The history of paper handbook

One of the four great inventions of ancient China.

Sheet fiber products used for writing, printing, painting, or packaging.

As early as the Western Han Dynasty, China has invented paper making with hemp plant fiber.

In ancient times, our ancestors mainly relied on knotted rope to keep track of things, and then gradually invented the oracle bone script, and began to use the oracle bone as a writing material.

Later, they discovered and utilized bamboo and wood chips and thick silk as writing materials.

But thick silk was too expensive and bamboo was too bulky, which led to the invention of paper.

According to evidence, the production of paper began in China during the Western Han Dynasty, and paper was widely spread during the Wei, Jin, and North and South Dynasties.

Generally used by people, papermaking further improved.

The raw materials for papermaking are also diversified, the paper has a variety of names such as bamboo curtain paper, rattan paper, fish egg paper ...... Cai Lun papermaking a wide range of raw materials to rotten fishing nets made of paper called net paper, rags made of paper called cloth paper.

In the Sui and Tang dynasties, the famous Xuan paper was born.

The Tang Dynasty in the previous generation on the basis of dyed yellow paper, and evenly coated with wax on the paper, after calendaring, so that the paper has the advantages of glossy and moist, beautiful, known as hard yellow paper.

Five generations of the paper industry continues to develop, Shezhou Chengxintang paper, until the Northern Song Dynasty, has been recognized as the best paper; this paper "slippery as spring water, as fine as cocoons, tough than Shu paper, faster than the Hedges Broussonetia".

Yuan dynasty paper industry withered, only in Jiangnan still barely maintain the former scene.

By the Ming Dynasty, the papermaking industry was flourishing again, and the main products were Xuan paper, bamboo paper, Xuan De paper, Song Jiang Tan paper.

During the Qing Dynasty, the manufacturing process of Xuan paper was further improved, and it became a household name.

The art of papermaking has played a major role in promoting the development of world civilization.

On the relationship between Cai Lun and papermaking, there are two different opinions today.

The first opinion is that he is the inventor of papermaking, and the second opinion is that the beginning of the Western Han Dynasty, paper has been used in place of Jane, Cai Lun is only a papermaking innovator.

Now it seems that the second opinion is correct, because as early as Cai Lun 200 years ago, the beginning of the Western Han Dynasty has been used for writing hemp paper.

Cai Lun's contribution was to organize and promote the production of high-grade hemp paper and fine work, and promote the development of papermaking, but "the intention to use the skin of the tree as paper", it is possible that Cai Lun or his subordinates Shangfang.

Leather paper made of bark fibers, its technical difficulties than hemp paper.

Cai Lun's contribution is to make the production of leather paper in the Eastern Han Dynasty developed.

Hemp paper and leather paper were the two mainstays of Chinese paper for 1200 years from the Han Dynasty onwards, and Chinese culture depended on the supply of these two types of paper for its rapid development.