The history of real paper happened in what is now the People's Republic of China. Like the Egyptians, the Chinese had, nearly 5000 years ago, developed a style of pictographic writing. They too had been making use of several kinds of things to write on, notably lengths of bamboo and woven silk and it is possible that the barkcloth they used for other uses from the Paper. Mulberry was used also.
History leads us to believe that in 105AD an official by the name of Tsai Lung, invented papyrus, though it is clear from archaeological finds that it was actually in existence in South East Asia for more than likely two hundred years prior to him.
Back during olden times scribing was generally on some derivative of bamboo or sometimes on strips of silk, which were then called ji. Nonetheless the prohibitive cost of silk and bamboo being heavy, these materials were inconvenient. Due to this Tsai Lun thought of utilizing bark from trees, hemp, fish nets, and rags. In 105 years after the birth of Christ he delivered a report to the emperor about the production of paper and received high accolade for his thoughts. Consequently, from that period paper has been used every place and is called the "paper of Marquis Tsai".
If the above title is Tsai's entitlement or not, will very likely never be known! But the important thing must be that it was found that if they pounded particular plant-derived substances into a mash, abolish impurities, place the mash in liquid, filter it onto cloth sheets giving it enough time to dry out. After drying, it calcified into a hard, durable sheet that was astonishingly light, and provided that it was not allowed to come into contact with water, proved extraordinarily dense.
This most straightforward of papermaking techniques is still being used in precisely the same way within Tibet and Nepal, the very first regions to learn the techniques from China. A basic frame utilises a cotton cloth stretched over one side, thin grume is emptied in to the far end and moved around until it is level. It is then left suspended that will enable the water to drain and the paste to dry into a sheet of parchment which can be stripped off.
Eventually an extremely talented individual worked out that constructing a frame with ribbing and putting in place a delicate bamboo mat that is replaceable across this, would allow the paper-making process to be quickened to a great degree. Instead of utilizing one mold for each sheet of paper, severely limiting the number of sheets that can be manufactured at the same time, a stack of sieved mache was able to be built up a layer at a time, with just a length of cotton thread between them which would facilitate separation at a later time. The stack would then be pressed slightly, and every sheet of mush moved to a place to dry.