Who is Tsai Lun | Cai Lun

Cai Lun (Traditional Chinese: 蔡倫; Simplified Chinese: 蔡伦; Hanyu Pinyin: Cài Lún; Wade-Giles: Ts'ai Lun) (ca. AD 50-121), courtesy name Jingzhong (敬仲), was a Chinese eunuch, who is conventionally regarded as the inventor of paper and the papermaking process, in forms recognizable in modern times as paper (as opposed to Egyptian papyrus). Although paper existed in China before Cai Lun (since the 2nd century BC), he was responsible for the first significant improvement and standardization of papermaking by adding essential new materials into its composition.

While paper is widely used worldwide today, the creator of this extremely important invention is only somewhat known outside East Asia. After Cai invented the papermaking process in 105, it became widely used as a writing medium in China by the 3rd century AD. It enabled China to develop its civilization (through widespread literature and literacy) much faster than it had with earlier writing materials (primarily bamboo and silk). In 751, some Chinese paper makers were captured by Arabs after Tang troops were defeated in the Battle of Talas River. The techniques of papermaking then spread to the West. When paper was first introduced to Europe by the 12th century, it gradually revolutionized the manner in which written communication could be spread from region to region. Along with contact between Arabs and Europeans during the Crusades (with the essential recovery of ancient Greek written classics), the widespread use of paper aided the foundation of the Scholastic Age in Europe. Interestingly enough, mulberry paper was used in China since the Han Dynasty, yet unknown in Europe until the 18th century (described with much curiosity by Jesuit missionaries, who suggested that mulberry paper should be cultivated in France). See Wikipedia, Tsai Lun.

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