Invention of paper making in China. From idea to implementation: how to help Russian inventors? How long does it take to process an application?

According to written sources, paper was invented in China in the 1st century. AD Tradition has brought to us the name of the inventor - he was the courtier of the Chinese Emperor Tsai Lun. He obtained his invention (“zhi”) using tree bark and hemp, rags and fishing nets as raw materials, and in 105 he presented the paper to the emperor. However, we know about paper samples older than the era of Tsai Lun: manuscripts written on them were discovered during excavations in the Chinese province of Shaanxi; they are dated to the 2nd-1st centuries. BC. The raw material for paper here was hemp. Therefore, experts believe that the paper is much older than Tsai Lun’s invention. Its prototype can be considered felt, which has been used by nomadic peoples since ancient times.

It is believed that paper was brought to Europe by the Arabs. According to legend, the Arabs received the secret of making paper from the Chinese after their victory in the battle on the Therez River in Turkestan in 751. This secret was allegedly revealed to the victors by prisoners. In any case, in the 2nd half of the 8th century. Paper production began in Samarkand. Already in 794, Caliph Harun al-Rashid introduced the use of paper in his office. From the end of the 8th - beginning of the 9th centuries. paper was produced in Baghdad, Damascus, and somewhat later in Egypt. The Arabs also improved the technological process: instead of a manual pestle, they began to use a millstone to grind raw materials, which was set in motion first by hand, then with the help of camels and oxen, and finally by falling water. This is how paper mills appeared.

For a long time in Western Europe there was a legend that paper was invented by a Catholic monk who, struggling with temptations, chewed his own shirt and threw it into the oven, and then, tearing off the dried blotch from the oven, became convinced of its suitability for writing. Despite its imagery, this legend does not stand up to criticism. There is no doubt that the secret of making papers was borrowed by Europeans from the Arabs. The first paper production in Europe appeared in the territory of Arab Spain, in the city of Xativa, in the 11th century. The oldest European manuscript written on Arabic paper is the 11th century Breviary, created in Spain. Already in the 13th century. paper mills existed in Italy. It is believed that in the middle of the 13th century. paper production originated in the Italian city of Fabriano and from there began to spread throughout the country. Thus, in the 14th century, when 40 paper mills were already operating in Fabriano, paper was also produced in Bologna, Parma, Padua, and Turin.

In Italy, the technological process of paper production was finally formed. The raw materials for paper were linen and cotton rags. The more dilapidated and worn out the rags were, the thinner the paper was. The rags were cut into shreds, soaked and boiled with lime to remove paint, grease and dirt. The water was changed several times. Next, the wet rags were kept for several weeks in stone cellars or simply in piles.

At this time, the rags fermented and separated into fibers, after which they were pounded until a homogeneous thick mass was formed. Thus, the raw materials underwent both mechanical and chemical processing. They pounded rags in a wooden pound with wooden pestles. Clean water constantly flowed through the pipes into the crowd, and dirty water flowed out of the grate at the bottom of the crowd. This is how the raw materials were washed and bleached. It was for this reason that paper mills were built far from large populated areas - clean water was needed.

It was believed that the quality of the paper produced directly depended on the purity of the water entering the press. Therefore, the water entering the crush was sometimes (in particular, in the 17th-19th centuries) purified with special filters. The essence of the crush, invented by the Italians, is that in it several pestles were connected to a millstone, which rotated with the power of water and set the pestles in motion. Over time, the pestles began to be bound with iron, which made the entire mechanism more durable.

The first description of a paper mill was given in his book, published in 1607, by the architect of the city of Padua, Vittorio Zonca. The resulting homogeneous mass was poured into a vat, from which it was scooped with a special scoop with a flat mesh bottom. The water sintered through the bottom, and paper pulp settled on the bottom in an even thin layer. After drying, it became a sheet of paper. European papermakers also improved the scooping form - a frame with a mesh bottom. It was based on transverse braided wires, the so-called pontuseau(from the French pontuseau), into which more frequent longitudinal wires were woven vergers(from French vergeures). The pontusos formed the frame of the mesh, not allowing it to sag, since the paper mass had to spread equally evenly over the entire bottom of the form. This ensured that the sheet of paper was of uniform thickness. To strengthen the structure of the pontuseau, special wooden slats and frames supported it. At different times, different methods of weaving mesh were used. In the early period, vergers were massive, and rare pontusos only supported them from below and were faintly imprinted on the sheet.

Later, the pontuseau consisted of two woven wires with vergeres woven between them. Such pontuses were accumulated in several places towards the frames. Over time, the wire bent at the attachment points, which reflected in the uneven distribution of the paper pulp over the sheet. Another pontuso became more widespread - a wire more massive than the vergers, to which the vergers were attached with another, thinner wire. Such pontusos did not leave an imprint on paper; only their wicker fastening to the vergeres was imprinted. The technical details regarding the manufacture of the scoop firm are relevant to the question of the service life of a single mold. It is believed that if a woven pontuseau was damaged, the entire form became unusable and had to be rewoven entirely. The average service life of one form, according to researchers, was approximately two years.

The mesh of the form was printed on a sheet of paper and is clearly visible in the light. In places where the wire structures of the mesh (vergers and pontuseau) are printed, the paper is thinner, so the mesh pattern is visible in the light as a light outline. This is reminiscent of wetted paper, which is more transparent when exposed to light than non-wetted paper. This is where the name of the imprint of the sheet-casting mesh came from - watermark. Another term for the same imprint is filigree(from Latin filum - thread and granum - grain) - arose by analogy with the jewelry technique of wire weaving (the Old Russian name for this technique is filigree). Until now, both terms existed in parallel and were synonymous. Recently L.P. Bogdanov proposed to call the imprint of the mesh as a whole filigree, and only the imprint of the marking mark as a watermark.

The researchers found that the scooper worked alternately with two forms. This is due to the technological features of the sheet casting process. After the paper pulp is scooped into the mold and leveled on its mesh bottom with a thin layer, water should flow out of the mold. Only after this can the sheet be removed. While water was draining from one mold, the scooper was working on another.

Sheets cast from two different, but very similar forms, often alternate in manuscripts and printed books. Apparently, these are the forms used in parallel. They're called paired forms. There is also information about the use of forms designed to produce two or three sheets. In this case, not two, but four or six close filigree will alternate in the book block.

From the second half of the 13th century. Italian papermakers began to mark their forms with markings. Such a sign was bent from wire on a special template, which was a series of metal pins or nails fixed (hammered) along the contour of the sign. Signs of paired forms were made according to the same template and therefore, as a rule, differ slightly from each other. Since the sign was fastened with wire on a mesh, the signs of paired forms can be distinguished by their location relative to the pontuseau, as well as by a slight discrepancy in the contour. Since the 17th century. in addition to the main marking on the grid, they began to introduce an additional one - countermark, which often represents the initials of the paper mill owner or the name of the business.

After the water had drained from the mesh and the paper pulp had dried slightly, the resulting sheet was removed from the mold. At a later time, this was done using a cloth pad, to which the still uncured sheet stuck better than to a metal mesh. A stack was formed from raw sheets removed from the grids, each sheet being covered with cloth. In this form, the sheets were pressed, squeezing out the remaining moisture from them. Then the sheets were hung out to dry in specially designated rooms - in attics or drying racks. The paper drying room had to have unglazed windows for constant air circulation. To eliminate warping, the dried sheets were pressed again, glued, dipped in a solution of animal glue, and the remaining glue was squeezed out under the press. After drying, the paper was ready for use.

The finished sheets of paper were packaged in bundles, called in Russia 16th-17th centuries. foot and ten. Foot contained 480 sheets or 20 tens, ten - 24 sheets. Term quire has two interpretations. It is related to the Persian words dest - a hand that can indicate a format, and deste - a bunch, a bundle, a stack. Apparently, in the latter sense, this term was used to refer to a ream of paper. The term “ten” was first recorded in 1494 on the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (in the inventory of the Trinity Slutsk Monastery).

In Russia, its use can be traced back to the beginning of the 16th century. (letter from Tver Bishop Nile to the Russian ambassador to Turkey V. Kolobov about funeral services (gifts) for the Patriarch of Constantinople Pachomius, circa 1515). There is information that paper mills measured products in bales of approximately 53 kg. paper. It is known that the production of one bale, depending on the quality of the paper, required an average of one and a half to two hundredweight of rags. Sticked on the packaging of the pack etiquette- a sheet with an enlarged and often decorated image of a marking printed on it. So, on a pack of paper with the Jester’s Head filigree, a label with the image of the corresponding sign, etc. was pasted.

The paper was produced in two formats: in an unfolded sheet (“in a large dest”, “big hand” in Old Russian terminology) and in a sheet folded in half (“in a small ten”, “small hand”). The unfolded sheet format was called Alexandrian. Sometimes, however, this term did not indicate the format, but the exceptionally good quality of the paper. It is in this meaning that it is used by the famous describer of the life of Russian society in the mid-17th century. G. Kotoshihii. According to researchers, the reason for such an unusual name for the format and quality of the paper was the letters of the Patriarch of Alexandria in the first half of the 16th century, written on excellent large-format paper.

Early Italian paper, so-called bombycin, looks like Arabic paper. In the 19th century It was believed that this paper was made from cotton (hence its name), but then they abandoned this assumption. It is believed that bombicina was made from hemp and flax, like later paper. Bombitsina is distinguished by the primitiveness of the technological process, which is reflected in its appearance. This is a thick, loose, fibrous paper, often with “lint”. There are no markings on it, vergers and pontuseaus are rare and often uneven. There are pontuseaus in the form of not one, but three lines.

There are no known Old Russian manuscripts written in bombitsin. Bombitsina is found in Western European manuscripts until the 13th century, and in Byzantine manuscripts until the 14th century. However, the very name of the paper “bombitsina” still indicates cotton as a raw material for its production. And this, in turn, suggests that the place of paper production in the early Middle Ages was Asian cotton-producing territories.

At the beginning of the 14th century. paper began to be produced in France (in Troyes), a little later - in Germany (in Nuremberg, Chemnitz, Ravensburg), from the end of the 15th century. - in England, from the beginning of the 16th century. - in Sweden, Denmark and Holland.

The first paper mill in Poland was built in Gdansk in 1420. At the end of the 15th century. Several more mills were built there - in Wroclaw in 1490, Krakow between 1493 and 1496. By the middle of the 16th century. Polish mills produced annually up to 200 thousand reams of paper, which amounts to 96 million sheets. In 1556, a papermaking workshop was created in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which indicates a high level of organization and development of paper production.

From about the middle of the 17th century. Holland took first place in Europe in the production and, accordingly, export of paper. The natural conditions of Holland forced the use of windmills instead of water mills. Wind is known to be a less reliable “engine” than water. In calm weather, the mills did not work, which created considerable difficulties in paper production. The technology for making paper required that, in order to more effectively grind it into a homogeneous mass, the raw material was subjected to rotting for several weeks. Forced downtime in the operation of the mills led to the fact that some of the raw materials completely rotted.

The Dutch money makers found a way out of this situation by speeding up the grinding of raw materials. For this purpose, a roll was invented and began to be used instead of crushed eggs. Its difference from crushing is that the raw materials are not crushed in it, but are cut with knives. These knives were installed on shafts that were mounted into the bottom of the tanks for grinding the mass. The advantage of the roll is the high grinding speed of the mass and durability of operation (the roll, unlike the wooden crusher, was metal). The disadvantages of the roll include the fact that it did not crush the fibers, like a thicker one, but tore them. As a result, the fibers were short and the paper less durable. Despite this, the invention of the roll was a major milestone in papermaking technology. In Holland, at first the invention of the roll was kept secret and they even threatened with the death penalty for its disclosure. But already at the end of the 17th century. the roll begins to penetrate other European countries, and in 1684 it was even patented in England by H. Johnson. The roll drawing was first published in 1718 by the German engineer and architect L.X. Sturm, who called him a Hollander (i.e. Dutch). Subsequently, this name was assigned to the roll.

It should be noted that in the 18th century. The roll has not taken root in all countries, where for a long time the only mechanism for grinding rags was pounding. For example, in France at the beginning of the 18th century. replacing the crush with another mechanism was prohibited by law. At the same time, methods were proposed to make the crusher more durable - making it out of stone, etc. The reason for such conservatism, apparently, was that the use of the roller implied the restructuring of the entire production process, which was associated with certain costs and sometimes turned out to be unrealistic. However, over time, the roll finally replaced the crowd.

In the second half of the 17th century. Due to the expansion of paper production, there was a shortage of raw materials. Suppliers of raw materials, rag pickers, competed fiercely with each other. Some countries even passed laws prohibiting the export of rags from the country. In Prussia, for example, such a ban remained until 1803. Along with these measures, papermakers were actively looking for other raw materials for paper production. In 1655, papermakers in Holland received the privilege of making paper from seaweed. In 1684 in England there were attempts to use asbestos as a raw material in the production of paper. True, asbestos paper was of poor quality and very fragile, and this material did not catch on. Since 1716, English papermakers began to produce paper from hemp, for which they planted hemp plantations at paper mills and developed methods for processing it. Hemp paper was strong, but its quality was noticeably inferior to rag paper. It could not be used for writing and printing needs.

In 1734, the Frenchman Saba proposed making paper from annual plants. This method has been used since ancient times in the East. In the 18th century they also proposed making paper from straw, moss, etc. The famous French physicist R.-A.-F. first proposed making paper from wood. Reaumur. He noticed that the substance from which wasps build their nests was similar to paper. The scientist determined that the material used to make this substance was rotten wood. The wasps chew it, mix it with saliva, and lay it out in thin layers. As it dries, this natural analogue of paper acquires strength and elasticity. In 1719, Reaumur made a report on his discovery at a session of the Paris Academy of Sciences, where he proposed to study this process and tried to interest paper manufacturers in it.

Reaumur's proposal was implemented almost 100 years later. In 1800, M. Coupe published a book about the possibility of using wood in paper production. His book is printed on wood paper. A little later F.G. Keller invented a method of grinding wood into a homogeneous mass. Based on this invention, a defiberizer was designed, which was widely used in the machine method of paper production. The defibrator crushed both the fibrous part of the wood and the non-fibrous part. The latter made the paper brittle, so at first only low-quality paper was made from wood. In the 50-60s. XIX century learned to chemically isolate the fibrous part of wood - cellulose, which marked the beginning of the modern era in paper production, when cellulose completely replaced rags.

These inventions deserve not only our attention, but also success on the world stage. After all, these technologies can dramatically change our way of life. The good news is you don't have to wait years for them because they are already here and ready to use!

15. Glowing plants

For a long time, scientists have been looking for cheaper and more efficient methods of artificial lighting. Finally, they succeeded. They managed to create several types of plants that emit light in the dark. Such plants can be used in urban environments to reduce electricity costs. Not to mention that the concrete jungle could use some plants.

14. Vertical farms

To ensure that humanity will always be provided with healthy and fresh food, scientists and farmers have teamed up and created an innovative method of farming. It differs from the traditional one in that the plants are grown indoors, with an emphasis on saving space. Thanks to this method, people in cities will be able to grow their own food or buy fresh food in stores at any time of the year.

13. Internet from a balloon

About four billion people in the world still do not have access to the Internet. Large Internet companies regularly come up with new ways to make the Internet accessible in all corners of the Earth. This is how the idea came up to launch balloons into the atmosphere that would “deliver” the Internet to hard-to-reach areas. Such a project will help residents of developing countries become better acquainted with the world around them and find higher-paying jobs.

12. Biotechnology

Biotechnology is a branch of science that seeks to combine technology and living organisms for useful purposes. The beneficial products range from food, including cheese, yogurt and kefir, to medicines and biological sensors. Biotechnology continues to improve and offer new solutions. Currently, the idea of ​​crops that are drought-resistant and contain more vitamins is popular in biotechnology.

11. Virtual reality

Due to the popularity of video games, gaming companies are constantly developing more and more sophisticated ways to provide the player with an unforgettable experience. Their main goal is to make us feel like we are living in the game, and not sitting at home in front of the monitor. To achieve this effect, various companies are releasing a variety of virtual reality immersion products. One of the most interesting options is a mask, which during the game allows you to even feel the aromas of the wild area.

10. Test tube meat

Many people stop eating meat because they don't want to harm animals. To their delight, scientists have come up with a method that allows them to create meat in the laboratory. Not only does it cut down on the resources and energy it takes to raise the animal, the meat is healthier and tastes just like the real thing. Not to mention how much space will be freed up on the planet when animal farms disappear.

9. Exoskeletons

Of course, we are still a long way from the Iron Man suit, but the first steps have already been taken - exoskeletons are no longer an object of fantasy, but a real reality. They return people with spinal injuries the ability to walk and enjoy life to the fullest. Over time, these primitive exoskeletons will only get better - easier to use, more convenient and cheaper.

8. Devices controlled by the power of thought

If you constantly forget where you put your smartphone, you will like this news. Scientists have developed a method that allows you to control devices with the power of thought. This technology was first tested on people who had lost their mobility. It turned out to be so successful that already in 2004 people were playing ping pong with the power of their thoughts. This technology will definitely make our lives easier, not to mention the possibilities it opens up for video games of the future.

7. High-speed transport

The world continues to expand, and more and more often we feel the need to be in two places at the same time. Therefore, humanity is constantly looking for ways to move faster. One of the best examples of new technologies in this area is Elon Musk's hyperloop. It promises to be so fast that the six-hour journey from Los Angeles to San Francisco will be covered in thirty minutes. And this is not the only such project in development.

6. Genome change

Because more and more people are being born with genes that complicate their lives and increase their risk of mortality, geneticists have created technologies that make it possible to “cut out” harmful genes, add new ones, and “turn on and off” existing ones. And this is not just a way to make people healthy - this technology can help people who, for example, have always dreamed of being athletes, but lack the necessary genes. Of course, this procedure does not guarantee 100% results, and people will still have to work hard to master the desired skills.

5. Modern desalination

Although people have long learned to produce drinking water using desalination, the old methods are too labor-intensive and not effective enough. Humanity now has a better understanding of physics and chemistry, and scientists have created more efficient ways to desalinate water. Now this can be done not only faster and cheaper, but also with additional benefits. Among them are free minerals. Yes, the water is full of them, and desalinated water can become a cheap source of minerals needed for production. Plus, billions of tons of desalinated water can feed the entire planet.

4. Real tricorder

If you're a science fiction fan, you're probably familiar with this device from Star Trek. It was this that the characters in the series used to measure medical indicators. The real version of this device can measure blood pressure, blood oxygen saturation, pulse, temperature, respiration, and also diagnose 12 diseases, including chickenpox and HIV.

3. Drones in agriculture

More and more farmers are asking for help from modern technology. Drones are one of these assistants. Although they look similar to those used in the military and film production, their functionality is very different. Their main task is to take infrared images that allow farmers to determine where seeds are germinating successfully and where problems begin. Some companies are creating agricultural drones that can destroy harmful insects, mold and other things that are unpleasant for the crop.

2. Super materials

With a deeper understanding of chemistry, we have learned to create new, exciting materials. These include graphene, a material that consists of only a single layer of carbon atoms. Thanks to this thickness, it stretches easily, has high thermal conductivity and is 200 times stronger than steel. Graphene can be used to create... anything. Graphene will make armored vehicles, clothing, computers and many other things much better and much more durable.

1. 4D printers

You've probably heard about 3D printers. But you are unlikely to know about the existence of 4D printers. Both perform the same task - printing materials or special objects - but 4D creates objects that can change under external influences. The fact is that living conditions are constantly changing, and what we needed yesterday may no longer be needed in a year. To avoid creating things that only last a short time, researchers have created printers and materials that are amazingly adaptable to all types of environmental changes, damage and other potential hazards.

It is still not entirely clear who was the first to come up with the idea of ​​transferring thoughts onto paper, transforming them into written speech. To this day, there are fluctuations between the Sumerians in Mesopotamia, the Harappans who lived in modern Afghanistan and the Kemites in Egypt.

However, it is known that the first languages ​​appeared about 5,000 years ago. One could even say that they appeared earlier, if we mean their artistic expression, such as rock paintings. As soon as languages ​​began to develop, people began to write in anything that could survive for a relatively long period of time. Clay tablets, bamboo, papyrus, stone - these are just a small part of the surfaces on which ancient people wrote.

The situation changed dramatically after a Chinese man named Cai Lun invented the prototype of modern paper. Which in the future conquered the whole World.

Artifacts such as ancient stuffing material and wrapping paper dating back to the 2nd century were found. BC. The oldest example of paper is a map from Fanmatan near Tianshui.

In the 3rd century. paper was already widely used for writing instead of more expensive traditional materials. The paper production technology developed by Cai Lun was as follows:

• a boiling mixture of hemp, mulberry bark, old fishing nets and fabrics was turned into a pulp, after which it was ground to a homogeneous paste and mixed with water. A sieve in a wooden cane frame was immersed in the mixture, the mixture was scooped out with the sieve, and the liquid was shaken to drain. At the same time, a thin and even layer of fibrous mass was formed in the sieve.
• This mass was then tipped onto smooth boards. Boards with castings were placed one on top of the other. They tied the stack together and placed a load on top. Then the sheets, hardened and strengthened under the press, were removed from the boards and dried. A sheet of paper made using this technology was light, smooth, durable, less yellow and more convenient for writing.

Huiji paper note printed in 1160

Their origins date back to trade receipts during the Tang Dynasty (618–907), which were preferred by merchants and traders to avoid having to deal with large quantities of copper coins in large commercial transactions.

During the Song era (960–1279), the central government used this system to monopolize salt production, and also because of copper shortages: many mines closed, a huge outflow of copper money from the empire occurred to Japan, Southeast Asia, Western Xia and Liao. This prompted the Song Empire at the beginning of the 12th century to issue state paper money along with copper ones in order to ease the situation of the state mint and reduce the cost of copper.

At the beginning of the 11th century, the government authorized sixteen private banks in Sichuan province to print banknotes, but in 1023 it confiscated these enterprises and created an agency to supervise the production of banknotes. The first paper money had a limited circulation area and was not intended to be used outside of it, but once it was backed by gold and silver from government reserves, the government initiated the issuance of national banknotes. This happened between 1265 and 1274. The contemporaneous state of the Jin dynasty also printed paper banknotes from at least 1214.

In ancient times, people wrote on stones, leaves, tree bark, animal skins, turtle shells, bones and fabric, but each of these methods had many disadvantages.

paper in China gave a new impetus to the development of mankind, and we must thank the ancient inventor Tsai Lun for the appearance of the much-needed material today.

Cai Lun was born in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220 AD). At the age of 15 he was sent to serve as a eunuch in the imperial court. For his hard work, ingenuity and perseverance, Lun was promoted more than once. During his forty years of life at court, he served five emperors, won their favor and received the title of prince.

One day he was assigned to make tools and weapons for the imperial family, and since then he became interested in various crafts. Very soon, Tsai Lun became a famous master, and the products made under his leadership amazed with their skill.

Before the Eastern Han Dynasty, bamboo wood or silk fabric were used to create books. It was very inconvenient for scientists of that time to keep their records in such books, because bamboo was heavy and silk was expensive. Although hemp paper began to appear at that time, the technology for its production remained immature, and it was accessible only to a few.

Tsai Lun proposed a new method. He ordered his assistants to collect tree bark, remnants of fabrics and nets unsuitable for fishing. His workers then crushed these materials and soaked them in water for a long time. When the mixture turned into a soft mass, it was heated, and then poured into special molds and exposed to drying in the sun. This is how the first samples of paper suitable for writing were obtained.

How Cai Lun and his assistants made paper step by step can be seen in the following pictures:

The invention of paper: stage one. Workers shred the bamboo, remove leaves and soak it in water to decolorize the paper material.

The invention of paper: stage two. The materials are cooked over high heat.

The invention of paper: stage three. Using a special board with holes, the worker takes out part of the resulting mixture - a sheet of paper soon forms on it

The invention of paper: stage four. A lid is placed on each board with the mixture. On top there is another board and a lid on it again. And so many layers

In 105 AD, Tsai Lun showed his invention to the emperor, and he was very happy about this innovation. A decree was immediately issued: to distribute the amazing invention throughout the Celestial Empire. Chinese thinkers and scientists sighed joyfully - because now they will be able to write down their thoughts as easily as cutting a young bamboo shoot with a sharp sword. The invention of paper became one of the main engines of Chinese civilization, and subsequently the whole world.

In the eighth century, China began trading paper with other Asian countries, but the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire kept the secret of its production for more than one century. However, as the saying goes, secrets don't last long.

In 751, during the Tang Dynasty, at a time when China's contradictions with the Arab Empire intensified, several Chinese workers were captured by the enemy. They revealed the age-old Chinese riddle. Soon, paper production was established in Baghdad, and gradually the technology became the property of the entire Arab world. Subsequently, paper craft came to Europe, and from there to other continents of the planet.

According to historical records, the first paper manufacturing plant in Europe appeared a thousand years after Cai Lun invented it. Tsai Lun's method is still used today as the basis of the paper industry - one of the most developed areas of production in our time.

The culture of ancient China showed the world many magnificent creations and inspired the rest of the world to develop, but all this was unthinkable if Tsai Lun had not invented paper.

David Wu, Evgeniy Dovbush, The Epoch Times