The history of genuine paper began in China. Like the indigenous people of Egypt, the Chinese had, almost 5,000 years in the past, brought out a type of writing that used images. They also had been making use of various things to scribe on, most usually strips of bamboo and silk woven into a fine fabric and it is possible that the barkcloth they utilized for other reasons derived from the Paper. Mulberry was made use of also.
Historical documentation points to the fact that in 105AD a member of the government by the name of Tsai Lung, created usable paper, although it is almost certain from archaeological discoveries that in fact it was being used in what is now the People's Republic of China for more than likely two hundred years prior to Tsai Lung.
In ancient times scribing was usually done on some derivative of bamboo or sometimes on pieces of silk, which were known as Ji then. But the prohibitive cost of silk and bamboo being very heavy, these materials were not of great use. About this time Tsai Lun thought of using bark from trees, rags, hemp, and fish nets. In 105 years after the birth of Christ he delivered a report to the emperor with regard to the production of paper and got high praise for his idea. Consequently, from those distant times paper has been in use everywhere and is called the "paper of Marquis Tsai".
If this particular claim is accurate or not, will likely never be uncovered! Nonetheless what is important has to be that it was discovered that they could grind some substances derived from plant material in to a paste, displace unwanted substances, float the paste in liquid, screen it onto cloth sheets and allow it to dry. After drying, it calcified into a firm, tough sheet that turned out to be exceedingly light, and as long as it did not get wet, proved very robust.
This simplest of papermaking techniques is still being used in exactly a similar way within Tibet and Nepal, the very first regions to take the craft from South East Asia. A basic frame has a cloth manufactured from cotton stretched over one side, very watery pulp is situated into the opposite end and spread around until it has reached an even state. After which it is suspended in order for it to enable the water to drain out of it and the mush to dry in to a sheet of paper which may be removed by peeling.
It eventually came to pass that an extremely clever individual came to realize that manufacturing a frame with ribbing and putting in place a delicate replaceable bamboo mat across this, would allow the paper-making procedure to be quickened enormously. Rather than tying up one mould for every paper sheet, therefore severely limiting the number of sheets that are able to be manufactured at the same time, a stack of sieved mash could be built up layer upon layer, with only a length of cotton thread between them to help with separation at a later time. The stack would then be squeezed lightly, and each layer of mache transferred to a place to dry.