Tommy Tolmaroff, age 11, of El Monte, CA
Who invented paper?
Paper was invented in ancient China. That much we know because the Western World learned how to make it from the Chinese. No one however knows the original inventor or when, or exactly where he lived. Scholars have tried to trace back the history of paper. So far, they know that the Chinese were using writing paper in 200 BC. ‑ over 2,000 years ago,
The secret of paper making leaked from the Orient through the fabulous city of Samarkand about 1200 years ago. The Moslems were obeying their prophet Mohammad and trying to spread their religion by conquest. They took Samarkand and held it. In 751 A.D, the Arab governor of the city beat off an attack by the Chinese. Some of the prisoners taken were set to work in his household: These Chinese happened to be paper makers by trade. They impressed their new master b y making paper and showing its use. The Moslems took to the idea for they needed paper as a writing material.
The conquering Arabs and Moors were great readers and writers. They were fascinated by the peoples of the new lands they governed. They read all their literature and translated it into their own language. As they spread across Europe, this mammoth translating job needed writing materials,. From ages past, writing had been done on vellum or papyrus, Vellum, from the Latin word for a calf, was stretched and dried animal hide. Papyrus was made from a tall plant that grew only on the banks of the Nile. Vellum was expensive, Sometimes the papyrus crop failed.
The Chinese paper could be made from almost anything. Basically: it was a matted felt of fine fibers, as it still is. The Chinese made it by pounding old rags, linen and the bark of mulberry trees to shreds, This was mixed with water, A flat mold was dipped into the soupy mixture, The water drained out through the bottom bamboo slats. The damp fibers matted together in a sort of felt material, This dried to form a sheet of paper.
This hand made paper was tiresome to make but far less expensive than vellum or papyrus. Things happened slowly in those days and it was many years before paper was in common use. The Arabs introduced it into Sicily from where the Italians learned and improved upon it. The Moors took the idea to Spain where Toledo and other cities became paper making centers,,
All this time, paper making was being slowly improved: The Arabs discovered it could be made from flax and cotton. In 15891 Queen Elizabeth’s jeweler was granted a license to make paper. He listed linen rags, scrolls, scraps of parchment and old fishing nets in his recipe. By then, it seems, almost anybody could make paper from almost any old thing.
Nowadays, most of our paper is made from wood. Some percentage of the world’s lumber crop is made into paper of all sorts. Wood is a cheap paper ingredient. In the near future, we may well discover how to make paper from even cheaper ingredients and the price of paper would come tumbling down. But, at this late date: we are not likely to discover the name of that clever Chinese who originally invented the wonderful stuff.