Chapter 9 Chapter 9 Chinese Papermaking in Europe, America and Oceania

Chinese papermaking technology was introduced to Europe through Arabia. Although Europe had been exposed to and used paper before that, most of it was imported from Arabia, which cost a lot of money every year.Spain, France, and Italy appear to have been the earliest transit points for the spread of papermaking in Europe.After the rulers of the Arab Abbasid dynasty seized power in 750, they ordered the removal of members of the overthrown Umayyad clan, so the former prince Abdal-Rahman took a group of people to flee to North Africa for refuge and then to Spain , established a regime in Spain in 756, known as the post-Umayyad Dynasty (756-1036 AD). After the 9th and 10th centuries, the Umayyad dynasty became more and more powerful and put Spain under the rule of Muslims, making it the first European country to make paper.The earliest surviving paper artifacts in Spain are manuscripts from the 10th century, written on hemp paper.The first paper mill in Spain was built in 1129 in Xativa. In 1150, the Arab geographer Al-Idrisi (1100-1160 A.D.) said of Sadiwa: "The city produces paper that is unparalleled in other parts of the civilized world, and exports it to the east and west countries." But the early Spanish papermaking More in the hands of the Arabs.After the decline of the post-Umayyad dynasty, the Spaniards started a struggle to recover lost land. In 1157, another paper mill run by the Spaniards was established in Vidalin, a border city near France.

France is adjacent to Spain, and French papermaking technology may have come from Spain.The first French paper mill was built in Herault in the south in 1189. Due to the small output, French paper was still supplied from Damascus and Spain. In 1348, another new factory was built in the city of Troyes, and from 1354 to 1383, new factories were built in four places, which met the needs of the country.No doubt Spain and France chiefly produced hemp paper. In the 11th and 12th centuries, Arabic paper was also transported from Egypt and Morocco in North Africa to Italy through the Mediterranean Sea, and then transferred to countries in the European continent. Papermaking was introduced to Italy through this trade route. Several Italian manuscripts from the 12th century are still extant, but it is difficult to say that they were made locally. In 1221, the King of Italy banned the use of paper to write official documents in order to resist the dumping of Arabic paper, but the amount of paper was still long-term. Throughout the 13th century, Damascus paper flowed into Italy, and Italian gold coins were continuously consumed on imported paper.So in 1276, the first paper mill in Italy was built in Montefano to produce hemp paper.This is the birthplace of the Renaissance, with advanced science and technology, paper will further promote cultural development.Italian paper mills have made new improvements in technology, using metal beaters to increase the momentum, and applying animal glue to the paper instead of starch paste, and producing water pattern paper in 1282.These techniques were emulated elsewhere in Europe. In 1293 another paper mill was built in the cultural city of Bologna.The Italian paper industry developed rapidly, and by the 14th century it had become the supplier of European paper, with output exceeding that of Spain and Damascus.

The amount of paper used in Germany in the second half of the 14th century also increased day by day.When Chinese printing technology was introduced to Europe, Germany's printing industry once took the lead in Europe, but the paper was supplied by Italy and France. In 1391, Germany's first paper mill was built in Nuremberg, the center of the printing industry, jointly operated by German Ulman Stromer and Italians.At the same time another paper mill is established in Cologne.Jost Amman (Jost Amman, AD 1539-1591), the author of Nuremberg, published the first woodcut depicting the papermaking process in the book "Der Papier" (Der Papier) in 1568.This is the first time in the world, and the papermaking equipment used is obviously very similar to that of China and Arabia.After Germany had a paper industry, it became another center that radiated papermaking to Europe.The Netherlands, which borders Germany and France, built an early paper mill in 1428, and built a larger paper mill in Dordrecht in 1586.The contribution of the Dutch was the invention of the mechanical beater in 1680.In Switzerland, where German is spoken, a paper mill was established in Basel, the printing center, in 1433.Austria, south of Germany, set up a paper factory in Vienna in 1498.Poland, which borders Germany, had its first paper mill in Krakow in 1491, and then built paper mills in Wilno and Warsaw in 1522 and 1534.Russia came into contact with paper earlier, but the earliest paper mill was not built in Moscow until 1576, and German technicians were also invited.

Britain and the European continent are separated by a sea, and the papermaking time was relatively late, but the paper imported from Spain was used in the 14th century.The earliest paper mill in England was established in Hartfordshire (Hartford-shire) in 1494, and another new mill was built in Findford in 1557.The countries in the northern part of Europe also made paper late due to their geographical location.Denmark started papermaking in 1635, while Norway started in 1690.However, by the 17th century, almost all European countries had a paper industry.

At this time, ancient materials such as sheepskin were still used in the New World of America, and sometimes paper was imported from Europe. After the Spaniards moved to Mexico in 1575, they established the first paper mill in the Americas there.The earliest paper mill in the United States was built in Philadelphia in 1690, and two other handmade paper mills were built not far from Philadelphia in the 18th century.The development of the American paper industry is inseparable from the promotion of the great scientist and politician Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790 AD). In 1788, he also published a report introducing Chinese papermaking technology at the Philadelphia Philosophical Society (equivalent to the Academy of Sciences) meeting.Canada in North America only built a paper mill in St. Andrews (Sain tArdrews) in 1803.As for Oceania, the first paper mill was built in Melbourne, Australia in 1868.It was not until the second half of the 19th century that Chinese papermaking technology completed its journey of spreading around the world, spreading to all countries in the five continents.Looking back at this period of history, the reason why the Middle Ages Central Asia, West Asia, the Arab world, Europe and the United States were able to share the achievements of papermaking inventions is due to the technology taught by Chinese prisoners of war in the Battle of Talas in 751.These paper workers dressed in military uniforms made great contributions to the civilizations of countries west of China. It is a pity that their names are unknown today. They are unsung heroes in the history of scientific and technological exchanges between China and the West, and their contributions will last forever.

In 1965, I conducted a systematic inspection of the paper used in ancient books in European countries in the 16th and 17th centuries, and found that since the Renaissance, handmade paper in European countries has the following common characteristics: (1) The raw material is mainly broken linen, and other plant fibers are rarely used. (2) The paper is heavy and can be printed on both sides, but the surface is not smooth and needs to be calendered. (3) Although there are unbroken fiber bundles in the paper, the paper is tough, strong in tension, and resistant to decay. (4) The curtain pattern is relatively thick, and the papermaking curtain is not made of thin bamboo strips.

Apparently, these features are consistent with ancient northern Chinese hemp paper and ancient Arabic paper, but different from Chinese Central Plains and southern hemp paper.Regarding European hemp papermaking technology, in addition to the above-mentioned works of the German Oman, there are also detailed records in "Paper or Papermaking Technology" (Papyrus sive arsconficendae papyri) written in Latin by J. Imberdis published in France in 1693.Because it is the same as Chinese and Arab technologies, so I won’t repeat them here.It should be pointed out that although European papermaking technology comes from China in the final analysis, China and Europe adopt different technical routes in the development of papermaking industry.First, European paper has a single raw material for a long time, only hemp paper is produced, and the shortage of raw materials becomes more and more later; in addition to hemp paper, China also produces mulberry, mulberry and other leather paper and bamboo paper. The raw materials are diversified and the supply is sufficient.Second, China can make both thick paper and thin paper, while Europe has produced thick paper for a long time; China can also make giant paper (9-16 meters) for calligraphy and painting, and it can be mixed with different raw materials for pulping. Can't do this, the paper format is small and the surface is astringent.The above two points show that Chinese technology is advanced.However, Europe has replaced non-metallic materials with metal materials to manufacture papermaking equipment (especially pulpers) earlier than China, which is superior to China in this respect.It can be said that both sides have their own strengths and weaknesses.

After the 18th century, the aforementioned shortcomings of the technical route in the European paper industry became prominent.The development of European watercolor painting and printmaking required thin paper with a larger format, but paper craftsmen could not make it.When they make large paper, they always tear when they are peeled off, and hemp paper is obviously not as good as leather paper, which is more suitable for artists to use, and Europe does not know how to make leather paper.Therefore, the French economist Turgot (1727-1781), who served as the Minister of Finance, entrusted two Chinese in Paris, Gao Leisi and Yang Dewang, to help Europe solve the technical problems of producing large-scale art paper after returning to China. .We know from the novels of the French writer Balzac that the price of rags soared due to the shortage of supply at that time, which caused the paper industry to face a raw material crisis.The inventor David Sechard (David Sechard) was inspired by Chinese writings and wanted to try other plant fibers to make paper or mix other plant fibers with hemp to make paper.Secondly, I would like to experiment with adding sizing agent to the pulp for one-time internal paper sizing.These technologies have existed in China since ancient times, but due to various reasons, Saisha's illusions were disillusioned and his ideals could not be realized.It can be seen that even in the 18th century, Europe had to rely on ancient Chinese wisdom to overcome the technical difficulties it faced in papermaking.It was not until the 19th century that Europeans mastered the technology of making paper from non-linen materials such as bamboo and thatch (espartograss).

Finally, it should be pointed out that the European literature before the 19th century had incorrect statements about the history of early papermaking, and believed that hemp paper was invented by Germans or Italians in the 13th and 14th centuries. Silk wool paper.These are all misunderstandings without understanding the history of papermaking in the East.Until 1885, Wiesner, a scientist at the University of Vienna, tested the unearthed ancient Arabic papers of the 9th and 10th centuries and proved that they were hemp papers. In the early 20th century, he tested the ancient papers of the 3rd and 4th centuries in China, which also proved to be hemp papers. Fibrous paper was invented in China, then spread to Arabia, and then the historical truth of the spread to Europe from Arabia was revealed to the world.Another half century later, archaeological excavations and ancient paper tests proved that hemp paper made of rags was made in China as early as the 2nd century BC, 1400 years earlier than in Europe.The history of Chinese papermaking technology is the most proud part of the history of Chinese science and culture, which fully embodies the ingenuity and creativity of the Chinese nation.But today we can't just be satisfied with the glory of the past and be intoxicated with ourselves, we must make greater efforts to face the challenges of the future era and add glory to the field of papermaking technology.