The history of genuine paper started in China. Like the indigenous people of Egypt, the Chinese had, nearly 5,000 years in the past, developed a pictographic style of writing. The Egyptians too had been making use of many different kinds of things to write upon, most commonly pieces of bamboo and processed silk and possibly the barkcloth they were making for other reasons from the Paper. Mulberry was ased too.
Legend leads us to believe that in 105 years after the birth of Christ a government worker called Tsai Lung, created usable paper, although it appears from archaeological discoveries that it was in fact around in South East Asia for more than likely two centuries before him.
During ancient times gone by writing was generally on some form of bamboo or occasionally on strips of silk, which were known as Ji in those days. Nonetheless the soaring cost of silk and bamboo being too heavy, these materials were not convenient. Around then Tsai Lun thought of using bark from trees, fish nets, hemp, and rags. In 105AD he submitted a report to the emperor regarding the production of paper and received much praise for his thoughts. Consequently, from those days paper has been availed of globally and is called the "paper of Marquis Tsai".
Whether the above historical tag is relevant or not, will probably never be uncovered! However, the most important thing has to be that it was found that if they pounded certain compounds derived from plant matter into a paste, depose spume, put the paste in water, filter it onto textile sheets allowing it to dry. When it dried, it compressed into a hard, tough sheet that was particularly light, and providing it was not allowed to come into contact with water, proved surprisingly durable.
This the most simple of papermaking technologies is still being used in exactly the same way within Nepal and Tibet, the initial countries to make use of the technolgies from what is now the People's Republic of China. A basic frame makes use of a cloth manufactured from cotton stretched over a single side, watery grume is put in to the opposite side and spread about until it is level. Then it is left so that it will let the liquid to drain out of it and the mache to dry into a sheet of parchment which may be stripped off.
By and by a talented developer worked out that manufacturing a frame with ribs and putting a delicate bamboo mat that is removable across it, would allow the paper-making procedure to be quickened fantastically. Instead of utilizing a single mould for each sheet of paper, consequently severely limiting the amount of sheets that could be produced at one time, a stack of sieved mush could be built up a layer at a time, with only a piece of cotton thread between them which would help with separation at a later time. The stack would then be pressed very lightly, and every sheet of mash transferred to a dry place.