PaperEssay Preview: PaperReport this essayThe word paper comes from the Greek term for the ancient Egyptian writing material called papyrus, which was formed from beaten strips of papyrus plants. Papyrus was produced as early as 3000 BC in Egypt, and sold to ancient Greece and Rome. The establishment of the Library of Alexandria put a drain on the supply of papyrus. As a result, according to the Roman historian Pliny (Natural History records, xiii.21), parchment was invented under the patronage of Eumenes of Pergamum to build his rival library at Pergamum. Outside of Egypt, parchment or vellum, made of processed sheepskin or calfskin, replaced papyrus as the papyrus plant requires subtropical conditions to grow.
Paper is considered to be one of the Four Great Inventions of Ancient China, as the first standard papermaking process was made in China during the early 2nd century. During the Shang (1600 BC-1050 BC) and Zhou (1050 BC-256 BC) dynasties of ancient China, documents were ordinarily written on bone or bamboo (on tablets or on bamboo strips sewn and rolled together into scrolls), making them very heavy and awkward to transport. The light material of silk was sometimes used, but was normally too expensive to consider. Indeed, most of the above materials were rare and costly. While the Han Dynasty Chinese court official Cai Lun is widely regarded to have first invented the modern method of papermaking (inspired from wasps and bees) from wood pulp in 105 AD, the 2006 discovery of specimens bearing written Chinese characters in north-west Chinas Gansu province suggest that paper was in use by the ancient Chinese military more than 100 years before Cai in 8 BCE. [2] Archeologically however, true paper without writing has been excavated in China dating to the reign of Emperor Wu of Han from the 2nd-century BCE, used for purposes of wrapping or padding protecting for delicate bronze mirrors.[1] It was also used for safety, such as the padding of poisonous medicine as mentioned
[1] While the paper required most time to produce, the number of times for which a paper was used became more rare as time elapsed. The ancient Chinese used stone to reinforce the back of the paper, whereas today, paper is used for decoration of objects only. If a person wanted to leave a paper behind with a scroll of scripture or a sheet of paper, they would use paper from the Shang (late Shang) dynasty or the 2nd-century dynasty, or any other such period. In the latter cases, a second layer of paper would be needed, which would help keep the paper together. The Chinese chose to use different forms to carry out the task. The first is a thin line of paper in a square or sheet, similar to the paper from the Shang (left side). The second is one of a double edge, one at the top and other with the bottom edge being for fast processing. A single layer of paper is applied to the top and the back of the paper. [1] Using another method of paper preparation, it is not uncommon for a text to be printed to perfection—a paper is printed out in two layers on top of it, one on one side; and the other in the middle. When finished, a paper is finished with decorative, and a piece of parchment being placed over it. [1] It is common to create a scroll of text which is folded and neatly cut into individual sheets, with some folding the paper along with others to complete the task, leaving the paper folded. [2] This practice dates back to the Shang dynasty and would probably still exist throughout some time in Asia in between.
In the Ming dynasty
The earliest evidence of this practice can be found in the writings of several Ming historians in the Ming People’s University’s research section. This particular fragment of written material is called “Guo Zhou (1150 to 1200 BC).”
A section describing the Ming time period is also found in the writings of some Ming Chinese historians. (For more information see “Leng Jiao-ping Guo-liu Guo-liu of China, 1150 to 1260 BC”, the official collection of the Han History Centre in Yizhong, China).[3] A commentary on the “Guo Zhou (1150 to 1260 BC)” fragment can be found in the official collection of Neng Mue-chuan University’s Research Institute for Cultural Studies.
It is not clear whether this fragment of written script was made by Cai Ming Ming and which was written by Wu Hu. Wu was a great scientist and believed that the writing on the scrolls was the same as the writing on parchment. Wu is mentioned in the Ming court documents as a “son of Wu” (meaning “Son of the Sun”) who would use the type script on a scroll while writing. The manuscript for the Hang and Tang records Wu as writing on a scroll while still living[4].
The fragments of written script from the Ming People’s research section were also printed on the walls of palace and court buildings that surrounded the palaces for the palace. From about 120 BC, the city walls were also decorated in script. [5] As they soon did, all these scrolls became more common where they became the basis for the Chinese palace.
While some of the scroll designs were based on the earlier style of papyrus scrolls, other designs were based on the later writing.
The Ming people of China began writing their own letters using Chinese characters. The written letters could be read with other