Chapter 22 Section 2 Ancient Paper of the Western Han Dynasty and Cai Lun Papermaking

In the past, people generally believed that paper was invented by Cai Lun.Its main basis is the "Book of the Later Han·Cai Lun Biography" which said: "Since ancient times, most of the book deeds have been compiled with bamboo slips, and those who use silk are called paper. The silk is expensive, simple and heavy, and it is not convenient for people. Lun is an idea. Tree skin, hemp heads, cloth, and fishnets are used as paper. In the first year of Yuanxing (AD 105), it was played, and the emperor was good at his ability, so he used it from time to time, so the world called it "Caihou paper." However, Archaeological discoveries in recent years, such as a piece of ancient paper unearthed at the former site of the Fengsui Pavilion of the Han Dynasty in Luobunao (nao Nao) in Xinjiang in 1933, and a wooden slip from the first year of Huanglong (49 BC) unearthed at the same time, indicate that the ancient paper is a relic of the Western Han Dynasty; In 1957, a stack of ancient paper was discovered in Baqiao, Xi'an, dating to 118 BC; in 1973, two groups of ancient paper were discovered in Juyan, Gansu, dating from about 73 BC to 149 BC; in 1979, in Maquan, Dunhuang, Gansu Five pieces and eight pieces of ancient paper were found in the bay, which were relics before 23 AD; in 1986, an ancient paper was found in Fangmatan, Tianshui, Gansu Province, with a topographic map of Tianshui area drawn on it, which was a relic of the early Western Han Dynasty in the 2nd century BC Wait, people's understanding has changed.These unearthed ancient papers are all hemp paper, which shows that my country has already used hemp as raw material to make paper as early as the 2nd century BC, thus advancing the history of papermaking in my country for more than 200 years.

Although Cai Lun's historical status as the inventor of paper has been denied, his great achievements in papermaking technology should not and cannot be obliterated.Before Cai Lun, the paper was very rough, the hemp fiber was not pounded enough, and the fibers were unevenly distributed when it was made into paper, so it was not convenient for writing. Most of them were only used for packaging objects. Did not play a positive role.However, the quality of the paper made by Cai Lun was greatly improved, and it became a cheap and high-quality writing material.Moreover, Cai Lun first invented the method of making paper from bark, which greatly expanded the source of papermaking raw materials.Because Cai Lun was granted the title of Marquis of Longting in 114 A.D., the paper he presided over was called "Caihou Paper".

The process of papermaking is roughly as follows: retting raw materials, that is, soaking the plant fibers to be made in water to degumming them; Water and heat to promote rot; scoop paper, that is, use the curtain bed to scoop up the pulp, so that the pulp is evenly distributed on the curtain bed, and become wet paper; air dry, remove the wet paper, let it dry naturally, and then develop into drying to become paper . Since Cai Lun improved the papermaking technology and improved the quality of paper, paper has gradually replaced the bamboo and wood slips and silk used in our country, and has become the main writing material in the history of our country.Since the Han Dynasty, my country's papermaking technology has been continuously improved and developed. The range of papermaking raw materials has expanded to rattan, bamboo, straw, etc., and the quality of paper has gradually improved, and wax paper, cold gold, staggered gold, rib, and mud gold have appeared. A large number of precious craft papers such as silver painting and calendering.

Paper not only triggered a revolution in writing materials in China, but also replaced Egyptian papyrus, Indian leaves, and European sheepskin successively with the cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, causing a worldwide revolution in writing materials.This great invention of China has made immeasurable contributions to the development of world civilization and cultural exchanges.