Technology · 105 CE
Cai Lun improves papermaking
Luoyang, Eastern Han capital (China)
In 105 CE Cai Lun, an official at the Eastern Han court, presented Emperor He with an improved way of making paper from tree bark, hemp waste, old rags and fishing nets. Paper already existed in China (the oldest surviving fragment, from Fangmatan in Gansu, dates to about 179–141 BCE), so historians see his work as improving and standardising an existing craft rather than inventing it, but his improvements led to paper's widespread use.
Why it mattered
Cheaper and lighter than silk or heavy bamboo strips, paper gradually replaced them, letting whole books circulate and be carried by hand; Cai Lun came to be honoured as the traditional inventor of paper.
Related
- The world in 100: Trajan's Rome, Han China chapter
- Teotihuacan, metropolis of Mesoamerica previous moment · c. 100–550 CE
- The Pax Romana and Rome at its height next moment · 27 BCE – 180 CE (peak extent 117 CE)