The expedition visited the former residence of Zhang Ruiji (1872-1928) in Hongdong county. Zhang used his influence to persuade two schools of monks with divergent ideas to agree to move all the texts together to a safe place.

"His brother also led locals to boycott outsiders who wanted to buy them," Li Wanli explains.

Zhang's family collected 152 chapters of the Zhaocheng Jin Tripitaka. His son donated them to the NLC in 1952.

Li Jining says the Shanxi trip also helped researchers resolve unanswered questions about the origins of the Zhaocheng Jin Tripitaka.

They found stone steles that filled voids in the story of how the woodblocks were produced via 3,000 pilgrims' work under the leadership of a woman named Cui Fazhen and how the woodblocks were donated to the imperial court.

The NLC gave replicas of 100 chapters to the Guangsheng Temple and a local library in April.

Contact the writer at wangkaihao@chinadaily.com.cn