The history of proper paper began in China. Similar to the people of Egypt, the Chinese had, nearly five thousand years in the past, invented a pictographic type of writing. They too had been making use of various objects to write upon, most usually pieces of bamboo and processed silk and it is possible that the barkcloth they used for other reasons derived from the Paper. Mulberry was also used.
Historical documentation tells us that in 105 years after the birth of Christ an official going by the name of Tsai Lung, brought out papyrus, though it seems from archaeological digs that actually it was being used in what is now the People's Republic of China for more than likely two hundred years before him.
Way back during ancient times gone by setting down words was mainly done on bamboo or occasionally on strips of silk, which were known as Ji in those days. However, silk being expensive and bamboo being very heavy, these two materials were inconvenient. Then Tsai Lun came up with the idea of utilizing tree bark, hemp, fish nets, and rags. In 105AD he made a report to the emperor regarding the process of paper manufacture and was endowed with high accolade for his thoughts. From those distant days paper has been utilized universally and is known as the "paper of Marquis Tsai".
If this historical reference is Tsai's entitlement or not, will very likely not ever be known! Nonetheless the most important thing is that it was discovered that if they pounded particular substances derived from plant matter into a pulp, throw out spume, float the pulp in liquid, screen it out onto textile sheets giving it time to dry. When it dried, it caked into a firm, firm sheet that turned out to be remarkably light, and providing it did not get damp or wet, proved astonishingly durable.
This the most simple of paper making technologies is even now in use in precisely a similar way within Nepal and Tibet, the very first regions to make use of the craft from South East Asia. A basic frame utilizes a cloth manufactured from cotton stretched over a single side, thin paste is situated in to the opposite side and moved around until it is level. Then it is left in order for it to enable the water to leave it and the grume to dry into a sheet of paper which will be able to be removed by stripping off.
Eventually an extremely talented individual came to realize that manufacturing a frame with ribbing and putting in place a delicate removable bamboo mat across it, would allow the paper-making procedure to be quickened to a much greater degree. Rather than tying up a single mold for each parchment sheet, therefore severely limiting the number of sheets that can be manufactured at one time, a stack of sieved mush was able to be built up a layer at a time, with merely a piece of cotton thread between them to facilitate separation at a later time. The stack would then be pressed lightly, and every layer of mash transferred to a dry place.