Remarks On The Invention Of True Paper By Cai Lun

Ever since scholars have learned and taught about the first human civilizations, every single one of those civilization went through phases of technology as humans become more intellectual creatures. Many of these inventions and technologies have impacted many societies in the past just like its currently impacting our current society today. Papermaking is one these great inventions that has impacted humanity forever. Many people think or believe that papyrus and paper are the same thing and thus making the Egyptians the founders, but it is not entirely true when both types of paper are made from different materials and methods. According to Jozef Dabrowski’s article, “Remarks on the invention of true paper by Cai Lun,” Dabrowski affirms

But, as a matter of fact, two kinds of paper had been used for writing previous to the time of Ts’ai Lun: one was silk paper…the other, made of bark cloth” (5). The main reason why Ts’ai Lun, of the Han Dynasty, created true paper is because silk and bark cloth were too expensive to produce. Another writing material used was wood strips or bamboo, but its disadvantage was that it was too heavy to carry around. China takes all the glory of true papermaking which was heavily guarded at the time. So what makes true paper so important? True paper is important because it shaped and revolutionized many civilizations and societies socially, psychologically, religiously, economically, scholarly, and technological as it expanded throughout the world. The modern world today still uses paper despite our

According to Dard Hunter’s book called “Papermaking: The History and Technique of an Ancient Craft,” Hunter affirms that “the craft spread rapidly in the Island Empire and Nara period (A.D. 708-806) paper was being made in nine different provinces, and in the Heian period (A.D. 806-1155) forty provinces of Japan were engaged in the manufacture” (53). Everyone involved in the papermaking business saw how its versatility was beneficial to all societies despite different cultural backgrounds or religions. Many civilizations knew that paper could’ve been used for records keeping, expand literacy throughout their empires or kingdoms, and perhaps, for spreading religious or political propaganda. As different civilizations jumped on the band wagon of papermaking, the less valuable it became due to