Silkworm rearing in ancient China is an outstanding achievement in the history of human civilization. China is the first country in the world to raise silkworms and weave silk. The ancients spun silk from superior cocoons, and bleached the remaining evil cocoons and diseased cocoons to make silk floss. After floating, some residual flocs will be left on the mat. When the flossing frequency is high, the residual flossing on the pad will accumulate into fiber sheets, which can be peeled off after drying and can be used for writing. This kind of floc is called "He Qi" or "square floc" in ancient books because of its small number of by-products. It can be seen that the origin of papermaking in China is related to silk floss.
Cutting and cleaning of raw materials, cooking of raw materials
Pouring, pulping and drying to obtain finishing paper.
Who invented papermaking? For a long time, people have always believed that it was invented by Cai Lun, a eunuch in the Eastern Han Dynasty.
The main basis is the record of Biography of Cai Lun in the later Han Dynasty. The book says that since ancient times, most book contracts have been made of bamboo slips, and those made of silk (that is, silk cut according to the needs of writing) are called paper. Expensive and simple, inconvenient for people. Aaron invented bark, hemp head and cloth. Fishing nets are made of paper. In the first year of Yuanxing, play it. The emperor is good at what he can do, so he is called' Cai Hou Paper' in the world. "Therefore, some later works at home and abroad regard Cai Lun of the Eastern Han Dynasty as the inventor of paper, and take 105 as the birth year of paper.
However, since 1933, the late archaeologist Huang Wenbi discovered a piece of ancient paper in the middle of the Western Han Dynasty in Luonaoer, Xinjiang, he had different views on the invention of papermaking. On May 8th, 1957, 88 ancient paper were found in the ancient tomb of Baqiao Brick Factory in the suburb of Xi, Shaanxi Province. This pile of ancient paper is very thick under three bronze mirrors. Although it has become fragments, the edge has not completely rotted. This discovery aroused the interest of researchers. According to archaeological research, it is believed that this tomb will not be later than the fifth year of Emperor Yuan Shou of the Han Dynasty (BC 1 18), so it can also be roughly determined that the age of Baqiao paper was before BC 1 18. This time is more than 200 years earlier than the time when Cai Lun made paper. In addition, from 1973 to 1974, two pieces of hemp paper from the late Western Han Dynasty were unearthed at the Han Juyan site in Gansu. What needs to be pointed out in particular here is that1from June to September, 1986, archaeologists from Gansu Provincial Institute of Archaeology excavated a piece of land in the ancient tomb of the Western Han Dynasty in Matan, Tianshui.
According to historical records, Han and Emperor visited Gou Jian's home, and Gou Jian probably visited the paper mill here. Hezhizhuang (now divided into Qianzhizhuang and Houzhizhuang, located about 2000 meters east of Luoyang, the ancient city of Han and Wei Dynasties, facing Luohe) is probably the location of the paper mill in Han Dynasty. These two places have superior papermaking geographical environment and rich papermaking resources (such as hemp and bamboo forest) nearby. ).
Paper-making technology is very complicated, which is beyond one's imagination. In fact, before Cai Lun, the working people had already made paper with plant fibers. Therefore, we can't say that paper was invented by Cai Lun, but we must also affirm Cai Lun's great contribution in improving papermaking technology.
For example, using bark, hemp head, rags and old fishing nets to make paper is a great progress in papermaking technology. These raw materials are widely available and cheap, and some of them are wastes, which can be produced in large quantities. As for using bark as raw material, it is a new discovery. Later generations used wood pulp to make paper, which was inspired by Cai Lun's use of bark to make paper. Therefore, Cai Lun successfully improved the papermaking method, which is a great event in the history of human culture. From then on, paper can be produced on a large scale, creating material conditions for the printing of bookends in the future.
Others believe that the working people of the Western Han Dynasty invented papermaking. After inheriting the paper-making technology of the Western Han Dynasty, the working people in the Eastern Han Dynasty continued to improve, develop and improve. In the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Cai Lun, the official minister (who was in charge of managing the royal workshops and supervising the manufacture of various documents), just organized the workshops on the side of Shaofu, and produced a batch of fine papers refined from his previous life with sufficient manpower and material resources.
But in any case, the influence of Cai Lun on the development of our country and even human society is enormous, and it will continue. Today, it is impossible for us to measure the role of paper in historical development by quantity, let alone predict how long human use of paper will last. Therefore, Cai Lun (and Bi Sheng, another four inventors who left their names) should occupy the position of chief or almost chief in the list of people who have brought great influence to China and the course of human history.
After Cai Lun, paper greatly promoted the cause of book reproduction and cultural communication. During the Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, due to the need of calligraphy and painting, the requirements for paper were gradually improved, especially in calligraphy. Because calligraphy has very high requirements for paper and pens, it is necessary to improve the privacy of paper. In ancient silk reeling, the first-grade cocoon was used for silk reeling, and the second-grade cocoon was used for silk floss. When making silk floss, you should beat the cocoon on the bamboo mat floating on the water with a bamboo stick. After bleaching, some residual flocs remain on the mat, forming a thin film, which becomes a thin silk tissue after drying.
In view of the unhealthy trend of trying to deny that Cai Lun was the inventor of papermaking and People's Republic of China (PRC) was the inventor of papermaking,1The 20th Congress of the International Paper History Association held in Malmedi, Belgium from August 65438 to August 22, 1990 unanimously recognized that Cai Lun was the great inventor of papermaking and People's Republic of China (PRC) was the inventor of papermaking. According to the textual research of Comrade Shi of the Editorial Committee of Luoyang Local Records. Paper House is located in the suburb of Luoyang, the ancient city of Han and Wei Dynasties. It was called Paper House in ancient times. The ancient Majian River passed through a section of the Paper River, and the original paper river inscription along the coast has been lost.
Chinese name: Cai Lun.
Also known as Cai
Dynasty: Han dynasty
Time: Han Dynasty
Date of birth and death: 62- 12 1
Related events: improving papermaking
Country: China
Native place: Chenzhou City, Hunan Province
Until the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a man named Cai Lun. At that time, Cai Lun saw that it was inconvenient for everyone to write. Bamboo slips and wooden slips are too heavy and silk is too expensive. Silk tissue paper can't be produced on a large scale, and they all have shortcomings. So he studied and improved the method of making paper.
About eighty years after Cai Lun's death (at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty), there was another papermaking expert named Zuo Bo. The paper he made is even in thickness, delicate in texture and bright in color. At that time, people called this kind of paper "Zuo Bo paper". Unfortunately, the raw materials and manufacturing methods used in Zuo Bo are not recorded in history. Paper-making map, this paper is 5.5 cm long and 2.6 cm wide. This newly discovered paper map of the Western Han Dynasty is the earliest street paper object at present. All these strongly prove that China invented ancient paper which can be used for writing and painting in the early years of the Western Han Dynasty.
Cai Lun summed up the experience of predecessors in papermaking, and led craftsmen to hemp their heads with bark. He improved the papermaking technology on the basis of studying and summarizing the previous papermaking experience. Finally, lead craftsmen to make paper with bark, hemp head, rags and broken fish. They chop or cut bark, hemp heads, rags and broken fishing nets, soak them in water for a long time, then mash them into pulp, even cook them, and then spread them on mats to dry them, thus turning them into paper. In order to make an ideal writing material, Cai Lun made a light and economical paper with bark, hemp, rags and waste fishing nets as raw materials on the basis of using waste silk cotton to make paper, and summarized a set of relatively perfect papermaking methods, which made the papermaking technology leap. In A.D. 105 (in the reign of Liu Zhaonian in the first year of Han Yuan Xing), Cai Lun presented the finished paper to the court and was praised by the emperor. From then on, people began to use this kind of paper, and the paper made in Cai Lun was called "Cai Hou Paper" all over the country.
Created "Cai Hou Paper". This kind of paper can be called "good quality and low price" and is widely used by people. Most importantly, after Cai Lun's invention and creation, the paper industry has changed from a spontaneous stage to an independent stage. Before Cai Lun, papermaking was only attached to a small part of the textile industry, and did not form an independent industry with small quantity, high cost and low popularity.
By the time of Cai Lun, the paper industry was separated from the textile industry. It has its own purpose and needs, so it develops rapidly. Cai Lun improved papermaking technology and adopted a variety of plant raw materials, which solved the problem of insufficient sources of papermaking raw materials. Scraps such as broken hemp, hemp heads and broken fishing nets not only increase the source of raw materials, but also reduce the cost, making it possible to widely use paper. The utilization of a variety of raw materials puts forward new requirements for the process and promotes the transformation of papermaking technology. According to sporadic records in historical books, it is generally known that the paper-making process has to go through several stages, such as gray dyeing, cooking and bleaching. First, the raw materials are washed and cut off, and then soaked and retted. In the meantime, lime pulp is probably added to promote decomposition and cooking, and then the fiber is repeatedly mashed, and then the pulp is made into pulp. Then remove the pulp with a thin curtain, drain the water, dry it, remove it and flatten it for study.
Compared with the previous hemp paper, this paper is more flexible, folding-resistant and wear-resistant. The paper made by this method is light and thin, which is very suitable for writing and has been welcomed by people. In the first year of Yuan Xing in the Eastern Han Dynasty (A.D. 105), Cai Lun reported this great achievement to Han and Emperor, who praised him. Since then, all parts of the country have begun to use this method to make paper.
Animal fiber silkworm paper is a by-product of making silk floss. When making marijuana, it takes a long time to retch it. Soak in water to beat hemp, and some hemp will remain on the mat. After drying, it will become hemp fiber paper.
Cai Lun's other contribution to papermaking is the exploration and popularization of the manufacturing technology of leather paper. Leather paper is made of bark fiber, which is more technically difficult than hemp paper. Judging from historical data, Cai Lun himself or his subordinates are probably people who "think bark is paper". He has been in charge of the manufacture of imperial appliances for a long time, and he has the conditions to learn from others and organize and popularize papermaking technology and research. Using bark as raw material to make paper is a more important invention than improving hemp paper technology, which creates modern wood pulp paper and opens up a broader road for the development of paper industry.
Hemp paper and leather paper are the two pillars of China paper after the Han Dynasty. The development, reproduction and rapid spread of Chinese civilization depend on the supply of these two kinds of paper. With the improvement of papermaking technology, the cheap and high-quality writing materials that human beings dream of are finally born and grow rapidly. Bamboo slips and silk books have gradually been washed away by history and become the main writing materials in China.
In the first year of Yuan Xing (A.D. 105), Cai Lun paid tribute to the paper of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty, which was valued for its quality improvement. In A.D. 105, Cai Lun summarized the experience of his predecessors in Luoyang, the capital of the Eastern Han Dynasty, improved the papermaking technology, and made paper with bark, hemp head, rags and old fishing nets as raw materials. It greatly improves the production efficiency of paper quality, expands the source of raw materials for paper, reduces the cost of paper, opens up new prospects for paper to replace bamboo and silk, and creates favorable conditions for the spread of culture. Regarding the ancient records of Cai Lun's invention of papermaking, The Biography of Cai Lun in the Later Han Dynasty said: "Since ancient times, books and deeds have been compiled with bamboo tubes; People who use it are called paper. Expensive and simple, inconvenient for people. Lun intends to use bark, hemp head, cloth and fishing net as paper. " Later generations were praised by He Di and ordered to be popularized and used throughout the country. The application of paper has been popularized and gradually replaced the simple silk. Later generations improved Cai Hou's paper in On Cai.
In the first year of the Han and Yuan Dynasties (A.D. 1 14), Empress Dowager Deng ordered Serina Liu and Dr. Jason Wu, the Confucians, to study the scriptures in Dongguan, and Cai Lun to be the overseer. Dongguan is the place where Luoyang Palace collects books and works. These scholars revised Confucian classics in order to provide a standard model of Confucian classics for the whole country. The revised manuscripts were distributed to local officials, thus forming a climax of copying Confucian classics on paper on a large scale, making paper books the most effective tool for spreading culture and further promoting the promotion and dissemination of new paper.
The greatest significance of the Eastern Han Dynasty in the history of papermaking is that it is a connecting link between the preceding and the following, and Cai Lun is the core figure to promote the development of papermaking in this historical stage. Therefore, there is no doubt that he is known as a technological innovator, organizer, advocate and popularizer, and he is therefore known as a scientist in ancient China.
The emergence of Cai Lun paper is the foundation of human civilization. As a new information carrier, it first appeared in China, which made the civilization of Han Dynasty in China far more prosperous than its contemporaries. Paper is a sheet fiber product used for writing, printing, painting or packaging. Generally, it is made from the aqueous suspension of plant fibers through pulping, staggered combination on the net, preliminary dehydration, compression and drying. China was the first country in the world to invent paper. According to archaeological findings, in the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC to 8 BC), China already had hemp fiber paper. Rough quality,
In recent years, hundreds of hollow bricks with different shapes have been found in nearby tombs of the Han Dynasty. The specifications of bricks are 140- 169 cm long, 52-70 cm wide and 14- 17 cm thick), and there are different brick holes and tenons, just like prefabricated components in modern buildings. What is the baking style of paper making in Han Dynasty? It is not recorded in the history books. However, Song said in "Heavenly Creations": "First, bake the paper into a lane with bricks. In contrast, these specially made large hollow bricks are probably the raw materials used to build paper baking bodies in the Han Dynasty. There are many patterns of Broussonetia papyrifera, hibiscus and hibiscus flowers on the brick surface of these unearthed large hollow bricks. These barks are all raw materials for papermaking, which probably reflects the reality of papermaking at that time. If we study the baked body used to restore papermaking according to the hole, tenon and heat transfer process of hollow brick, we will have a new breakthrough in the research of papermaking technology in Han Dynasty.
Around the 2nd century AD, China began to make writing paper from hemp and bark fiber. Since then, with the progress of technology and equipment, papermaking technology has been greatly developed in China. The invention and spread of papermaking greatly reduced the carrier cost of words and realized the popularization of knowledge among the common people, thus greatly promoting the development of science, technology and economy in the world.
Papermaking began to spread eastward to Korea and Japan in the early 7th century (late Sui and early Tang Dynasties). In the 8th century, it was introduced to Samarkand, later Arabia and then Baghdad. 10 century to Damascus and Cairo; 1 1 century was introduced to Morocco; /kloc-was introduced to India in the 0/3rd century; From14th century to Italy, many cities in Italy built paper mills, which became an important base for the spread of papermaking in Europe, and then spread to Germany and Britain. /kloc-was introduced to Russia and Holland in the 6th century; /kloc-spread to Britain in the 0/7th century; It was introduced to Canada in the19th century.
During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties (3rd-6th century AD), papermaking was further developed and began to spread abroad. China's papermaking first spread to Korea and Vietnam, and began to make its own paper in Baekje, Korea and Silla in the 4th century. At the end of the Sui Dynasty (AD 6 10), papermaking was introduced from Korea to Japan. In the tenth year of Tianbao in Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty (AD 75 1 year), papermaking crossed the ocean and came to Arabia. 1 150 years, Arabs introduced papermaking to Europe. More than 400 years later, papermaking spread to the United States. /kloc-in the 0 th and 9 th centuries, Australia also built a paper mill. In this way, the papermaking invented by working people in our country spread all over the world and the whole earth, and made indelible and outstanding contributions to the progress of human civilization.
Papermaking first spread to Korea and Viet Nam, which are adjacent to China, and then to Japan. Soon after Cai Lun improved papermaking, North Korea and Viet Nam had paper. All countries on the Korean peninsula have learned papermaking. Pulp is mainly extracted from hemp, rattan, bamboo and straw. All countries on the Korean peninsula have learned papermaking. At the end of the 4th century, Baekje learned to make paper with the help of China people, and soon North Korea and Silla also mastered the paper-making technology. Since then, South Korea's papermaking technology has been continuously improved. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, Korean leather paper was exported to China. During the Western Jin Dynasty, Vietnamese also mastered papermaking technology. In 6 10, Tan Zheng, a Korean monk, crossed the ocean to Japan and dedicated papermaking to Shoto Kutaishi, the Japanese Regent. Shoto Kutaishi ordered the nationwide promotion, and later the Japanese people called him the paper god.
China's papermaking technology also spread to some countries in Central Asia, and then spread to India through trade.
Papermaking was introduced to Arabia in 75 1 year. That year, Tang Anxi led Gao Xianzhi to fight with the Arab army, and Tang Jun was defeated. Among the captured soldiers were paper workers who joined the army. The earliest Arab papermaking workshop was built with the help of China people, and the papermaking technology was taught by China workers themselves. Paper-making technology spread to Damascus, Cairo, Egypt and Morocco in Syria in the 10 century.
Europeans learned about papermaking technology through Arabs. The first European country to contact paper and papermaking technology was Spain, which was once ruled by Arabs. In AD 1 150, Arabs established the first paper mill in Europe in Sadiwa, Spain. 1276, the first Italian paper mill was built in Montefalo to produce hemp paper. 1348, the French established a paper mill near Trouvat in the southeast of Paris. Since then, several paper mills have been established, so that France not only has sufficient domestic paper supply, but also exports it to Germany. Germany didn't have its own paper mill until14th century. Because Britain is separated from the European continent by a sea, papermaking technology was introduced late, and its own paper mill was established in15th century. Sweden established the earliest paper mill in 1573, Denmark started to make paper in 1635, and the paper mill built in Oslo in 1690 was the earliest paper mill in Sweden. By the17th century, every major European country had its own paper industry.
After the Spanish moved to Mexico, they first established a paper mill in the American continent, and Mexican paper making began in 1575. Before independence, the United States established the first paper mill 1690 near Philadelphia. By the19th century, papermaking in China had spread all over five continents.
In the 8th century, paper was widely used in China. In the following centuries, China exported paper to all parts of Asia and kept the secret of papermaking strictly. In 75 1 year, there was a conflict between the Tang Dynasty and the Arab Empire, and the Arabs captured several China paper makers. Soon, the paper industry rose in Samarkand and Baghdad. In this way, papermaking gradually spread all over the Arab world, where paper was widely used and then spread to North America and Europe through Arab countries. According to historical records, the first paper mill was established in Europe more than 0/000 years after Cai Lun invented papermaking. Although the modern paper industry has developed, its basic principle is still the same as that of Cai Lun. Nine times out of ten, the raw materials for papermaking have been replaced by wood pulp, but the raw materials for making high-grade printing paper, cigarette paper, rice paper and typing wax paper are still nothing more than rags, bark, hemp heads and waste fishing nets used in Cai Lun.