Page 123 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol IV

1424 berkshire encyclopedia of world history

Antiquity last two centuries BCE. In 105 CE, the court official Cai
Predecessors of paper, known by the generic term “tapa,” Lun allegedly invented papermaking from textile waste
are found in nearly all cultures in the equatorial zone (that is, rags).This was the birth of paper as we know it
and are used also for decorating and clothing.They are today. Chinese papermakers developed a number of spe-
produced by beating the inner bark of plants such as cialties, including sizing (making the paper ink-proof),
the paper mulberry, fig, or daphne. In ancient Egypt, coating, and dyeing.They introduced bamboo as a fiber
papyrus was made accordingly from the pith of the papy- plant, beating it after cooking it in lye. Paper served for
rus plant. such diverse purposes as writing, drawing, wrapping,
The oldest papermaking technique—still in use in a few clothing, protection from weather, decoration, windows,
locations in the Himalayas, China, and Southeast Asia— and even for balloons and kites. Last but not least, paper
derives from a combination of this pounding technique was used for special currency to be burned in honor of
and felting techniques (felting involves pressing together the ancestors.
materials so that they adhere to form a large whole).To
make a pulp, plant bark that has been cooked is beaten The Spread of Papermaking
with a wooden hammer to form a thin fibrous layer that Chinese papermaking techniques reached Korea at an
then is dissolved in a vat with water. The papermaker early date and in 610 were introduced to Japan, where
pours the quantity of pulp needed to make one sheet papermaking was becoming a skilled craft.The ultimate
onto a mold consisting of a wooden frame with a fabric was the production of shifu, paper yarn woven into beau-
or bamboo screen and spreads it with his hand evenly tiful fabric.
across the screen. The mold is lifted carefully; the water Knowledge of papermaking also spread from China to
drains off and a sheet of paper forms on the screen.Then Central Asia and Tibet, and then on to India.The Arabs,
the mold is placed in the sun or near a fire to dry.When in the course of their eastern expansion, became acquaint-
dry, the sheet easily peels off the screen and, apart from ed with the production of the new writing material near
possible smoothing, requires no further treatment. Samarqand, and paper mills were subsequently set up in
As recent findings of very old paper in Chinese tombs Baghdad, Damascus, Cairo, and later in Morocco and
show, paper has been produced in China ever since the Spain. Using screens made of reed, the Arabs made thin
sheets of rag pulp and coated them on both sides with
starch paste, which could be colored. This gave Arab
paper its good writing properties and its fine appearance.
Arab technique spread into medieval Europe, and Euro-
pean innovations, especially the paper machine (multi-
plying the production rate), spread throughout the world
during the nineteenth century.

European Handmade Paper
In medieval Italy,papermakers from Genoa,Fabriano,and
Amalfi tried to improve on the Arab technique. Their
innovations included the use of water power, stamping
mills (derived from fulling mills, which shrank and thick-
ened cloth) to pound the rags,molds made of wire,couch-
ing (setting the forming paper on a felt to be pressed), the
The engraving shows a Chinese papermaker screw paper press, dip sizing with animal glue, and a pro-
at work. duction process based on division of labor.