The biggest reason why humanity has come to these days is the transfer of knowledge from generation to generation. At the point where verbal communication was not enough, writing came into play, and a few centuries later, paper came into play. Let’s take a closer look at who and when invented paper, the first invention of which dates back thousands of years, and how the first paper was produced.
Nowadays, when the digital world is an inseparable part of our real life, we gradually put aside our old paper-pencil habit. However, we know that without this classical writing system, humanity would not be able to convey information and reach what it is today. We have told the story of the article before in our article here. The invention of paper, which is an integral part of writing, has an equally interesting story.
Although it was invented thousands of years ago, we know the inventor of paper. Because official historiographers have been very sensitive about this issue. No surprise, paper was invented in China. The interesting part of the story is how this invention was developed by different civilizations and reached today. Bride who invented paper and when Let’s answer the questions and see how the first paper was produced.
Pre-paper era:
The invention of writing, even in the form of simple pictures, is much older than the invention of paper. And if there was no paper, what were these people writing and drawing? as we all know The first writings were carved on the cave walls. It is known that inscriptions were written on animal bones and stones in the same period.
When we speed up the process a bit, we have an article written on it. bark, silk fabrics, some treated wood, animal hides, and even bamboo sticks it turns out. Of course, since all these materials are hard to find and expensive, it didn’t take long for an alternative method to be developed.
The first paper appears in China:
According to the Chinese Fan Hua, one of the first historians who lived between 398 and 445 BC, it was the first time In 105 AD, a palace official named Ts’ai Lun Chinese Eastern Han Dynasty Emperor Hedi presented a paper he had made. But archaeological finds in western China and Tibet reveal that the first paper was made hundreds of years before this event.
The earliest traces of paper emerged in Tibet, with the cities of Dunhuang and Hotan on the historical Silk Road. finds, It marked the year 200 BC. Thanks to the climate of the region, these papers have remained intact for thousands of years. In fact, ink was found on some of them and it was decided that the invention of ink was much older than known.
Paper use is becoming more common in the Asian region:
Chinese paper makers soaked hemp fibers and for perhaps hours They beat it with mallets and turned it into a dough. This dough, carefully spread inside bamboo frames, became a wonderful paper when dry. Over time, many different tree barks, especially bamboo and mulberry, were added to this dough. To protect this herbal paper from insects, they dyed it yellow, the color of the palace. These papers are known to be combined to obtain long rolls.
Since China has always been one of the dominant powers in Asia, paper spread rapidly in this continent until the 500s. Koreans, they also added rice straw and seaweed to the existing pulp. Although uncertain, the paper spread first to Japan, then to Tibet and India, thanks to the Korean Buddhist monk Don-Cho in 610.
Arab world meets paper:
Many inventions of China opened to the world and Turks met with Islam. The Battle of Talas in 751 It is the first event in which paper was opened to the world. In this war between the Arab Abbasid Empire and the Chinese, the Arabs defeated the Chinese and brought master paper producers such as Tou Houan to their countries.
Since the borders of the Abbasid Empire extended to Spain, Portugal, North Africa and Central Asia at that time, this new invention spread rapidly in the civilization world of that day. Not only did the Abbasid world meet with this new invention, cities such as Samarkand, Damascus and Cairo became centers of paper production in a short time. With the opening of the first paper mill in Spain, Europeans also met paper.
The paper takes its current form:
In 1120, a paper mill was established for the first time in Valencia, Spain. This factory established in Spain produced paper for the entire European continent for many years. In the 15th century, paper mills began to open in England. British paper manufacturers were doing a very profitable business as they also produced paper for the colonies.
With the opening of the first paper mill in the state of Pennsylvania, USA in 1690, paper experienced its own revolution. Produced with Chinese technique for hundreds of years in Europe paper began to be made with woods that were much cheaper and plentiful in US factories. Factories that switched to a recyclable system in a short time began to produce today’s paper.
One of the most valuable inventions for humanity. who invented paper and when We answered the question and talked about the story of the paper from yesterday to today. It is one of the most surprising facts of history that the invention of a modest palace official shaped today’s civilization. You can share your thoughts in the comments.