Why did Cai Lun invent paper?

Answer 1

When Cai was an official, he often went into towns and villages to see how things were going. One day in 92 AD, he visited a silk-making shop and saw that there was a thin white layer of slightly fluffy stuff left on the bamboo mat, which could be used for writing.

He was inspired and began to experiment with various materials such as barks, hemp, cloth, nets, etc., and using various ways, such as boil, soak, pound, etc. to make fiber paper. No doubt, he succeeded.

He documented the process and showed it to the emperor He Di along with a finished product in 105 AD. The emperor was greatly pleased, and the paper was called "Cai Hou Paper" in honor of Cai's contribution. Fine paper officially entered into history.

Answer 2

In ancient times writings and inscriptions were generally made on tablets of bamboo or on pieces of silk called chih. But silk being costly and bamboo heavy, they were not convenient to use. Tshai Lun [Cai Lun, Tsai Lun] then initiated the idea of making paper from the bark of trees, remnants of hemp, rags of cloth, and fishing nets. He submitted the process to the emperor in the first year of Yuan-Hsing [+105] and received praise for his ability. From this time on, paper has been in use everywhere and is sometimes referred to as 'the paper of Marquis Tshai'.

Answer 3

Did he invent paper? All of the Dead Sea Scrolls that are written on and confirm The Bible, were done on animals skins.