The invention of paper
The Invention of Paper
Try to imagine a life without paper. Even in this era of emails and digital books, paper is all around us. Shopping bags, paper money, store receipts, cereal boxes, toilet paper, etc., prove we use paper in many ways every day. Islamic people helped spread paper to the west, where paper started to be produced more and more and finally, printed as we know it today. But, Before Muslims spread paper into the west; recently, archeologist’s extravagated letters written in Sogdian, a no longer used language. Dating between the fourth through sixth centuries these are examples of paper written in non-Chinese writing. The invention of paper had a great impact on China (and eventually the entire world) because it was more convenient, enhanced intellectual knowledge, and made writing easier.
Because of paper, convenience improved greatly. Before paper, people used silk (that was very expensive), wood (that was very thick), and bamboo to write on. Silk required brushes, so people had to carry a lot of brushes with them in order to write on silk. Silk was very expensive, so only Kings, Emperors, and Mandarins could get some. It was the best writing material before paper because it was durable, soft, and not as heavy as bamboo and wood. Wood required carving, was very thick and heavy, and writing on it took very long. There was a limited resource for wood. Bamboo was very heavy to carry, but it was used widely because it was the cheapest material to buy and write upon. However, it was very hard to transport because of its weight and thickness. Since this was before there were trucks or planes for transportation, it took a long time to deliver. On the other hand, paper is light and thin, so much more could be transported at one time, making it much more convenient. Paper is light, so when paper was transported on animals, the animal did not feel much weight. A lot of paper could be put on the animal, resulting in quicker communication and more
Try to imagine a life without paper. Even in this era of emails and digital books, paper is all around us. Shopping bags, paper money, store receipts, cereal boxes, toilet paper, etc., prove we use paper in many ways every day. Islamic people helped spread paper to the west, where paper started to be produced more and more and finally, printed as we know it today. But, Before Muslims spread paper into the west; recently, archeologist’s extravagated letters written in Sogdian, a no longer used language. Dating between the fourth through sixth centuries these are examples of paper written in non-Chinese writing. The invention of paper had a great impact on China (and eventually the entire world) because it was more convenient, enhanced intellectual knowledge, and made writing easier.
Because of paper, convenience improved greatly. Before paper, people used silk (that was very expensive), wood (that was very thick), and bamboo to write on. Silk required brushes, so people had to carry a lot of brushes with them in order to write on silk. Silk was very expensive, so only Kings, Emperors, and Mandarins could get some. It was the best writing material before paper because it was durable, soft, and not as heavy as bamboo and wood. Wood required carving, was very thick and heavy, and writing on it took very long. There was a limited resource for wood. Bamboo was very heavy to carry, but it was used widely because it was the cheapest material to buy and write upon. However, it was very hard to transport because of its weight and thickness. Since this was before there were trucks or planes for transportation, it took a long time to deliver. On the other hand, paper is light and thin, so much more could be transported at one time, making it much more convenient. Paper is light, so when paper was transported on animals, the animal did not feel much weight. A lot of paper could be put on the animal, resulting in quicker communication and more