According to textual research, the production of paper began in the Western Han Dynasty, and it was widely circulated in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. Because of its wide use, papermaking has been further improved. Paper raw materials are also diversified. There are many kinds of paper, such as bamboo curtain paper, rattan paper, fish egg paper, etc ... Cai Lun has a wide range of papermaking raw materials. Paper made of rotten fishing nets is called net paper, and paper made of rags is called cloth paper. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the famous Xuan paper was born. There is a legend in Xuanzhou, Anhui Province, the main producing area of Xuan paper: Cai Lun's apprentice Kong Dan, who made paper in southern Anhui, always wanted to make a particularly ideal white paper for his master to paint and compose. But after many experiments, it can't be realized. Once, he happened to see some sandalwood trees lying beside the mountain stream, which had been corroded by water for a long time and had rotted and turned white. Later, he made paper with this bark and finally succeeded. It can be concluded that using bark as rice paper has been very popular in the Tang Dynasty. ) In the Tang Dynasty, on the basis of the previous generation of yellow paper, wax was evenly coated on the paper to make the paper have the advantages of luster, luster and beauty, which was called hard yellow paper. The paper industry of the Five Dynasties continued to develop. Zhangzhou's Chengxin Tang paper was always considered as the best paper until the Northern Song Dynasty. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the paper industry flourished and innovated constantly. All kinds of stationery are popular again. In terms of texture, white paper and elegant colored paper are highly respected, and the colors are mainly bright and quiet, such as pastel paper and printed colored paper in Kanggan period. By the Qing Dynasty, the production of paper had reached the image of Cai Lun.
Perfect point. In the Jin Dynasty (4th century), paper finally replaced silk as the main writing material. Cai Lun has played a great role in promoting the production of hemp paper and leather paper. Although he is not the inventor of papermaking, his historical position as a technical innovator and organizer should be affirmed.