Sutras saved by soldiers

A section of Zhangcheng Jin Tripitaka on display at a 2016 show at the National Library of China in Beijing.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Monks had placed it in a sealed part of the temple tower.

Occupying Japanese forces visited the temple on the pretense of attending a ritual and tried to open the tower to steal the sutras in 1942.

The Eight Route Army led by the Communist Party of China sneaked through the Japanese blockade and spirited away the texts a night before the ritual. The soldiers stored the scriptures in coal mines and caves when Japanese forces scoured the area later.

Li Wanli is the son of the late Li Weilue, the commander who orchestrated the rescue operation.

He has collected historical files related to the Zhaocheng Jin Tripitaka for about 30 years and joined the NLC's recent Shanxi expedition.

"Revolutionary pioneers sacrificed much to safeguard cultural relics," Li told last week's seminar at the NLC.

"Preserving a country's culture is as important as defending homelands against invaders. Saving the canon from enemy hands is just like winning a great battlefield victory."