The origins of proper paper started in South East Asia. Like the Egyptians, the Chinese had, virtually fifty centuries in the past, brought out a type of writing that used images. The Egyptians too had been utilizing several types of things to write on, most notably pieces of bamboo and processed silk and it is possible that the barkcloth they were making for other unconnected purposes from the Paper. Mulberry was made use of also.
Legend leads us to believe that in 105AD an official called Tsai Lung, invented papyrus, though it is clear from archaeological discoveries that it was in fact in existence in China for probably two hundred years prior to him.
Way back in ancient times writing was usually done on bamboo or on lengths of silk, which were known as Ji then. Nevertheless the cost of silk and bamboo being weighty, these materials were inconvenient. Then Tsai Lun thought of making use of the bark from trees, hemp, fish nets, and rags. In 105 years after the birth of Christ he put an idea to the emperor about the process of making paper and was endowed with high praise for his idea. From that time paper has been in use universally and is called the "paper of Marquis Tsai".
If indeed this title is Tsai's entitlement or not, will very likely never be uncovered! But the main consideration has to be that the discovery was made that they could pound particular substances taken from plant matter into a pulp, take away impurities, put the pulp in water, sieve it onto fabric sheets and give it time to dry out. When fully dried, it compacted into a firm, tenacious sheet that was extraordinarily light, and as long as it was not allowed to get wet, proved remarkably firm.
This most simple of paper making technologies is even now practised in exactly the same way in Tibet and Nepal, the first areas to learn the technolgies from what is now the People's Republic of China. A simple frame utilizes a cotton cloth made to stretch over a side, very watery paste is poured in to the other side and spread about until it has reached an even state. Then it is left suspended so that it will enable the liquid to drain out of it and the grume to dry into a parchment sheet which can be removed by stripping off.
As time passed an extremely talented individual realized that manufacturing a frame with ribs and placing a fine removable bamboo mat over this, would allow the paper-making process to be quickened fantastically. Rather than using a single mould for each sheet of paper, severely restricting the amount of sheets that are able to be made at the same time, a stack of sieved mache was able to be built up layer upon layer, with merely a piece of cotton thread between them to help with separation at a later time. The stack would then be squeezed very lightly, and every sheet of mash shifted to a place to dry.