Chinese Invention: Paper Camila Migoya Fernandez
At the beginning of the Chinese appearance, paper did not exist. It was after, when the head of the Imperial Workshops, Cai Lun, invented it in A.D. 105. It took almost 3000 years to come up with paper. The first paper was made from silk rags. Later, however, fibrous materials such as bamboo, hemp and mulberry bark where also used as paper. Before the paper- making process could begin, the raw material was softened in water, to make it easier to work with. Later on, it was boiled and pressed to make a pulp. To make a sheet of paper, a fine screen was dipped into the pulp to gather thin film of fibers. The screen was pressed to remove the water, then they left it to dry on a heated wall for many hours. Then, after the hours the finished paper was peeled off the screen and cut into the wished size. Paper was very important. It is very useful to make books, newspapers and magazines. It contributed to the world and we still use it today. Thanks to the Chinese people’s intellect, we now have something to write on. It has been a very good contribution.
March 2011
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/literature/paper.htm
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://intechweb.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/don gba-paper-making-
Here, a man pressing the raw material to make a pulp. Bibliography: “Paper University” Tappi. 2001. March 3, 2011. <http://www.tappi.org/paper/all_about_paper/paperHistory.ht m Correrell, Athour. China. London: A Dorkling Kindersley Book, 1994.