Invention of Paper

Paper airplanes...

Have you ever wondered why the Asian people are so good at origami and paper crafting? The simplest answer is that the people have a head start long before you. You may ask how long they had. Well, the first paper that the Chinese invented was about 2000 years ago.

Paper is considered one of the four greatest inventions in Chinese history, and it is definitely a proud invention. Well, until the Internet takes over (hehe).

Before paper, people used anything they could write on such as a rock, animal bone, iPad (aka tablet), bamboo tree, etc. The Chinese people were definitely utilizing the bamboo tree to its fullest as you can see from the picture.

Then, paper comes along. Nobody knows the exact date, but everybody seems to pin point the time as approximately around 105 A.D. The invention is credited to a man name Ts'ai Lun (some call him Cai Lun, it means the same person), who was a eunuch in the Chinese Imperial Court at the time.

Historical reports say that he took some inner bark of a bamboo tree and mixed it with water. Then he pounded it with a wooden tool. Next, he poured the bamboo pulp onto a flat wooden cloth. Once it dried, he realized that he had created a quality surface to write on. Voila, and that is how paper got started.

Unlike other materials before, paper is easy to store, light, and it won't break when it drops. It saves a lot of time and manpower.

He swings and he misses...

Some controversy has arisen from a recent study saying that Ts'ai Lun is actually not the first person who invented paper. The first sign of paper was dated 200 years before Ts'ai Lun time and was located in Tibet. Nonetheless, Ts'ai Lun was credited due to the fact that he made paper popular (in my own opinion).

Now you may ask how this technology leaked out into the world. Well, we have to thank the Muslims for that. A couple hundred years after Ts'ai Lun discovered paper, the Muslims started to attack China and were able to capture several workers from the paper mill. After some sweet talk and pony promises, the Muslims were able to obtain the information. Not long after, the paper secret fell into the hands of the Spanish. The cycle continued until the United States built the first paper mill in the 1600s.

Sorry, the information above was pulled straight from my memory and is not very detailed. If anybody has a more expert understanding about the history starting from the Muslims, please do share.

We just stepped into the New Year. I hope everybody is still joyful and happy even without the alcohol (hehe). As always, thank you for stopping by. I look forward to knowing you (my reader) better throughout this year. If you can't get enough of me, you may follow me on Twitter as well. From where I am and wherever you are, have a wonderful night and don't watch too many horror movies (hehe).

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