The story of genuine paper started in what is now the People's Republic of China. Similar to the people of Egypt, the Chinese had, virtually five thousand years ago, developed a style of writing that used images. They too had been utilizing many different types of things to scribe on, most usually lengths of bamboo and silk woven into a fine fabric and possibly the barkcloth they were making for other purposes from the Paper. Mulberry was made use of also.
Legend tells us that in 105 years after the birth of Christ a member of the government named Tsai Lung, invented papyrus, although it appears from archaeological finds that actually it was in existence in South East Asia for probably two centuries prior to him.
Back in ancient times setting down words or pictograms was mainly done on some derivative of bamboo or on strips of silk, which were then called ji. Nevertheless the soaring cost of silk and bamboo being weighty, these two materials were not of great use. Around then Tsai Lun thought of using the bark from trees, fish nets, rags, and hemp. In 105AD he submitted a report to the emperor regarding the process of paper manufacture and received much praise for his inventions. From those days paper has been availed of all over the world and is known as the "paper of Marquis Tsai".
Whether the above title is Tsai's entitlement or not, will very likely not ever be known! Nonetheless the major factor has to be that they discovered that they could grind particular compounds derived from plant material into a mash, shed impure substances, put the mash in liquid, sieve it onto cloth sheets and allow it to dry. When it dried, it consolidated into a firm, resilient sheet that turned out to be really light, and providing it was not allowed to come into contact with water, turned out to be extraordinarily tough.
This the easiest of paper making technologies is still being used in exactly a similar way in and around Nepal and Tibet, the very first places to take the technolgies from China. A simple frame utilizes a type of cotton cloth stretched over a single side, diluted pulp is poured in to the far side and moved around until it has reached an even state. After which it is suspended that will allow the water to drain and the mush to dry in to a paper sheet which can be removed.
It eventually came to pass that a talented developer worked out that constructing a frame with ribs and putting a fine bamboo mat that is removable across it, would let the paper-making process to be accelerated enormously. Instead of tying up one mold for each sheet of parchment, therefore severely restricting the number of sheets that can be produced at the same time, a stack of sieved grume could be built up layer upon layer, with only a strip of cotton thread between them in order to help with separation at a later time. The stack would then be squeezed very slightly, and every sheet of mache transferred to a dry place.