Cai Lun
Cai Lun, formerly romanized as Ts'ai Lun, courtesy name Jingzhong, was a Chinese inventor and eunuch court official of the Han dynasty. He is traditionally regarded as the inventor of paper and the papermaking process, in forms recognizable in modern times as paper. Although early forms of paper had existed in China since the 2nd century BCE, he was responsible for significant improvements and standardization of papermaking by adding essential new materials into its composition.
Cai Lun was born in Leiyang, , into a poor family and came to the imperial court as eunuch by at least 75 CE under Emperor Ming. Emperor Ming died the same year and was succeeded by Emperor Zhang, whose reign saw various power struggles between imperial consorts. Cai's early positions involved much contact with the consorts and powerful politicians, something that would prove consequential later in his life. After serving the Emperor He as a political counselor, Cai as assisted him in regaining power over Dowager Empress Dou and for his service was promoted to the head of Imperial Supply Department, offering him the perfect opportunity for experimentation of new weapons and materials, including paper. In 105 CE Cai Lun perfected the paper making process with the use of tree bark, hemp waste, old rags, and fishnets. This greatly impressed the emperor and spread Cai's fame throughout the empire. His invention, service and early association with powerful officials eventually led to him being granted the title of Marquis and the lord of a small village in 114 CE. He would commit suicide in 121 CE after a false rumor spread about his intentions to harm the newly ascended Emperor An.
Cai Lun's contributions to the modernization of paper have been enormously impactful on human history, spreading literature and new ways of communication around the world. However, he is mostly unknown outside of East Asia and in China is revered in ancestor worship and deified as the god of papermaking. Out of China's so called Four Great Inventions – the compass, gunpowder, papermaking and printing – Cai Lun's standardization of papermaking makes him the only inventor of those 4 inventions whose name has not been lost to history.
Life and career
Early life
Cai Lun was born in c. 50 CE Leiyang, ancient, during the Han Dynasty. Modern accounts of Cai's birthplace are often conflicting, likely due to the ancient Guiyang County sharing a name with the unrelated modern day Guiyang County and the city of Guiyang. While Leiyang's name remains unchanged from the Han Dynasty, the ancient Guiyang county is now the prefecture-level city of Chenzhou in the Hunan province. However, it is worth noting that modern day Leiyang is now under the jurisdiction of the city of Hengyang rather than Chenzhou. Cai's birth year is unknown, although it has been estimated to be c. 50 CE, with some estimates specifying 57 CE or 62 CE. Almost nothing is known about his early life except that he was born into a poor family. Legends suggest that there was a pool near his home, south of which was a stone mortar that Cai would later use for papermaking.Imperial court service
It is not known how Cai Lun came to be in the service of the imperial court in the 70s CE. Leiyang had recently attracted attention from the government due to its newly discovered surplus of iron, copper and zinc. Ancient sources report that an iron foundry was founded to harvest the iron and transported it to the central government in Luoyang. Former director of The Paper Museum in Tokyo, Kiyofusa Narita, suggests that Cai may have traveled to the capital city by funds from the Iron foundry. Narita cites Cai's future court appointment to oversee the production of weapons, especially swords, as evidence that he must have learned the skills to do so earlier in his life, likely from the iron foundry.However his appointment came about, Cai was known to have been castrated as a court eunuch by at least 75 CE, under Emperor Ming. Cai's position was probably as a liaison between the privy council and the emperor, and also likely involved duties akin to a chamberlain for the royal family. Narita notes that this role would mean that Cai would have had many chances to become acquainted with some of the most powerful men in China. 75 CE also saw the death of Emperor Ming, who whose successor, Emperor Zhang, appointed Cai as a Gentleman at the Yellow Gates around 80 CE. The climate in the court was increasingly unstable since Liu Qing, Emperor Zhang’s son from his concubine Consort Song, was the designated heir. This enraged Empress Dou, Emperor Zhang’s favorite concubine and designated empress, since she desired her adopted son, Prince Zhao, to be the heir. Empress Dou, her mother Princess Piyang, and her 4 brothers planned to ruin the reputation of Consort Song and her sister, another imperial consort, in order to have her adopted son crowned prince. The Dou family's opportunity came in 82 CE when Consort Song became ill and asked for herbs, leading Empress Dou to falsely accuse her of planning to use the herbs as some sort of witchcraft to harm Emperor Zhang. Empress Dou then convinced Cai to interrogate Consort Song and her sister, to force a confession; they both killed themselves. Believing Empress Dou's accusation, Emperor Zhang removed Liu Qing as heir and appointed Prince Zhao.
In 88 CE Emperor Zhang died and was succeeded by Prince Zhao, who was now Emperor He. Since Emperor He was 9–10 years old, Empress Dou took control as an Empress dowager and secured her family's authority by giving various positions to her brothers Dou Xian, Dou Du, Dou Jing, and Dou Gui. During this time Cai was promoted to his most important position yet, a private counsellor to Emperor He in political matters. Ancient historian, Fan Ye, suggested that this promotion was due to Cai's talent and ingenuity, although Fan Yeh also mentions that while Cai was praised by Emperor He, he was criticized just as much. In 89 CE, he may have also became the chief eunuch. Emperor He came of age in 92 CE and sought to regain his power from Dowager Empress Duo, perhaps from the encouragement of the former heir Liu Qing, whose mother, Consort Song, had died as a result of the Dowager Empress Duo's rise to power. Emperor He was assisted by various officials, Cai and other eunuchs, especially Zheng Zhong, in the overthrowal of the Duo family. While not much is known about the coup itself, Emperor He was victorious and consequently forced the 4 Dou brothers to commit suicide and exiled Dowager Empress Duo and the rest of her family to Vietnam. In 97 CE, Cai became well associated with Consort Deng Sui and was later promoted to Shang Fang Si, making him the manager of the Imperial Supply department. This was a very powerful role that would have included a wide variety of tasks, including the overseeing of the imperial library, the production of weapons, furniture and various other materials that would offer him the perfect resources to experiment and develop a more practical and higher quality version of paper.
Standardization of paper
In 105 CE, Cai Lun publicly declared that he had invented a new composition for paper and papermaking process. Writing had a long history in China with substitutes for paper originally being wood for short text and bamboo for lengthy text. These alternatives were inconvenient for many reasons, being especially awkward to store, heavy and difficult to write on. With the introduction of a writing animal-hair brush by Meng Tian in the third century BCE, silk and cloth became alternatives that addressed these issues, but their high cost prevented widespread use. The absence of a practical solution motivated continued experimentation with different materials; Cai's pulp solution became the most widely used in 105 CE. Cai's process still involved the use of bamboo but also hemp waste, old rags, fishnets and most importantly, bark from trees, probably mulberry. These materials were boiled in a pulp that was beaten with a wood or stone mallet and then mixed with a large amount of water. Then an unknown ingredient to bond the fiber together was added and the excess water was removed, leaving the paper finished after drying.Modern investigation has proven that somewhat modern forms of paper did exist at least 3 centuries before 105 CE, so the process of Cai's invention was a gradual one, rather than a sudden discovery. However, as sinologist Joseph Needham notes, this does not necessarily discount the credit given to Cai. Cai did in fact perfect the papermaking form to a standard that has little changed in modern times and he is recognized at the very least as the patron of its creation. It has been suggested that if he were just the patron, Cai took credit from someone else, like how Feng Dao may have done with printing, though there is no decisive evidence to support this. Many legends exist as to the inspiration for Cai's invention, with one of the most popular ones being that Cai was inspired by watching paper wasps make their nests. Needham suggests that Cai was inspired by the people of his birthplace, Leiyang, who used bark from the many mulberry trees to create cloth as an earlier alternative for paper. In contrast, Narita cites a story about how Emperor He had ordered Cai to sort and organize the wooden–board books of the imperial library, a task that was probably extremely difficult due to the awkwardness and heaviness of the books. Narita suggests that this task may have convinced Cai that a new writing surface was needed and thus encouraged him to begin experimenting. Irrespective of how of its origin, in 105 CE Cai's new paper making process not only impressed Emperor He but gained him fame throughout the empire.
Final years and death
Emperor He died later in 105 CE and was succeeded by the infant Emperor Shang who died before the age of 1 in 106 CE and was immediately succeeded by the 13 year old Emperor An. Emperor An's young age caused Consort Deng Sui to become Dowager Empress Deng Sui and rule the empire with other officials until Emperor An came of age. The Imperial Supply Department was diminished in status and power after in 114 CE, due to the discovery that much of its profits were given to specific families rather than the government. However, Cai Lun's early association with the Dowager Empress Deng Sui proved useful as while he was dismissed from his position in the Imperial Supply Department, his loyalty and service awarded him the title of Marquis, and the lord of Lung T'ing, a small village of 300 families in the shensi province. Later in the year, Zheng Zhong's death led Cai to succeed him as chief of the palace. In 117 CE, Dowager Empress Deng Sui appointed him to oversee and supervise more than 100 scholars' in their creation of a definitive edition of the so called Five Classics.Emperor An assumed power after Empress Deng's death in CE 121. There were many officials in the kingdom who not only despised the deceased Dowager Empress Deng Sui but also her allies that were still in power. In order to remove these allies, a false rumour was spread that a coup was being planned to overthrow Emperor An, of which Cai was indicated to be involved in. Sinologist Rafe de Crespigny notes that Cai's innocence was not helped by the fact that Emperor An was the grandson of Consort Song, who death was in part because of Cai. Cai was reported to prison to answer the charges, but since he was likely to be killed he first went to his house to prepare for his death. Ever since the death of his ally Empress Deng Sui, Cai had carried a poison that he had made when he was the chief of the Imperial Supply Department, its use had finally come. Cai, ashamed that the Emperor would send him to death in such a dishonorable way, bathed, dressed in formal clothes and committed suicide by drinking the poison. Cai's death date and place are unknown, but various monuments and shrines have been erected to honor him.
Legacy
Global influence
Cai Lun's standardization and modernization of paper and the paper making process are widely considered enormously impactful to human history. However, Cai is only somewhat known outside East Asia and is often excluded from major encyclopedias. In fact, other than Fan Ye's ancient biography of him in the Book of the Later Han, few contemporary accounts exist. Modern scholarship has praised Cai and has drawn many parallels between him and Johannes Gutenberg, with author Michael H. Hart ranking him 7th in his, above figures such as Albert Einstein and Charles Darwin.After Cai invented the modern papermaking process in 105, a younger contemporary of him, Tso Tzǔ-yi improved the process and paper as a medium subsequently became widely used in China by the 3rd century. The paper making process seems to have gradually improved was known to be in Turkestan, Japan, Korea and India by the 600s. Legend says that a Buddhist monk, Damjing, brought the process to Japan and whatever the truth to the legend is, Damjing occupies a similar patron saint position in Japan as Cai Lun does in China. In 751 CE, Tang dynasty general Gao Xianzhi led an expedition in Pakistan and Central Asia against the Western Regions where he lost at the Battle of Talas River, resulting in the capturing of many Chinese to Samarkand. Papermakers were among prisoners and the Arabs soon learned the process and began heavily producing it. Unlike many Chinese inventions that were created independently of Western Europe, the modern paper making process was wholly Chinese and gradually spread by the Arabs to Europe, where it saw widespread manufacturing by the 12th century. Paper had an unprecedented impact as it entered different parts of the world, spreading literature around the world and radically revolutionizing the manner in which written communication could be spread from region to region. In August 2010, the International Astronomical Union honored his legacy by naming a crater after him.