About Paper

Paper making  is one of the greatest  inventions by the Chinese. 

Paper has a rich, colorful history which has spanned the world's geography and its cultures. To trace its development offers us insight into humanity's relentless imagination, creativity and sometimes folly.

Thanks to the wonderful creation of paper many descriptions of our world have been stored so that we may share and learn from them.
Paper has been used for many purposes, not just literature, but for war plans, the creation of the dollar bill, and of course, to give the ability to people at home of producing their own writing in physical form for hundreds of years. 

Whether you're printing off advice from lovemoney.com or simply writing a love letter, paper is vital to the organisation of modern business and economy, and for entertainment purposes such as magazines and newspapers.
We have prepared the following history of paper, along with a description of how paper is made, what it is used for and some words that are useful to know when talking about paper.

We hope that this is an informative, useful and enjoyable document which inspires you, in the same way that we have been, about paper. We welcome your comments and contributions. Please contact us at anytime.

The Origins of Paper

Egypt 3,000 BC

When we think of the origins of paper, our minds might wander back over 5000 years ago to the Nile river valley in Egypt. It was there that a marsh grass called Cyperous Papyrus flourished. The Egyptians cut thin strips from the plant's stem and softened them in the muddy waters of the Nile. These strips were then layered in right angles to form a kind of mat. The mat was then pounded into a thin sheet and left in the sun to dry. The resulting sheets were ideal for writing on. Since they were also lightweight and portable they became the writing medium of choice of Egyptians, Greeks and Romans for record keeping, spiritual texts and works of art.

Papyrus Papers

The Beginning of Paper Making

Enter China 105 A.D

. is often cited as the year in which papermaking was invented. In that year, historical records show that the invention of paper was reported to the Eastern Han Emperor Ho-di by Ts'ai Lun, an official of the Imperial Court. 

Recent archaeological investigations, however, place the actual invention of papermaking some 200 years earlier. Ts'ai Lun broke the bark of a mulberry tree into fibres and pounded them into a sheet. Later it was discovered that the quality of paper could be much improved with the addition of rags hemp and old fish nets to the pulp. 
The paper was soon widely used in China and spread to the rest of world through the Silk Road. 

An official history written some centuries later explained: In ancient times writing was generally on bamboo or on pieces of silk, which were then called ji. 

But silk being expensive and bamboo heavy, these twoich materials were not conveninet. 

Then Tsai Lun thought of using tree bark,n hemp, rags, and fish nets. In 105 he made a report to the emperor on the process of paper making, and received high praise for his ability. From this time paper has been in use everywhere and is called the "paper of Marquis Tsai."

In few years, the Chinese began to use paper for writing. Around 600 A.D. woodblock printing was invented and by 740 A.D., 

The first printed newspaper was seen in China.

To the east, papermaking moved to Korea, where production of paper began as early as the 6th century AD. Pulp was prepared from the fibers of hemp, rattan, mulberry, bamboo, rice straw, and seaweed. 

According to tradition, a Korean monk named Don-cho brought papermaking to Japan by sharing his knowledge at the Imperial Palace in approximately AD 610, sixty years after Buddhism was introduced in Japan.

Along the Silk Road, we learned that paper was introduced to Xinjiang area very early according to the archaeological records. 

The paper found at Kaochang, Loulan, Kusha, Kotan, and Dunhuang sites dated as early as the 2nd. century. The technique eventaully reached Tibet around 650 A.D. and then to India after 645 A.D. By the time Hsuan Tsang from China arrived to India in 671 A.D., paper was already widely used there.

For a long time the Chinese closely guarded the secret of paper manufacture and tried to eliminate other Oriental centers of production to ensure a monopoly.

 However in 751 A.D. the T'ang army was defeated by the Ottoman Turks at a mighty battle at the Talas River. Some Chinese soldiers and paper makers were captured and brought to Samarkand. The Arabs learned the paper making from the Chinese prisoners and built the first paper industry in Baghdad in 793 A.D. 

They, too, kept it a secret, and Europeans did not learn how to make paper until several centuries later. 

The Egyptians learned the paper making from the Arabs during the early 10th century. Around 1100 A.D. paper arrived in Northern Africa and by 1150 A.D. it arrived to Spain as a result of the crusades and established the first paper industry in Europe. In 1453 A.D. Johann Gutenberg invents the printing press. 

The First Paper Industry In North America

The first paper industry in the North America was built in Philadelphia in 1690.

Uses of Paper

Creatives-