The history of proper paper started in South East Asia. Similar to the Egyptians, the Chinese had, almost five thousand years ago, developed a type of pictographic writing. The Egyptians also had been utilizing many different types of things to scribe upon, most notably strips of bamboo and woven silk and it is possible that the barkcloth they made for other reasons derived out of the Paper. Mulberry was used also.
Historical documentation tells us that in 105 years after the birth of Christ a member of the government named Tsai Lung, created usable paper, although it appears from archaeological digs that it was actually around in China for more than likely two centuries before Tsai Lung.
Way back in times gone by setting down words was mainly done on bamboo or sometimes on lengths of silk, which were known as Ji in those days. Nevertheless the great price of silk and bamboo being weighty, these two materials were not of great use. Around then Tsai Lun thought of using bark, rags, hemp, and fish nets. In 105AD he put an idea to the emperor regarding the process of paper making and received many accolades for his ideas. Consequently, since those distant days paper has been in use every place and is called the "paper of Marquis Tsai".
If indeed this accolade is relevant, will likely never be uncovered! But the most important consideration is that the discovery was made that if they pounded particular substances taken from plants in to a mash, abolish impurities, place the mash in water, filter it onto textile sheets allowing it to dry. When it dried, it calcified into a firm, tough sheet that turned out to be really light, and providing it was not allowed to come into contact with water, proved extraordinarily robust.
It's a fact that this simple of papermaking techniques is even now in use in exactly the same way in Tibet and Nepal, the first places to pick up the technolgies from what is now the People's Republic of China. A simple frame makes use of a cloth manufactured from cotton stretched over a single side, very watery mush is emptied into the opposite end and spread about until it is level. After which it is suspended somewhere to enable the liquid to drain out of it and the grume to dry in to a sheet of parchment which may be peeled off.
By and by an extremely talented individual realized that making a frame with ribs and putting a fine replaceable bamboo mat across this, would allow the paper-making procedure to be speeded up greatly. Instead of using a single mold for each parchment sheet, severely limiting the amount of sheets that are able to be manufactured at the same time, a stack of sieved paste could be built up layer upon layer, with only a strip of cotton thread between them to help with later separation. The stack would then be pressed gently, and every sheet of mache moved to a place to dry.