In the year 105 AD, the Han court official Cai Lun presented to Emperor He a new writing material made from tree bark, hemp waste, rags and old fishing nets, pulped and spread out on a screen to dry. Archaeologists have found older paper in tombs from the second century BC, so Cai Lun probably improved an existing process. Paper was cheaper than silk or bamboo strips and easier to make than parchment. It reached the Islamic world after the Battle of Talas in 751 and Europe in the twelfth century, and made possible the spread of books and, in time, printing.
Before and after
- c. 100sConstruction of Trajan's Forum
- 1st centuryConstruction of Tower of Hercules
- 100 CEBirth of Ptolemy
- from 101 CE to 106 CETrajan's Dacian Wars
- 105 CECai Lun reports the invention of paper
- from 106 CE to 107 CETrajan conquers Dacia
- 113 CETrajan's Column
- from 115 CE to 117 CETrajan's Parthian campaign
- 117 CEThe Roman Empire reaches its greatest extent
More in Science & technology
- 370 BCEDeath of Hippocrates
- 190 BCEBirth of Hipparchus
- 63 BCEBirth of Strabo
- 170 CEDeath of Ptolemy
- 360 CEBirth of Hypatia
- 476 CEBirth of Aryabhata
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 2nd century.