The story of real paper began in China. Like the people of Egypt, the Chinese had, nearly 5,000 years ago, brought out a kind of writing that used images. They also had been making use of many different things to write upon, most commonly lengths of bamboo and silk woven into a fine fabric and possibly the barkcloth they utilized for other unconnected purposes from the Paper. Mulberry was made use of also.
History leads us to believe that in 105 years after the birth of Christ a government worker named Tsai Lung, invented papyrus, though it appears from archaeological finds that it was actually being worked with in what is now the People's Republic of China for more than likely two hundred years before him.
Back in times gone by setting down words was generally done on bamboo or on pieces of silk, which were called Ji in those days. Nevertheless the cost of silk and bamboo being very heavy, these materials were not convenient. Then Tsai Lun thought of using bark, fish nets, hemp, and rags. In 105AD he delivered a report to the emperor on the process of making paper and was endowed with high praise for his creativity. Since that time paper has been used every place and is called the "paper of Marquis Tsai".
If indeed the above title is relevant or not, will very likely never be uncovered! But the major factor has to be that they discovered that if they pounded particular compounds taken from plant material in to a pulp, displace impure materials, place the pulp in liquid, sieve it onto textile sheets giving it enough time to dry out. After drying, it calcified into a firm, tough sheet that turned out to be extraordinarily light, and provided that it did not get damp, proved exceedingly robust.
This the easiest of paper making techniques is even now practised in precisely the same way within Nepal and Tibet, the initial regions to pick up the technolgies from South East Asia. A simple frame has a type of cotton cloth stretched over a single side, very watery paste is situated into the far end and moved around until it is level. Then it is left hanging that will allow the water to leave it and the mash to dry in to a parchment sheet which will be able to be removed by peeling.
As time passed a very talented individual worked out that constructing a frame with ribbing and putting a delicate bamboo mat that is replaceable across this, would let the paper-making process to be quickened fantastically. Instead of tying up a single mould for each sheet of paper, therefore severely limiting the amount of sheets that could be produced at one time, a stack of sieved mush could be built up layer upon layer, with just a strip of cotton thread between them in order to facilitate later separation. The stack would then be squeezed gently, and every sheet of mache shifted to a place to dry.