Cai Lun

Cai Lun was a Han dynasty court official traditionally credited with improving papermaking and presenting the process to Emperor He in 105 CE.

Eastern Han dynasty: The Later Han dynasty ruled China from 25 to 220 CE. Cai Lun served at the imperial court during this dynasty.
Bast fiber: Strong fibers taken from the inner bark of plants. Traditional accounts include bark among the materials used in Cai Lun’s paper.
Silk Road transmission of papermaking: The movement of papermaking knowledge westward through Central Asia and beyond. The craft associated with Cai Lun’s era spread far beyond China along trade and conquest routes.
Cai Lun's historical record: The surviving biographical and documentary evidence concerning Cai Lun and his role in papermaking. It distinguishes the sparse historical evidence from later claims about a single inventor.
Emperor He of Han: Emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty from 88 to 105 CE. Traditional accounts say Cai Lun presented his papermaking process to him in 105.
Rags: Discarded textile fragments that can be processed into fibers for new materials. Cai Lun’s traditional recipe included worn cloth as a source of paper fiber.
Battle of Talas: A battle fought in 751 between Abbasid forces and the Tang dynasty near the Talas River. A later tradition links captured Chinese papermakers after this battle to papermaking’s westward spread.
Paper in ancient China: Early Chinese paper artifacts and practices that predate or complicate the traditional 105 CE account. Archaeological finds indicate paper existed before the date traditionally associated with Cai Lun.
Paper: A thin sheet material made from interlaced fibers, used for writing, printing, and other purposes. Cai Lun’s legacy centers on improving the material’s manufacture.
Hemp: A plant cultivated for its strong bast fibers, seeds, and oil. Hemp fibers were among the plant materials associated with early Chinese papermaking.

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