The invention of paper
Paper was invented in China in the year 105 AD. Ts’Ai Lun, a government official of the Oriental Han Dynasty, produced paper by mixing the bark of the mulberry tree and bamboo fibers with water, draining and drying the mixture on a flat bamboo structure.
Other materials were used in paper making, such as tree barks, hemp, linen and even fishing nets. During the Tang an Song Dynasties, papers were produced for different uses, which included hemp paper, animal skin paper, bamboo paper and xuan paper made from a pine tree – especially used for calligraphy.
Advances in the art of paper making were complemented by the development of printing. Woodcut printing or xylography was used in China in the 7th century, and the oldest known printed text is a Budist scripture, printed in 868 AD, the Diamond Sutra.
Printing with blocks demanded too much time, since the method required a new block to be sculpted for each page! Printing with moveable types was invented during the Song Dynasty. The moveable Chinese characters were engraved in wood, which could be used according to the necessity and even be reused. Later versions also used clay, but it broke too easily. During the Ming Dynasty, the moveable wooden types were refined, and books were printed using two colors in the printing process.
The fast dissemination of the printing and paper technology in China accelerated the diffusion of knowledge among the literate elite and the aristocracy.
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