The history of genuine paper started in China. Like the people of Egypt, the Chinese had, almost five thousand years in the past, created a style of writing that used images. They too had been utilizing many different kinds of things to write on, notably lengths of bamboo and silk woven into a fine fabric and it is possible that the barkcloth they made for other purposes derived out of the Paper. Mulberry was ased too.
Historical documentation points to the fact that in 105 years after the birth of Christ an official called Tsai Lung, developed paper, though it seems from archaeological finds that it was actually around in what is now the People's Republic of China for at least two hundred years before him.
Back during ancient times gone by setting down words was usually done on bamboo or occasionally on strips of silk, which were called Ji in those days. Nevertheless the cost of silk and bamboo being heavy, these materials were not of great use. Due to this Tsai Lun came up with the idea of using the bark from trees, hemp, rags, and fish nets. In 105AD he submitted a report to the emperor about the process of making paper and got high praise for his inventions. From those distant days paper has been availed of everywhere and is known as the "paper of Marquis Tsai".
Whether this historical reference is Marquis Tsai's entitlement, will likely never be uncovered! Nonetheless the important thing must be that it was found that they could grind certain plant derived substances into a grume, cut out impure substances, put the grume in water, screen it onto textile sheets giving it enough time to dry out. When fully dried, it calcified into a hard, tenacious sheet that turned out to be very light, and providing it was not allowed to get wet, proved really tough.
It's a fact that this extremely simple of paper making technologies is even now in use in precisely the same way in Tibet and Nepal, the very first places to take the craft from South East Asia. A basic frame has a cloth manufactured from cotton stretched over a single side, diluted mache is emptied in to the far end and moved around until it has reached a level. Then it is left in order for it to let the liquid to leave it and the paste to dry in to a sheet of paper which will be able to be removed by peeling.
By and by a developer with great skills figured that making a frame with ribs and putting in place a fine replaceable bamboo mat across it, would enable the procedure to be speeded up greatly. Rather than tying up one mold for every paper sheet, therefore severely limiting the amount of sheets that may be manufactured at the same time, a stack of sieved mush could be built up a layer at a time, with merely a strip of cotton thread between them to help with later separation. The stack would then be squeezed lightly, and each layer of pulp transferred to a board to dry.