Papermaking is one of the four great inventions in ancient my country. Who invented papermaking? The most common conclusion is that it was Cai Lun, an eunuch of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The main basis is the records in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty.
The book says: Since ancient times, most deeds have been compiled with bamboo slips, and those who use silk are called paper. Silk is expensive and simple and heavy, which is not convenient for people. Lun Nai deliberately used tree skin, hemp heads and poor cloth, and fishnets were used as paper
.In the first year of Yuanxing, I presented it. The emperor was good at what he could do, and he would not fail to use it. Therefore, the world called him "Cai Hou Paper". Therefore, Cai Lun of the Eastern Han Dynasty was regarded as the inventor of paper, and he was honored as the inventor of paper by the Han Dynasty and the emperor.
The time when Liu Zhao presented the paper was regarded as the birth year of the paper.
According to Xu Shen's explanation of paper in "Shuowen Jiezi", the paper mentioned in ancient documents before Cai Lun was made of silk fibers. It was not actually paper, but a by-product of bleached silk. It has been used since ancient times.
To make a piece of Chinese-style plant fiber paper, it generally needs to go through basic operations such as shearing, cooking, beating, suspending, papermaking, shaping and drying.
The paper used in the Western Han Dynasty is not paper in the true sense. From the appearance, the paper is loose, the paper surface is rough, and the thickness varies widely. This is because most of the fibers and fiber bundles are longer, indicating that its cutting degree is poor.
, is formed by the natural accumulation of fibers without going through the basic operations of papermaking such as shearing and beating, so it cannot be considered real paper and is at best a prototype of paper.
Cai Lun and his craftsmen summarized and improved on the basis of predecessors' methods of bleaching catkins and making prototype paper, and transferred the production of paper to an independent industry stage in terms of raw materials and technology for writing. Although, "Cai Lun Paper" will not be
Cai Lun made it by himself, but without his "intention", craftsmen alone would not be able to make plant fiber paper. Therefore, there is sufficient historical basis to regard Cai Lun as the inventor of papermaking.
It's a pity that Su Ren, a guy who came out halfway, completely stopped Eunuch Cai's dream, and another famous eunuch fell like this.
Looking at the paper that Su Ren took out from his arms and spread on the table, Master Yan touched it curiously. It was smooth, white in color, and the toughness looked good. He didn't dare to bend it, not knowing whether it was strong or not.
"Is this the paper Mr. made?"
Su Ren nodded: "Exactly, I already sent people to study it the year before last, and it just happened that it was just built some time ago, and it was delivered to me after I came back yesterday. I didn't expect it to be very good, although it was far from what I expected.
, but it is enough to be used as paper for the Han Dynasty newspaper."
Han Qing also touched it: "This thing is smooth. I wonder what you made it from?"
"you guess!"
Han Qing shook his head: "Looking at it, it shouldn't be silk. Silk is made of different thicknesses. This paper is smooth and whiter. I really can't guess it."
Su Ren turned around and looked at Sima Xiangru and his father Yan. Both of them shook their heads, expressing that they didn't know.
Su Ren picked up the paper, pulled it with both hands, and made a snapping sound: "It's different from what you usually see. This paper is made of Sichuan moso bamboo!"
"Bamboo? Can this thing also make paper?"
"Not only this, but linen, bark, fishing nets, and wild grass are all good materials for making paper. The best paper is made of green sandalwood and straw. It is easy to preserve, not brittle for a long time, not easy to fade, etc., but our paper
Dahan Daily is published on a ten-day basis and does not use such good paper. As long as the paper is well preserved, there will be no problem in three to five years."
"How much does it cost?" Master Fuyan asked the price again.
Su Ren smiled and said: "A piece of bamboo as thick as an arm can make a hundred sheets. If labor is included, three yuan is enough. The price is only one aspect. The more important thing is that it is light. If you use paper to write a book, it will cost only two yuan of one hundred thousand words."
It refers to thickness, and it is much lighter than bamboo slips."
The master's father Yan was overjoyed: "So, the bamboo slips that were originally carried on carts can now be carried in your hands. This improvement, sir, will be written into the history books and will go down in history."
Su Ren scratched his head. He knew what kind of paper Cai Lun's paper was. Not only was it fragile, but it was also yellowed. It was inferior to the yellow paper used on graves during the Qingming Festival. It also had poor water absorption. It was definitely not good for writing in small regular script, so he could only practice writing. His paper
, it took dozens of people and two years to adjust the proportions, add various bleaching and refining materials, and experiment over and over again to achieve the style it has today. Although it cannot be compared with the paper of later generations, it can write thumb-sized characters.
No problem at all.
"Now that the paper is gone, copying is not an easy job! There are only a few hundred copies of the Di newspaper, so just send some scribes. If our Dahan newspaper is true to what Mr. said, it will be sent to all places in the Han Dynasty where there are people, and there are tens of thousands of copies.
No, if it only takes ten days, wouldn't it take thousands of scribes to complete it?" Sima Xiangru remained silent, and he only found out about Su Ren's decision today.
"Stupid! I've thought about this too." Su Ren grabbed a wine bottle, picked up the wine jug, poured some water on the table, and said, "For example, the tabletop is paper. We only need to do this to complete the task."
Several people watched with wide eyes as Su Ren dipped the bottoms of wine bottles and jugs in water, placed them on the dry parts and rubbed them into two rings of different sizes.
"Do you understand?"
The three people frowned, looking at the two rings and thinking with their heads down. Soon, the master stood up suddenly, a little too impatient, and almost overturned the table: "This, this, this..., sir, you are really good at it!"
Although Master Yan had evil intentions, he was not as smart as Sima Xiangru and Han Qing. He discovered the key instantly, staring at the two rings with his eyes full of excitement.
Han Qing thought for a moment and shook his head slightly: "I still don't understand!"
Su Ren smiled, picked up the wine glass, and winked at the master's father Yan who was eager to try. The master's father Yan quickly said: "Rubbing! Sir, what you mean is to make the characters into a mold now, and then print it on the paper, which also saves the time.
Copy it over and over, and as long as the mold is not broken, you can keep using it."
"But there are so many different sentences, how can we use just one for them all?"
Master Yan grabbed the wine bottle with one hand and lifted the wine pot with the other: "Just separate all the words and combine them when needed. Isn't that all it takes?"
Only then did Sima Xiangru understand. He slapped the table and said: "Wonderful, very wonderful! Make a few more commonly used characters, which can be changed at any time. Make a few rare characters, and then make a box, specify the size of all the characters, and arrange them.
, although it is not as elegant as calligraphy, it does not affect the meaning, and it is very consistent with the principle of popularizing it among the people!"
That's the case with Su Ren. He doesn't want to tell everything all by himself, as that would make him look too weird. We are all smart people. As long as we have a little hint, the rest of the problems will be solved slowly. Just like movable type printing.
Likewise, he made a suggestion, and a few people immediately completed it. As for how to find the needed characters among a bunch of characters, he didn't care about it because it belonged to taxonomy. One day, someone will discover this rule and complete the real movable type printing process.
.
With this discovery, several people could no longer sit still. Sima Xiangru was going to find a carpenter. He thought that wood was the most suitable for making characters, and hardwood must be used. Han Qing was going to find a stonemason. He felt that stone characters were durable.
Master Fuyan couldn't wait to do the experiment. He said he wanted to carve a few of them himself and print them with ink to see. Without waiting for Su Ren to say anything, they turned around and left one by one without being able to stop them.
Su Ren sat elegantly on his seat, looking at the three hurried figures, drinking wine and eating dishes with a smile. It was easy to say anything without having to do anything himself. When a few people hit the wall, they would naturally come back to him. At this time, he was
A spectator.
As the meal ended, Cuixiang Building gradually became deserted. The remaining guests had nothing important to do and drank and chatted leisurely. After noon, there were more people on the street. Su Ren put down his chopsticks and was satisfied.
I burped, drank the last sip of wine, said hello to the shopkeeper, and left Cuixiang Building. It was already June, the temperature outside was very high, and the bustling crowd made it even more stuffy.
Su Ren took off his outer robe, put it on his arm, threw off his arms and walked north. After passing the West Market, he continued north. Huang Shisan quickly followed up and asked: "Sir, where are you going?"
After the assassination incident, everyone in the Su family became vigilant. Women were usually not allowed to go out. Even Su Ren, who had no fighting ability, had to tell where he was going and when he would be back before going out. If the time passed, everyone would be anxious.
Huang Shisan and Man Niu were given a stern order to send someone home immediately to report any impromptu actions of Su Ren.
Su Ren pointed to the front: "Go see an old friend."
"Who? Where?" Huang Shisan stretched out his arms to prevent Su Ren from passing by.
Su Ren was a little helpless: "Your Yinhou Mansion, you also know the person you want to see."
"Oh!" Huang Shisan then moved out of the way, grabbed a guard, and asked him to go back and report immediately.
Xia Houpo, the Marquis of Ruyin, lived in the north of the city, next to Weiyang Palace. No one dared to walk here usually. There were guards on the palace walls, and there were 800 private soldiers in Ruyinhou Mansion, and the entire street was full of Ru people.
In Yinhou's mansion, ordinary people have nothing to do here. Moreover, Xiahou Po only occupies a title and does not serve in the court, so the streets seem deserted.
I looked around and saw a tall palace wall on one side and a long flower wall on the other. The plants and flowers in the Hou Mansion grew well, and many grew out of the flower wall, occupying a wide street. Especially the moso bamboo,
The exposed wall is more than one foot high and lush with greenery, even blocking the sun.
As soon as a group of armed men entered the street, people from the Hou Mansion discovered them. Someone quickly reported to Xiahou Po, who trembled in his hands and dropped the water bowl, breaking it into eight pieces.
"Is it really him?"
The soldier who reported the news nodded and said: "I can see clearly that it is Su Zhonglang, and he is accompanied by thirty or fifty people, each with weapons!"
"It's still here!" Xiahou was confused: "Didn't you say that the matter was over? You came to take revenge. Quick, close the door and no one is allowed in!"
Mo Cong shook his head and smiled bitterly: "You are calm and don't be impatient. I see that Su Ren may not be seeking revenge."
"Why is he here if he isn't seeking revenge? I have never interacted with him!"
"Perhaps he is here to visit you. You can rest assured, since Su Ren has let you go in Shangzhou, he will not go back on his word!" (To be continued)