The process of paper-making in the Han Dynasty, as long as the technology

The first step: raw material separation is to degum raw materials in alkaline solution and disperse them into fibers by soaking or cooking.

The second step: beating, that is, cutting and pounding the fiber to make the fiber into a broom shape, thus making it into pulp.

The third part: papermaking, that is, the pulp is made into slurry through water seepage, and then the pulp is fished up with a fishing machine (pad) to interweave the pulp into thin wet paper on the fishing machine.

The fourth part: drying, that is, drying or drying wet paper, and taking it down becomes paper.

After the Han Dynasty, although the craft was constantly improved and matured, these four steps remained basically unchanged. Even in modern times, in the production of wet papermaking, there is still no fundamental difference between the production process and the papermaking method in ancient China.

In the history of extended information, there are few documents about paper-making technology in Han dynasty, so it is difficult to understand its complete and detailed technological process. Although later generations have speculated, it can only be used as a reference. Generally speaking, there are many links in papermaking technology, and there must be a process of development and evolution, which is by no means a person's work. It is the crystallization of the long-term experience and wisdom of the working people in China.

In the early days of papermaking, the main raw materials for papermaking were bark and rags. At that time, the rags were mainly hemp fibers, and the varieties were mainly ramie and hemp. It is said that cotton from China was introduced from India at the beginning of the Eastern Han Dynasty at the same time as Buddhism, and was later used for textile. The bark used at that time was mainly sandalwood and Broussonetia papyrifera. At the latest in the early years of the Western Han Dynasty in the 2nd century BC, China already had paper.

The original paper was made of hemp fiber or hemp fabric. Because papermaking is still in the primary stage, the process is simple, and the paper made is rough in texture, with many loose fiber bundles and uneven surface, which is not suitable for writing. Generally only used for packaging.

Baidu encyclopedia-papermaking