Paper is thin material used for writing upon, printing upon or packaging, produced by the amalgamation of fibres, typically vegetable fibres composed of cellulose, which are subsequently held together by hydrogen bonding. While the fibres used are usually natural in origin, a wide variety of synthetic fibres, such as polypropylene and polyethylene, may be incorporated into paper as a way of imparting desirable physical properties. The most common source of these kinds of fibres is wood pulp from pulpwood trees. Vegetable fibre materials such as cotton, hemp, linen, and rice are also used.
Papyrus and parchment
The word paper derives 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 in the 3rd century BC put a drain on the supply of papyrus. As a result, according to the Roman historian Pliny the Elder (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.
Early papermaking in China
Paper is considered to be one of the Four Great Inventions of Ancient China, as the first standard papermaking process was developed 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 discovery of specimens bearing written Chinese characters in 2006 at north-west China's Gansu province suggest that paper was in use by the ancient Chinese military more than 100 years before Cai in 8 BC. [1] Archeologically however, true paper without writing has been excavated in China dating to the reign of Emperor Wu of Han from the 2nd century BC, used for purposes of wrapping or padding protection for delicate bronze mirrors.[1] It was also used for safety, such as the padding of poisonous 'medicine' as mentioned in the official history of the period.[1] Although paper used for writing became widespread by the 3rd century,[2] paper continued to be used for wrapping (and other) purposes.
The world's earliest known printed book (using woodblock printing), the Diamond Sutra of AD 868, shows the widespread availability and practicality of paper in China.
Toilet paper was used in China by at least the 6th century AD.[3] In AD 589, the Chinese scholar-official Yan Zhitui (531-591 AD) once wrote: "Paper on which there are quotations or commentaries from Five Classics or the names of sages, I dare not use for toilet purposes".[3] An Arab traveler to China once wrote of the curious Chinese tradition of toilet paper in AD 851, writing: "They (the Chinese) are not careful about cleanliness, and they do not wash themselves with water when they have done their necessities; but they only wipe themselves with paper".[3] Toilet paper continued to be a valued necessity in China, since it was during the Hongwu Emperor's reign in AD 1393 that the Bureau of Imperial Supplies (Bao Chao Si) manufactured 720,000 sheets of toilet paper for the entire court (produced of the cheap rice-straw paper).[3] For the emperor's family alone, 15,000 special sheets of paper were made, in light yellow tint and even perfumed.[3] Even at the beginning of the 14th century, during the middle of the Yuan Dynasty, the amount of toilet paper manufactured for modern-day Zhejiang province alone amounted to ten million packages holding 1000 to 10000 sheets of toilet paper each.[3] During the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) paper was folded and sewn into square bags to preserve the flavor of tea.[1] During the same period, it was written that tea was served from baskets with multi-colored paper cups and paper napkins of different size and shape.[1] During the Chinese Song Dynasty (AD 960-1279) not only did the government produce the world's first known paper-printed money, or banknote (see Jiaozi and Huizi), but paper money bestowed as gifts to deserving government officials were wrapped in special paper envelopes.[3]
In America, archaeological evidence indicates that paper was invented by the Mayans no later than the 5th century AD.[4] Called amatl, it was in widespread use among Mesoamerican cultures until the Spanish conquest. In small quantities, traditional Maya papermaking techniques are still practiced today.
Paper spread slowly outside of China; other East Asian cultures, even after seeing paper, could not figure out how to make it themselves. Instruction in the manufacturing process was required, and the Chinese were reluctant to share their secrets. The paper was thin and translucent, not like modern western paper, and thus only written on one side. Books were invented in India, of Palm leaves (where we derive the name leaf for a sheet of a book). The technology was first transferred to Korea in 604 and then imported to Japan by a Buddhist priests, around 610, where fibres (called bast) from the mulberry tree were used.
Papermaking arrives in the Middle East
After further commercial trading and the defeat of the Chinese in the Battle of Talas in 751, the invention spread to the Middle East.[5] Production was started in Baghdad, where the Arabs invented a method to make a thicker sheet of paper. The manufacture had spread to Damascus by the time of the First Crusade in the 11th century, but the wars interrupted production, and it split into two centers. Cairo continued with the thicker paper. Iran became the center of the thinner papers. It was also adopted in India. The first paper mill in Europe was in Spain, at Xavia (modern Valencia) in 1120. More mills appeared in Fabriano Italy in about the 13th century, as an import from Islamic Spain. They used hemp and linen rags as a source of fibre. The oldest known paper document in the West is the Mozarab Missal of Silos from the 11th century, probably written in the Islamic part of Spain. Paper is recorded as being manufactured in both Italy and Germany by 1400, just about the time when the woodcut printmaking technique was transferred from fabric to paper in the old master print and popular prints.
Some historians speculate that paper was a key element in cultural advancement. According to this theory, Chinese culture was less developed than the West in ancient times prior to the Han Dynasty because bamboo, while abundant, was a clumsier writing material than papyrus; Chinese culture advanced during the Han Dynasty and subsequent centuries due to the invention of paper; and Europe advanced during the Renaissance due to the introduction of paper and the printing press.
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