Cai Lun. History of the origin of paper

Long centuries, the Chinese considered all neighbors living next to them barbarians. They seemed to be shielded from the outside world and practically did not enter into contact with people from outside. For a long time of isolation, Chinese writers and poets were able to create an original culture, inventors and scientists also did not lag behind them.

The degree of development of China in the ancient era

In those days, when the world was in the epoch of antiquity, the Chinese already used gunpowder and wrote on paper. The history of the paper is quite long and quite interesting. At first, the Chinese used turtle shells to write hieroglyphs. They have survived until now and are dated to the 2nd millennium BC. Then they switched to scrolls of silk, thin strips of bamboo and clay tablets for writing.

At the beginning of the 2nd century AD, during the reign of the Chinese dynasty of Han, a dignitary of low rank invented a paper. According to the tradition of that era, paper was made from silk. Tsai Lun went along the same path, however, added wood ashes and hemp to it. Such material possessed considerable strength, due to its drying in the sun and smoothing with stones. For this invention, Tsai Lun received a high position from the emperor and occupied a significant position in Chinese society.

If we consider in more detail the technology of paper production, invented by Lun, it can be noted that he decided to lay out small particles of silk on the grid, which were then interwoven and wetted with a lot of water. Before this, the silk fibers were ground and crushed with hammers, adding very little water. This made the final material brittle and sufficiently dense for writing. Ink on such paper quickly erased, and the books themselves and the annals turned into dust. This principle underlies the production of paper today.

Another merit of Tsai Lun is that he came up with a way to create paper from different fibers. After the introduction of this principle, the number of unused residues became less. In addition, Tsai Lun's paper was not only better, but also cheaper in production, which was important both now and in those days.

Inventor of paper

The personality of this great inventor is quite interesting. Cai Lun was born in the fiftieth year of our era. About his childhood nothing is for certain is unknown. This person is mentioned only in 65 year of our era: being a fifteen-year-old boy, Tsai Lun began to serve in the imperial palace. For his diligence, diligence and responsibility, he walked up the career ladder with every emperor he served, but there were as many as five of them. All the rulers noticed the outstanding talent of this man, and the rumor spread about him as a unique specialist. As he grew up, Tsai Lunu was entrusted with the post of chief of the imperial arsenal. It was there that he first showed his inventive enthusiasm, inventing several new types of weapons and improving the quality of those already existing.

Paper outside of China

But the history of the appearance of paper does not end there. The process of optimizing production went on continuously. Especially zealously, the Chinese watched to ensure that their secret did not fall into the hands of any other state. But still in the middle of the 7th century the secret of paper production became known outside of China. They began to use it in Japan and India. Then in the 9th century, Chinese paper fell into the hands of Arabs, and then migrated to Europe.

Process improvement

In European countries, the technology of paper production has undergone significant changes. The fashion legislator in this matter was Holland because of its high production capacity and a significant degree of economic development. In the XVII century, the Dutch were able to improve all stages of the process, thanks to the introduction of various technical innovations. Although initially in the XII century, paper production began in France and Italy.

Paper in Russia

At the beginning of the XVII century the technology of paper production reached Russia. In the 30s of the 17th century, the first mill for paper production was laid. Already in the time of Peter I in the regions of Moscow and St. Petersburg, several more mills and large manufactories were founded. For a long time the Russian Empire could not provide itself with quality paper, it was necessary to buy it from Holland. However, with industrial reforms of Peter I, our country was able to establish a paper production.

The invention of Tsai Lun allowed humanity to reach a new level of development. Paper, which can remain whole for many years, has greatly helped the development of literature and history. Many things about China, everyday life and habits of people of that time would have been unknown to us without this invention. Paper also brought to the next generation the ideas of great Chinese thinkers such as Lao Tzu, Confucius, Chuang Tzu and others. Without it, all the works of these wise men could disappear in the whirlpools of wars or under the influence of time.