The story of true paper started in South East Asia. Similar to the indigenous people of Egypt, the Chinese had, nearly 5,000 years ago, brought out a kind of writing that used pictures. The Egyptians also had been using several kinds of things to write on, usually lengths of bamboo and processed silk and it is possible that the barkcloth they used for other unconnected purposes derived from the Paper. Mulberry was also used.
Legend tells us that in 105AD an official by the name of Tsai Lung, developed papyrus, though it seems from archaeological discoveries that in fact it was being used in China for more than likely two hundred years prior to him.
Back in ancient times gone by setting down words was usually done on bamboo or sometimes on strips of silk, which were known as Ji in those days. 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 making use of bark from trees, hemp, rags, and fish nets. In 105 years after the birth of Christ he made a report to the emperor regarding the production of paper and got much praise for his ability. Consequently, from that time paper has been used all over the world and is called the "paper of Marquis Tsai".
Whether this title is accurate, will probably never be known! Nevertheless the most important factor must be that it was found that they could grind some plant-derived compounds into a mush, evacuate unwanted substances, place the mush in liquid, sieve it onto cloth sheets giving it enough time to dry out. After drying, it congealed into a firm, dense sheet that turned out to be really light, and as long as it was not allowed to get damp or wet, turned out to be astonishingly firm.
It's a fact that this very easy of papermaking techniques is still practised in exactly the same way around Tibet and Nepal, the first countries to take the techniques from what is now the People's Republic of China. A simple frame utilizes a cotton cloth made to stretch over a side, thin mache is emptied in to the far end and spread around until it is even. After which it is left suspended somewhere to allow the water to drain out of it and the grume to dry in to a sheet of paper which will be able to be removed.
As time went by a very talented individual came to the conclusion that constructing a frame with an arrangement of ribbing and placing a delicate bamboo mat that is removable across this, would let the procedure to be accelerated to a much greater degree. Rather than using a single mould for every paper sheet, therefore severely restricting the number of sheets that may be made at one time, a stack of sieved pulp could be built up a layer at a time, with only a length of cotton thread between them in order to facilitate later separation. The stack would then be pressed gently, and each layer of mash shifted to a place to dry.