Live broadcast: Take our ancestors to see modern China

[Back to the topic, during the Han Dynasty, agricultural tools were greatly improved, and agricultural farming and management techniques also made great progress.

During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty, based on the advice of Dong Zhongshu, the farming model of wheat in the north and rice in the south was promoted, water conservancy projects were developed, and improvements in farming technology increased grain production and crop varieties.

The prosperity of agriculture has accumulated a lot of wealth and laid a solid economic foundation for the emergence of papermaking.

[On the other hand, advances in farming technology have promoted the increase in food production and the variety of crops, providing sufficient and diverse raw materials for papermaking.

Continuous improvements in agricultural technology have enabled farmers to grow more crops, enriching the supply of fiber plants such as hemp and ramie, which have become high-quality raw materials for making paper.

Therefore, the development of agriculture provides a rich resource base for the manufacture of paper. 】

Qin Dynasty

The First Emperor is now extremely envious of the Han Dynasty, which has a capable emperor, loyal ministers, useful technology, and a long national destiny. How come the Emperor with the surname Liu is only so capable?

When I think about how Liu Bang, who was so dissolute, had such a powerful dynasty, how come he had Hu Hai? !

When he thought of Hu Hai, he remembered that the Qin Dynasty, which he had unified with great difficulty, turned out to be the shortest dynasty in history. This really made him angry!

No, the more I think about it, the angrier I get.

Ying Zheng stood up and walked to the censor who was taking notes to see the results of the transcription.

The censors who were writing furiously sat upright, thinking, "Why is His Majesty coming down? No, I have to perform well."

This caused everyone to copy more diligently.

[In the early Eastern Han Dynasty, the small peasant economy based on men farming and women weaving and family handicrafts was still dominant, but there were already many handicraft industries, such as smelting, salt boiling, wine brewing, medicine mixing, warehouse building, shipbuilding, sericulture and weaving, farm tools, weapons, etc.

Many industries have works that record production methods and experiences, and they are widely copied and circulated among the people.

Ancient recording materials were first used to record agricultural and handicraft production techniques.

Before the invention of papermaking, works recording and disseminating handicraft production technology needed to be circulated among the people, which posed certain difficulties.

Therefore, once papermaking appeared, it provided a more convenient and economical way to record and disseminate handicraft production technology. The invention of papermaking is closely related to the invention of silk fabrics.

【China was the first to invent silk weaving technology, and silk was exported to Central Asia, West Asia and Rome along the Silk Road. In the process of making silk fabrics, the process of bleaching and cotton making provided the experience of boiling the fiber raw materials with alkaline solution and soaking them in water.

It also provides experience in wet swelling and breaking up fiber bundles, both of which are essential steps in the papermaking process.

In addition, the bamboo mats used in the floating process provided inspiration and foundation for the invention of papermaking. 】

Cai Lun used the prompts from the sky curtain and combined them with his usual experience to repeat himself over and over again.

What he often saw before were bulky bamboo slips or wooden tablets. Although there was paper, it was too rough and not suitable for writing.

At that time, he thought that if paper could be improved and made light, thin and white, it could be used for writing.

The appearance of the sky curtain not only allowed him to fulfill his wish, but also gave him more inspiration.

Liu Che was very dissatisfied with the paper of his time. Looking at the introduction on the sky curtain, Cai Lun was a big man behind him. His ancestor did not have the chance to use such good paper.

Fortunately, now Tianmu has told him the technique of papermaking, and he can also order people to make it.

Everyone looked at the picture on the sky curtain and marveled at the many raw materials used to make paper.

[As a representative of technological innovators, Cai Lun's contribution is indelible, but it should be remembered that he was not the inventor of papermaking.

Various documents and materials prove that paper existed in the Western Han Dynasty.

In 1933, Chinese archaeologist Huang Wenbi discovered a piece of ancient paper from the Western Han Dynasty at the Tingsui site in Lop Nur, Xinjiang. People called it "Lop Nur Paper".

It is made of hemp fibers, white in color, and in the form of square sheets. The paper is very rough and uneven, with hemp fibers still visible on the surface.

According to the analysis, it is concluded that this piece of ancient paper is a relic from the era of Emperor Xuan of Han (Liu Xun), and the age should be in the middle and late Western Han Dynasty, that is, from 73 AD to 49 BC. 】

[In the autumn of 1942, archaeologists Lao Gan and Shi Zhangru were cleaning up the ruins excavated by the Swede Bergman in the Han Dynasty Juyan area along the Ejina River in Gansu Province. They dug out a piece of Han Dynasty paper that had been crumpled into a ball from the unexcavated land under the beacon tower of Chakorte.

It also points out that the paper was buried underground earlier than the tenth year of Yongyuan (98 AD), and Cai Lun improved the papermaking technique in 105 AD.

Lao Gan called it Juyan paper, and later changed it to Chakorte paper to avoid confusion with the paper unearthed later.

[In 1957, ancient paper was unearthed in Baqiao, east of Xi'an. After scientific analysis, it was identified as hemp paper from the Western Han Dynasty, dating back no later than 118 BC.

It is on display in the National Museum of Chinese History and the Shaanxi Provincial Museum, along with the bronze mirror unearthed together with the Baqiao paper.

[In addition, the "Jinguan Paper" unearthed from the Han Dynasty Tingsui site of Jinguan, Juyan, Gansu in 1974;

The "Zhongyan Village Paper" unearthed from the Western Han Dynasty cellar in Zhongyan Village, Fufeng, Shaanxi in 1978;

The "Majuanwan Paper" unearthed from the Han Dynasty Tingsui in Majuanwan, Dunhuang, Gansu in 1979;

The "Fangmatan Paper" unearthed from an early Western Han tomb in Fangmatan, Tianshui, Gansu in 1986 was analyzed to be produced during the reign of Emperor Wen of the Western Han Dynasty (179-141 BC).

……

During the comprehensive excavation, a large number of hemp papers from the Western Han Dynasty were found, which were well preserved and had a large remaining area. The early hemp papers were produced during the reign of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, 170 years earlier than the Caihou paper of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Everyone under the sky tent was already numb. One thing after another, they were said to be unearthed, but they were still dug out.

The emperors of the Han Dynasty: Sorry, I don’t want to be recognized through this opportunity.

Emperors and courtiers of every dynasty only felt that they were constantly being hurt.

Why do you keep digging graves?

Wouldn't it be better to just let them stay underground?

But when they heard that there were outsiders digging, they became indignant again. It would be fine if there were later generations, but why did these outsiders come here!

Our ancestors: It’s okay for our descendants to dig, but you outsiders should just go away.

Many people are worried that their tombs will also be unearthed. They just want to rest in peace underground for a hundred years.

[During the Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, in addition to traditional hemp paper, the raw materials for paper gradually became richer and more diverse, including rattan, bamboo, etc.

There are also various types of paper, such as white hemp paper, jute paper, parchment paper, mulberry root paper, straw paper, etc.

The physician and alchemist Ge Hong (284-364 AD) invented a method of dyeing hemp paper with Phellodendron chinense to protect it from insects.

During this period, Zuo Bo from Donglai County, Shandong (now Ye County), improved the papermaking technology and produced Zuo Bo paper.

At the same time, paper and decorated books were spread to the northern minority areas through the Silk Road in the Hexi Corridor.

Gluing technology is an important processing technology. The earliest sizing paper was discovered in the first year of Baique in the Former Qin Dynasty (384 AD).

It is to evenly apply a layer of starch paste on the surface of the paper, and then polish it with fine stones to increase the strength and water resistance of the paper. 】

Recorder: Write it down, write it down quickly.

The early dynasties were also ecstatic. If paper was developed, although it would not be as white and delicate as that of later generations, it would be better than using wooden slips every day, which was time-consuming and laborious.

People could not imagine that there are so many types of paper, but even though it sounds complicated, it only requires manpower to operate.