<P> Although it is recorded that the Han Dynasty ( 202 BC -- AD 220 ) court eunuch Cai Lun ( 50 AD -- AD 121 ) invented the pulp papermaking process and established the use of new materials used in making paper , ancient padding and wrapping paper artifacts dating to the 2nd century BC have been found in China , the oldest example of pulp papermaking being a map from Fangmatan , Tianshui ; by the 3rd century , paper as a writing medium was in widespread use , replacing traditional but more expensive writing mediums such as strips of bamboo rolled into threaded scrolls , strips of silk , wet clay tablets hardened later in a furnace , and wooden tablets . The earliest known piece of paper with writing on it was discovered in the ruins of a Chinese watchtower at Tsakhortei , Alxa League , where Han Dynasty troops had deserted their position in AD 110 following a Xiongnu attack . In the paper making process established by Cai in 105 , a boiled mixture of mulberry tree bark , hemp , old linens and fish nets created a pulp that was pounded into paste and stirred with water ; a wooden frame sieve with a mat of sewn reeds was then dunked into the mixture , which was then shaken and then dried into sheets of paper that were bleached under the exposure of sunlight ; K.S. Tom says this process was gradually improved through leaching , polishing and glazing to produce a smooth , strong paper . Paper is used a lot . </P>
<P> Although it is recorded that the Han Dynasty ( 202 BC -- AD 220 ) court eunuch Cai Lun ( 50 AD -- AD 121 ) invented the pulp papermaking process and established the use of new materials used in making paper , ancient padding and wrapping paper artifacts dating to the 2nd century BC have been found in China , the oldest example of pulp papermaking being a map from Fangmatan , Tianshui ; by the 3rd century , paper as a writing medium was in widespread use , replacing traditional but more expensive writing mediums such as strips of bamboo rolled into threaded scrolls , strips of silk , wet clay tablets hardened later in a furnace , and wooden tablets . The earliest known piece of paper with writing on it was discovered in the ruins of a Chinese watchtower at Tsakhortei , Alxa League , where Han Dynasty troops had deserted their position in AD 110 following a Xiongnu attack . In the paper making process established by Cai in 105 , a boiled mixture of mulberry tree bark , hemp , old linens and fish nets created a pulp that was pounded into paste and stirred with water ; a wooden frame sieve with a mat of sewn reeds was then dunked into the mixture , which was then shaken and then dried into sheets of paper that were bleached under the exposure of sunlight ; K.S. Tom says this process was gradually improved through leaching , polishing and glazing to produce a smooth , strong paper . Paper is used a lot . </P>
who takes credit for the invention of paper in china
who takes credit for the invention of paper in china
court eunuch Cai Lun
court eunuch Cai Lun