2-617-516 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Papermaking in China, AD 105, (c1850). This year is often cited as the year in which papermaking was invented. In that year, historical records show that the invention of paper was reported to the Chinese Emperor by Ts'ai Lun, an official of the Imperial Court. However, ancient paper pieces from the Xuanquanzhi ruins of Dunhuang in China's northwest Gansu province apparently were made during the period of Emperor Wu who reigned between 140 BC and 86 BC. It appears that early Chinese paper was made by a suspension of hemp waste in water, washed, soaked, and beaten to a pulp with a wooden mallet. From a hand coloured engraving.