Cai lun

Paper manufacturing process devised by Cai Lun.

Cai Lun (traditional Chinese: 蔡倫, simplified Chinese: 蔡伦, pinyin: Cài Lún, Wade-Giles: Ts'ai Lun) was an imperial advisor Chinese eunuch of Emperor He of Han, who lived at the court of the Han dynasty (between the years 77 and 110 or, according to other sources, between 50 and 121). In China, he is traditionally considered the inventor of paper, since under his administration the manufacturing technique of the material used for writing documents was perfected, which came to have properties similar to those of current paper, quite different from papyrus and the parchment used in older times. Although early forms of paper existed in China as far back as the II century B.C. C., he was responsible for the first significant improvement and standardization of papermaking, by adding new materials essential to its composition. According to Chinese historical chronicles, the invention of paper would have occurred in the year 105 d. c.

Semblance

Cai Lun was born in present-day Guiyang Province (Guizhou, People's Republic of China) during the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 48), into a poor family. He entered the service of the imperial court as a eunuch in AD 77, and rose through the ranks under Emperor He. In the year 89 he was promoted to the imperial workshop, in charge of the manufacture of instruments and weapons with the title of Shang Fang Si, also becoming secretary (中常侍).

In 105 he presented the emperor with a procedure for making paper. The emperor was extremely satisfied with his invention. The "Cai paper", as his invention was first known, was light, flexible, resistant, cheap and could be mass-produced. The emperor granted him as recognition, in the year 114 d. C., the aristocratic title of marquis and great wealth. However, the court intrigues in which he had participated turned against him. When Empress Deng Sui died, the new wife (Empress Song) ordered Cai Lun to go to jail. To avoid his fate, Cai Lun committed suicide in Luoyang City by taking poison in AD 121. c.

He is famous for having created a new class of paper similar to the current one, developed at the request of the imperial court, which called for a material that was more comfortable to use and suitable for writing. Although more primitive types of paper already existed, Cai Lun proceeded to perfect the production technique by waterproofing glues based on starch, rice and the mucilaginous juice of tororo aoi, so that the sheets would be well glossy and protected from mold and mildew. the parasites.

By the third century, the making and use of paper was widespread in China, and had spread to Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. In 751, some Chinese papermakers were captured by the Arabs, and thus the first Arab paper was created in Samarkand. Paper production spread to Spain in 1150, soon displacing the use of furs and parchment as writing materials in Europe. The introduction of paper was a catalyst that led to the rapid spread of literacy and intellectual development in China, the Middle East, and Europe. Cai Lun is regarded as a Chinese national hero, admired for his wit and outspoken nature. A memorial hall is kept in his honor in his hometown of Leiyang. Although the papermaking industry has developed considerably in modern times, the basic process invented by Cai Lun is still used.

The invention of paper

In the year 95 d. C., Cai Lun presented the emperor with a process for making paper from the inner bark of the mulberry tree, bamboo, and hemp; plus the remains of cloth rags and fishing nets. He would mix them with water, pound them with a wooden tool, and then pour this mixture onto a flat piece of thick woven cloth, making it easy for the water to run off, leaving only a thin, matted sheet of fibers on the cloth. Emperor He of Han was pleased with the invention and granted Cai Lun an aristocratic title and great wealth.

A part of the official biography of him was later written in Chinese (Wade-Giles spelling):

In ancient times the writings and inscriptions were usually made in bamboo tables or in silk pieces called Chih. But bamboo silk as it was expensive and heavy was not useful for this use. Tshai Lun [Cai Lun] then began the idea of making the role of tree bark, hemp remnants, cloth rags and fishing nets. The process was submitted to the emperor in the first year of Yuan Hsing [95] and he received praise for his ability. From this moment on, the role has been in use everywhere and is universally called "the role of the Marquis Tshai".

A folk tale tells that when Cai Lun showed the paper to the Chinese people, they mocked him. In order to impress people with the magical power of the paper, he faked his death and buried himself with a bamboo tube so he could breathe. Following his instructions, his friends burned paper over the coffin, and pulled it out of the ground, alive again. Burning paper over graves is still a tradition in China.

Global influence

The immediate popularity of the invention is attributed to Cai Lun; dated less than 50 years to the death of Cai Lun in the city of Luoyang (who also resided in Xinjiang, in the inhospitable arid deserts of Chinese Turkestan). Guizhou province became famous for its paper-making workshops. In the 3rd century, paper was already widely used as a writing medium in China and later spread to Korea, Vietnam and Japan. It allowed China to develop its culture through widespread literature and literacy much faster than it had developed with earlier writing materials (mainly bamboo tablets and silk scrolls). In 751, some Chinese papermakers were captured by the Arabs and later the Tang troops were defeated at the Battle of the Talas River. The first Arabic document written on paper was created in Samarkand, and paper production quickly replaced papyrus production in the Middle East, Near East, and North Africa. The first paper in Europe was created in Spain in 1150, and later spread to other European nations, where the use of parchment was displaced. Contact between Arabs and Europeans during the Crusades, and the essential recovery of the classical writings of the ancient Greeks, contributed to the widespread use of paper and separated it from scholasticism in Europe. The invention of the printing press further increased the use of paper, and greatly facilitated the advancement of technology and academic thought in European societies.

The use of mulberry for the creation of paper, which was used in China from the Han dynasty, was unknown in Europe until the XVIII. It was described with great curiosity by the missionary Jesuits in China, who suggested that the mulberry should be cultivated in France.

Although Cai Lun is credited with inventing paper, there is some doubt as to whether he actually invented paper himself, or simply systematized its manufacture and promoted its use in the imperial court. The oldest Chinese paper fragments were discovered in 2006, which belonged to a letter on linen dating from 8 BC. C., almost a hundred years before the birth of Cai Lun.

Acknowledgments

• In 1962, the 1,850 anniversary of the date of his death, the Chinese Government paid tribute to his memory in thanks to the invention with which Cai Lun forever transformed Education, Science and Communications, allowing the transmission of knowledge, the record of history and the undertaking of an industry that enriched the Asian economy and changed the modern world: the role.
• The lunar crater Cai Lun bears this name in his memory."Cai Lun." Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature (in English). Flagstaff: USGS Astrogeology Research Program. OCLC 44396779.

Eponymy

• The Cai Hou temple is located in China, in Fuyang, Hunan.