The story of genuine paper happened in China. Similar to the Egyptians, the Chinese had, virtually 5000 years in the past, brought out a type of writing that used pictures. They also had been utilizing various types of objects to scribe upon, notably lengths of bamboo and silk woven into a fine fabric and it is possible that the barkcloth they used for other uses from the Paper. Mulberry was used as well.
Historical documentation leads us to believe that in 105AD a government worker called Tsai Lung, invented usable paper, though it is clear from archaeological finds that it was actually in existence in South East Asia for at least two hundred years prior to Tsai Lung.
Way back in times gone by setting down words was generally done on bamboo or sometimes on strips of silk, which were known as Ji in those days. However, silk being expensive and bamboo being weighty, these two materials were not of great use. Due to these factors Tsai Lun thought of using bark from trees, rags, hemp, and fish nets. In 105 years after the birth of Christ he made a report to the emperor regarding the process of making paper and was endowed with many accolades for his thoughts. Consequently, from those distant times paper has been availed of every place and is called the "paper of Marquis Tsai".
If indeed the above historical tag is accurate, will likely not ever be known! Nonetheless the important factor has to be that it was found that they could grind some compounds derived from plants in to a mush, take out unwanted substances, float the mush in water, screen it onto cloth sheets giving it enough time to dry out. After the drying process was complete, it dried into a firm, durable sheet that was surprisingly light, and as long as it was not allowed to get damp or wet, proved particularly robust.
It's a fact that this simple of papermaking technologies is still practised in precisely the same way within Tibet and Nepal, the initial regions to take the technolgies from what is now the People's Republic of China. A basic frame has a cloth made from cotton made to stretch over a side, diluted pulp is put into the opposite side and moved around until it is smooth. It is then left in order for it to allow the liquid to drain and the paste to dry into a sheet of parchment which will be able to be stripped off.
Eventually a clever developer realized that constructing a frame with ribbing and placing a delicate removable bamboo mat over it, would enable the paper-making process to be speeded up greatly. Instead of using one mould for each paper sheet, consequently severely limiting the number of sheets that could be manufactured at the same time, a stack of sieved mash could be built up a layer at a time, with only a piece of cotton thread between them which would help with later separation. The stack would then be pressed very lightly, and every sheet of grume shifted to a dry board.