Bamboo, wood chips and silk are also found as writing materials. But because silk is too expensive and bamboo chips are too heavy, paper was invented. According to textual research, the production of paper began in the Western Han Dynasty and was perfected in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Paper was widely circulated in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. Because of its wide use, papermaking has been further improved. Paper raw materials are also diversified. There are many kinds of paper, such as bamboo curtain paper, rattan paper, fish egg paper, etc ... Cai Lun has a wide range of papermaking raw materials. Paper made of rotten fishing nets is called net paper, and paper made of rags is called cloth paper. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the famous Xuan paper was born. There is a legend in Xuanzhou, Anhui Province, the main producing area of Xuan paper: Cai Lun's apprentice Kong Dan, who made paper in southern Anhui, always wanted to make a particularly ideal white paper for his master to paint and trim the score. But after many experiments, it can't be realized. Once, he happened to see some sandalwood trees lying beside the mountain stream, which had been corroded by water for a long time and had rotted and turned white. Later, he made paper with this bark and finally succeeded. It can be concluded that using bark as rice paper has been very popular in the Tang Dynasty. On the basis of the previous generation of yellow paper dyed in the Tang Dynasty, wax was evenly coated on the paper to make the paper have the advantages of luster, luster and beauty, which is called hard yellow paper. The paper industry of the Five Dynasties continued to develop. Zhangzhou's Chengxin Tang paper was always considered as the best paper until the Northern Song Dynasty. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the paper industry flourished and innovated constantly. All kinds of stationery are popular again, and white paper and elegant paper are highly respected in texture, with bright and quiet colors, such as pastel paper and printing and dyeing paper in Kanggan period. By the Qing Dynasty, the production of paper had reached a perfect level.
With the development of Oracle bones and the appearance of papermaking in history, Cai Lun became a figure in history. This is the beginning of China paper culture.
1. papermaking:
Generally, it is made from the aqueous suspension of plant fibers through pulping, staggered combination on the net, preliminary dehydration, compression and drying. China was the first country in the world to invent paper. According to archaeological findings, in the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC to 8 BC), China already had hemp fiber paper. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, paper culture and silk weaving were integrated. Cai Lun invented papermaking in 105. Since the Jin Dynasty, many famous painters and calligraphers have appeared in China. After the Sui Dynasty unified the north and south, the Tang and Song Dynasties inherited and developed the achievements of papermaking for hundreds of years. With the prevalence of Buddhism, the demand for paper has increased sharply, and the raw materials have been expanded to rattan and mulberry bark, coarse cloth or stone, and hemp fiber is bleached by sun and night to make paper. In the Southern Song Dynasty, bamboo paper was abundant in southern China. By the Ming Dynasty, China had perfected the technology of making paper from bamboo. At that time, Song's Tiangong systematically described the production process of making paper with bamboo, with illustrations of production equipment and operation process. After hundreds of years in Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, by the middle of Qing Dynasty, China's hand-made paper was quite developed, with advanced quality and various varieties, which became the material conditions for the development and spread of China culture for thousands of years.
2. origami and paper cutting:
The art of hollowing out paper and other sheet materials with scissors and meat cutters has been listed in the intangible cultural heritage list. Paper-cutting has been in a period of great development in the Tang Dynasty, and the handicraft art of paper-cutting has matured and reached its peak in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Subject: animals, people, plants, stories, myths and legends. Lotus paper cutting
Carving methods: positive engraving, negative engraving, yin-yang engraving, etc.