The story of true paper started in China. Like the Egyptians, the Chinese had, nearly fifty centuries ago, invented a pictographic form of writing. They too had been making use of various types of objects to scribe upon, most usually strips of bamboo and silk woven into a fine fabric and it is possible that the barkcloth they used for other purposes derived from the Paper. Mulberry was made use of too.
Legend tells us that in 105AD an official named Tsai Lung, created usable paper, though it appears from finds by archaeologists that it was in fact being worked with in what is now the People's Republic of China for probably two hundred years before Tsai Lung.
Way back during ancient times gone by setting down words or pictograms was mainly done on bamboo or on pieces of silk, which were known as Ji then. Nonetheless the cost of silk and bamboo being weighty, these materials were not of great use. Then Tsai Lun thought of utilizing bark from trees, fish nets, rags, and hemp. In 105 years after the birth of Christ he submitted a report to the emperor with regard to the process of paper manufacture and got many accolades for his idea. Consequently, since those distant days paper has been utilized everywhere and is known as the "paper of Marquis Tsai".
If indeed this historical reference is Marquis Tsai's entitlement, will likely not ever be known! Nevertheless what is important is that it was discovered that they could grind some compounds taken from plant material in to a paste, remove unwanted substances, place the paste in liquid, filter it out onto textile sheets and allow it to dry. After drying, it compacted into a firm, dense sheet that was incredibly light, and as long as it was not allowed to get damp or wet, turned out to be really durable.
This easiest of paper making techniques is even now in use in exactly the same way around Nepal and Tibet, the first regions to take the techniques from South East Asia. A basic frame makes use of a cloth made from cotton made to stretch over a side, thin mash is situated into the opposite end and moved around until it is even. After which it is left hanging in order for it to enable the water to leave it and the mache to dry into a sheet of parchment which may be stripped off.
It eventually came to pass that a very clever individual realized that building a frame with an arrangement of ribbing and putting a delicate replaceable bamboo mat over this, would allow the paper-making procedure to be speeded up fantastically. Instead of utilizing one mould for each sheet of paper, therefore severely restricting the number of sheets that could be produced at the same time, a stack of sieved mush was able to be built up a layer at a time, with just a piece of cotton thread between them to help with separation at a later time. The stack would then be pressed very slightly, and every layer of pulp transferred to a place to dry.