The story of proper paper began in South East Asia. Similar to the Egyptians, the Chinese had, almost 50 centuries in the past, invented a style of pictographic writing. The Egyptians also had been utilizing various kinds of objects to scribe on, most commonly pieces of bamboo and silk woven into a fine fabric and it is possible that the barkcloth they made for other uses from the Paper. Mulberry was made use of also.
Legend tells us that in 105 years after the birth of Christ a government worker going by the name of Tsai Lung, developed paper, although it is almost certain from finds by archaeologists that it was actually around in what is now the People's Republic of China for more than likely two hundred years prior to him.
Back in ancient times writing was mainly done on some derivative of bamboo or sometimes on lengths of silk, which were called Ji in those days. However, the soaring cost of silk and bamboo being heavy, these two materials were inconvenient. Around then Tsai Lun came up with the idea of using bark from trees, rags, fish nets, and hemp. In 105AD he delivered a report to the emperor about the process of paper manufacture and received many accolades for his idea. From that period paper has been used everywhere and is called the "paper of Marquis Tsai".
Whether the above title is accurate, will probably not ever be known! Nonetheless the most important consideration is that it was discovered that they could grind some plant derived substances in to a mash, expunge unwanted substances, float the mash in liquid, sieve it out onto fabric sheets giving it time to dry. After the drying process was complete, it compacted into a hard, robust sheet that was decidedly light, and provided that it was not allowed to come into contact with water, turned out to be extraordinarily durable.
It's a fact that this most simple of papermaking technologies is still practised in precisely the same way in Tibet and Nepal, the initial countries to learn the techniques from China. A simple frame makes use of a cloth made from cotton made to stretch over a side, thin grume is situated into the opposite end and spread about until it has become even. Then it is left suspended that will allow the water to drain out of it and the paste to dry into a sheet of paper which can be peeled off.
As time went by a developer with great skills worked out that making a frame with ribs and putting in place a fine replaceable bamboo mat over it, would enable the paper-making process to be quickened to a great degree. Instead of utilizing one mould for each parchment sheet, severely restricting the number of sheets that can be produced 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 to enable later separation. The stack would then be squeezed very gently, and every layer of pulp shifted to a board to dry.