The history of real paper happened in China. Like the people of Egypt, the Chinese had, virtually five thousand years ago, brought out a pictographic form of writing. The Egyptians too had been using many different kinds of things to scribe on, usually strips of bamboo and silk woven into a fine fabric and possibly the barkcloth they made for other purposes derived out of the Paper. Mulberry was made use of as well.
Historical documentation points to the fact that in 105 years after the birth of Christ an official named Tsai Lung, developed paper, although it is clear from finds by archaeologists that it was actually around in South East Asia for more than likely two hundred years before him.
Way back during times gone by setting down words was mainly done on some form of bamboo or occasionally on pieces of silk, which were known as Ji in those days. But the prohibitive cost of silk and the weight of bamboo, these materials were inconvenient. At this time Tsai Lun came up with the idea of utilizing the bark from trees, fish nets, rags, and hemp. In 105AD he made a report to the emperor with regard to the process of paper making and received high praise for his ideas. From that period paper has been in use universally and is called the "paper of Marquis Tsai".
Whether this particular claim is relevant, will probably not ever be known! Nevertheless the major consideration is that it was discovered that if they ground certain compounds derived from plant material into a mache, cut out impure materials, place the mache in water, sieve it onto textile sheets and allow it to dry. When it dried, it consolidated into a firm, firm sheet that turned out to be really light, and as long as it was not allowed to come into contact with water, proved remarkably dense.
This most simple of papermaking technologies is still practised in exactly a similar way around Nepal and Tibet, the very first regions to pick up the craft from what is now the People's Republic of China. A simple frame utilises a kind of cotton cloth stretched over one side, diluted grume is poured in to the far end and spread about until it has become even. Then it is suspended so that it will enable the liquid to drain and the mash to dry into a paper sheet which can be removed by stripping off.
At some point in time a very clever individual worked out that building a frame with ribbing and putting a delicate bamboo mat that is removable over this, would let the paper-making process to be quickened incredibly. Rather than tying up one mould for every sheet of parchment, consequently severely restricting the number of sheets that may be manufactured at the same time, a stack of sieved mush 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 pressed lightly, and each layer of pulp moved to a board to dry.