The Invention of Paper

In the book of the 100 most influential persons in history, author Michael Hart ranks Chinese inventor Ts'ai Lun at number seven for his invention of paper. Paper is so commonplace today, we scarcely give a thought to it or what the world would be like without it. Before its invention around 105 A.D., books were written on parchment (made from animal skin) or bulky papyrus (made into sheets from the pith of the papyrus plant and rolled into scrolls) and were objects only the wealthy and/or the church could afford. And of course, books/documents were hand-written, one at a time.

Historians credit Johannes Gutenberg with advancing world literacy with the invention of movable type, but he couldn't have done it without paper. Today, you can buy paper so cheaply (e.g. 500 sheets for $7.49 at Staples, or about 1.5 cents per sheet), we give it little thought. 

Here, then, is Hart's account of Ts'ai Lun's invention:

Ts'ai Lun, the inventor of paper, is a man whose name is probably unfamiliar to most readers. Considering the importance of his invention, the extent to which he has been ignored in the West is indeed surprising. There are major encyclopedias which do not have even brief articles on Ts' ai Lun, and his name is seldom mentioned in standard history textbooks. 

Careful research, however, makes it absolutely clear that Ts'ai Lun was a real man, an official at the Chinese imperial court, who, in or about the year 105, presented Emperor Ho Ti with samples of paper.

The Chinese have always credited Ts'ai Lun with the invention of paper, and though his name is well known in China, not a great deal is known about Ts'ai Lun's life. Chinese records do mention that he was a eunuch. It is also recorded that the emperor was greatly pleased by Ts'ai Lun's invention, and that as a result, Ts'ai Lun was promoted, received an aristocratic title, and became wealthy. Later on, however, he became involved in palace intrigue, and this eventually led to his downfall. The Chinese records relate that upon his being disgraced, Ts' ai Lun took a bath, dressed in his finest robes, and drank poison.

The use of paper became widespread in China during the second century, and within a few centuries the Chinese were exporting paper to other parts of Asia. For a long time, they kept the technique of papermaking a secret. In 751, however, some Chinese papermakers were captured by the Arabs, and not long afterwards paper was being manufactured in both Samarkand Baghdad. The art of papermaking gradually spread throughout the Arab world, and in the twelfth century the Europeans learned the art from the Arabs. The use of paper gradually spread, and after Gutenberg invented modern printing, paper replaced parchment as the principal writing material in the West.

Today, paper is so common that we take it for granted, and it is hard to envisage what the world was like without it. In China, before Ts' ai Lun, most books were made of bamboo. Obviously, such books were extremely heavy and clumsy. Somebooks were written on silk, but that was too expensive for generaluse. In the West, before paper was introduced, most books were written on parchment or vellum, which were made of specially processed sheepskin or calfskin. This material had replaced the papyrus favored by the Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians. Both parchment and papyrus, however, not only were scarce, but were also expensive to prepare.

(As an example one eBay seller is offering individual sheets of handmade parchment to crafters for $100 and up.)

That books and other written materials can today be produced cheaply and in such large quantities is due in considerable part to the existence of paper. It is true that paper would not be as important as it is today were it not for the printing press; however, it is equally true that the printing press would not be nearly so important were it not for the existence of a cheap and plentiful material on which to print.

Which man, then, should be ranked higher: Ts' ai Lun or Gutenberg? Although I consider the two of almost equal importance, I have ranked Ts' ai Lun slightly higher for the following reasons:

(1) Paper has many other applications besides its use as a writing material. In fact, it is an amazingly versatile material, and a large percentage of the paper currently produced is used for purposes other than printing.

(2) Ts' ai Lun preceded Gutenberg, and it is altogether possible that Gutenberg would not have invented printing had paper not already existed. 

3) If only one of the two had ever been invented, I suspect that more books would be produced by the combination of block printing (which was known long before Gutenberg) and paper than by the combination of movable type and parchment.

Is it appropriate to include both Gutenberg and Ts'ai Lun among the ten most influential people who ever lived? In order to realize the full importance of the inventions of paper and printing, it is necessary to consider the relative cultural development of China and the West. Prior to the second century A.D., Chinese civilization was consistently less advanced than Western civilization.

During the next millenium, China's accomplishments exceeded those of the West, and for a period of seven or eight centuries, Chinese civilization was by most standards the most advanced on earth. After the fifteenth century, however, western

Europe outstripped China. Various cultural explanations for these changes have been advanced, but most such theories seem to ignore what I believe is the simplest explanation.

Ts'ai Lun's invention of paper allowed Chinese civilization to advance rapidly. During the next few  centuries, while progress in the West was comparatively slow,  the Chinese brought forth such major inventions as the compass, gunpowder, and block printing. Since paper was cheaper than parchment, and available in larger quantities, the tables were now turned.

After Western nations began using paper, they were able to hold their own and even succeeded in narrowingthe cultural gap between East and West.