Washington sentinel., 1899-03-18
.,,z SENTINEL
The Invention of Paper.
FiyeHls.

S ION OF tue knOWledge OI the art Ol
making it ever since the time Of
our Lord; which is at least 600
years earlier than any other nation,
At the very time the gospel of re-
deeming love was being preached
in Judea, with a view to ITS promul-
gatlon among all the nations of the
earth, the material which was to
play so important a part in its dis
SeminatIon was then being pre-
pared in far distant China; which,
though possibly unknown even by
name TO the Kingdoms Of that age,
was even then an enlightened and
civilized nation the genius to
whom belongs the honor oil the in
veuton was a man named Ts'ai
Lun, who, it appears, was a secre-
tarY at court during the reign of
Kwang WI. the first ruler Of the
Eastern Han dynasty. This prince
reigned between A. d. 25-58, and
was thus contemporary with our
Lord.
Necessity" we are told, "is the
mother OF invention" and doubt
less this was the case in regard to
paper making. Time was, the
Chinese tell US, when having no
written language they had no
special need of papev. Sales OF
landed property we're certified
by means Of a piece OF cord
tied II a certain number Of knots
according TO the amount Of pro-
perty sold, or the price paid for It.
which being given to the purchaser
in the presence Of witnesses was
considered by him a sufficient
receipt for his money, and an
indubItable proof of his title to the
estate. This was similar TO the
custom OF giving shoe" among
the Jews. Of which we read in Ruth
iv. 7. But as time rolled on, and
the populati on increased,t the trans
Ter Of prope rty became more ire
quent; and something more definite
Tnan a piece of cord was found to
be desirable. On this account
probably, the art of writing was
originated; and thenceforth the
deed OF purchase consisted OF a
few letters inscribed upon a piece
of wood. Whether the wood al
first used was a portion Oi the
bamboo Cane-of which the
Chinese make very great use, for
all sorts of purposes, too numerous
to mention-it is impossible for us
now to say. But when writing
became more general, and was
use for literary purposes as we'll
as for such legal ones as we have
already alluded TO, portions Of the
bamboo were generally employed;
the cane being sawn at the Joints,
and then cut into narrow strips;
these were then Joined together
side bv side (accordirg to the
number reuuired) by means Of
string, and the writing was in.
Scrlbed up IN the smooth, or inner
portion OF the c'ne, Here was an
advance in cIv',ization correspond
ing both in time and principle with
the Egyptian custom OF writing
upon the rith Of the papyrus. But
as knowledge increased. literature
begal to be cultivated to a con-
siderable extent, and legal and
historical records became numer-
Gus. It was then found that these
bamboo slips, though very durable,
were very cumOrous; and lighter,
more portable, and less bulky
material was desired. Perhaps
Ts'al Lun, as a court secretary.
was more deeply impressed with
the desirability Of procuring such
a material, especially a he found
the Libraries, or Public Record
Offices under his care, being rap
idly filled with ponderous volumes,
and being OF a practical turn OF
mind he resolved to apply himself
to supply, if possible, the exis ing
want.
We can have little doubt whence
he derived the idea which sug-
geSted the invention. The interior
OF the bamboo is coated with A
smooth, silky looking film. which
can be removed in small pieces
from the harder portions OF the
cane. 1t was upon this film that
the writing TO De preserved was
written. "Ah" thoughtthis Chm
ese genius-quick to perceive that
If this hlm could be procured in
sufficiently large pieces. the wood
which It covered might be dis
pensed with -"ii only I could get
this of, and join it together in
sheets, how convenient it Would
be-" Probably he made several
experiments on some large pieces
Of bamboo; but the film would |
tear, and no amount Of carefulness
would enable him to secure that
beautiful substance in p pjeces large
enough to be serviceable. "Well. |
then" said Ts'ai Lun, when he de.
SPARED Of success by this means
nj l can't manage TO procure sufi
cient OF this stuff, I'll try nv best
to make something like it; and
make 1t in sizes suited TO my pur.
pose" ." OF course Ts'ai Lun
thought in Chinese, and il he ex.
pressed his thoughts to a friend.
he gave expression to them in
Chinese. 1t IS certain that he
neither spoke English, nor vet
what is called in China "Pidgin /
English, for thar barbarous cor
ruption Of our mother tongue was
not then known. We, however.
venture 70 translate his supposed |
utterances INTO English for the
benefit Of our readers.
How lone he yyag o1r,,y.:,-g =: |