with Zorah Neil Hirston, 136 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:12,360 Speaker 1: Katherine Garrison Chapin, and Linkston Hughes, and his compositions were 137 00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:16,439 Speaker 1: influenced by people like Paul Lawrence Dunbar and W. E. B. 138 00:09:16,600 --> 00:09:22,640 Speaker 1: Du Bois. Still died in Los Angeles. I'm Eves Jeff 139 00:09:22,679 --> 00:09:25,640 Speaker 1: Coote and hopefully you know a little more about history 140 00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:29,240 Speaker 1: today than you did yesterday. And if you have any 141 00:09:29,280 --> 00:09:32,000 Speaker 1: comments are suggestions, you can send them to us via 142 00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:35,800 Speaker 1: email at this day at I heeart Media dot com. 143 00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:38,160 Speaker 1: You can also follow us on social media at t 144 00:09:38,480 --> 00:09:42,480 Speaker 1: D I h C Podcast. Thanks again for listening to 145 00:09:42,480 --> 00:09:52,200 Speaker 1: the show and we'll see you tomorrow for more podcasts 146 00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:55,160 Speaker 1: from iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts, 147 00:09:55,240 --> 00:09:56,920 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.