The earliest paper in the world was created by natural forces
involving downed trees and floating bamboo curtains in the Fenghe
River in ancient Chang'an City (present Xi'an, capital of
Shaanxi Province), according to Li Fang, a member of the
International
Association of Paper Historians (IPH) and secretary-general of
the Papermaking Profession Committee of the Public Relations
Association of Shaanxi Province.
Many ancient documents record the use of paper before AD 105, the
year in which Cai Lun is credited with the invention of papermaking
technique, said Li Fang whose recent book, Legend of Chinese
Paper, was published by the People's Publishing House of
Shaanxi after some 20 years of research.
Archeologists have discovered ancient paper relics of the Western
Han Dynasty (206BC-AD25) at eight sites -- such as Xinjiang, Gansu
and Shaanxi -- scattered along the Silk Road. From this Li
Fang concludes that Chinese paper originated along the Silk Road,
specifically in Chang'an City where the Silk Road started.
According to Li Fang, the history of papermaking by villagers in
Beizhang village of Chang'an County, Xi'an, on the east bank of the
Fenghe River, can be traced back over 2,000 years. In recent years,
papermaking troughs, stone ware for pounding paper pulp, stone
mortar for treading wheat stalk have been unearthed in the village.
A folk song that has been widely circulated and sung in the
locality for thousands of years mentions paper coming from the
Fenghe River:
"The characters of Cang Jie [legendary creator of Chinese
characters], Thunder God's bowl, paper came into being in Fenghe
River, curtain was floating in the river, hu hai you, paper came
into being in Fenghe River while curtain floating."
Bolstered by research documents on papermaking and recent material
objects found in the village, Li Fang offers a new interpretation
of these lyrics:
The Fenghe River, which originates in the Qinling ranges, at flood
stages washed away all kinds of trees in Qinling as well as hemp
fibers in cisterns on both banks of the river. The bark and hemp
fibers, mixed with the water, as they floated down the river turned
into the original thin paper pulp.
Meanwhile, bamboo curtains, also washed away by the flood, got
caught up on branches. And here the paper pulp came to hang, little
by little. As the floods ebbed, and the material hanging on the
bamboo curtains dried in the sunlight, pieces of paper came into
being. So it was that people were inspired to invent the original
papermaking technique, handing down the source of their inspiration
in the folk song through the lyrics "paper came into being in
Fenghe River while curtain floating."
Cai Lun during the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD25-220) summed up and
improved the earlier papermaking techniques, and made a report to
the emperor to popularize papermaking techniques, for which Cai Lun
should be credited as the general representative of Chinese paper
inventors, Li Fang said.
(光明日報
[Guangming Daily] by Qin Jian, translated by Zhang Tingting for
china.org.cn, May 22, 2002)