Papermaking is an ancient craft. Legend credits Ts'ai-Lun, a Chinese eunuch in the emperor's court, with inventing paper about 105 AD. Specimens were found in the Great Wall of China which date back 200 years earlier. These papers were made from hemp.

Papermaking technology was a guarded secret in China for centuries but traveled to Korea then Japan (about 600 AD). It spread westward along the silk trade routes when the Samarkand people gained the knowledge about 750. India (800-900 AD) and the Arab world adapted the technology to their own materials and uses and soon completely replaced papyrus (which is not paper).

The first mills in Europe were built by the Moors in Spain and Italy during the 11th century. Vellum and parchment (calfskin and sheepskin) were preferred by the church and court scribes. The invention of moveable type and the printing press in 1455 increased demand for paper enormously. Access to ideas and knowledge changed the world. Millions of books (copies) were printed by 1500.

Pulp in the Western World was made from old clothes - hemp, cotton, linen until the end of the 19th century. All paper was made by hand until the beginning of the 19th century when various mechanical paper machines were invented. Large commercial mills have worked steadily since 1840. Paper can be made from about 400 different cellulose fibers, including hemp, kenaf, corn stalk, sugar cane, straw, bamboo, banana, mulberry. Agricultural waste (stalks and husks) from many of our foods can make strong, attractive papers. Paper can be made to be very temporary (newsprint) or can last more than one thousand years. The paper in books printed before the 19th century is still in excellent condition because it was not made from wood pulp.

See a short, related article by William Morris

During the Industrial Revolution fast machines printed books and newspapers. Demand for paper skyrocketed. There weren't enough rags. The Civil War stopped most cotton production and the war effort needed rags for bandages. The shortage of raw materials after the Civil War was critical. All sorts of fibers were tested for commercial papermaking during the 19th century (including cow dung!) Rag was mixed with straw from about 1840 to 1900.

The first use of paper made from wood pulp was little more than 100 years ago (1872). Printers would have nothing to do with it, causing the first wood pulp mills to go out of business. A desperate New England mill shipped wood pulp paper to a Boston newspaper claiming it was rag and straw. The rag and wood mix was found to work well on the press. Industrial chemical (sulfur) and logging suppliers consolidated during the early 1900's and "cheap" paper (as we now assume all paper is!) eventually dominated the marketplace.

Half of all trees felled each year are used for paper, and some estimates cite remaining old growth rest worldwide to be only 2%. The sulfite (wood chip) paper process creates downstream dioxins and the resulting paper doesn't hold up over time, most cannot be recycled if it is glossy or coated. Uncoated woodpulp paper can only be recycled once or twice, whereas hemp, kenaf and cotton can be recycled many times.

Early Period. (206 BC - 220 AD) West Ham Dynasty to East Han Dynasty.

Silk was already availabe for writing and hemp & silk paper was invented in China at this time and produced from fabric scraps. Paper was not yet a popular medium.

Development Period. (265-581 AD) West Jin Dynasty to Sui Dynasty.

The papermaking industry flourished and paper surpassed silk and bamboo as the preferred medium for art and calligraphy.

Leap Period (618-1279) Tang and Song Dynasty.

Varied styles of Chinese paper emerged to suit the needs of the artist.

Peak Period. (1271 - 1911) Yuan, Ming & Qing Dynasties.

After generations of constant development, the technique of making art paper reached its summit. During the period of Shuen-De (1426-1436) in the Ming Dynasty, the excellent art paper made from the fibers of the Qin-tan bush and Sa-Tan rice straw became highly valued for calligraphy and art.