Cai Lun (c. 62–121 CE) was a eunuch official of the Eastern Han dynasty and is traditionally credited with the invention of papermaking. His courtesy name was Jingzhong, and he was born in Guiyang (modern-day Leiyang, Hunan).
He entered imperial service as a eunuch toward the end of the Yongping era (58–75 CE) and rose through the ranks of the inner palace bureaucracy, serving successively as Xiao Huangmen (Junior Yellow Gate Attendant), Zhong Changshi (Regular Palace Attendant), and Grand Coachman of the Changle Palace. In 114 CE (the first year of the Yuanchu era), he was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Longting – hence his historical title “Marquis Cai.”
While paper-like materials may have existed earlier, Cai Lun is celebrated for systematizing and significantly improving papermaking techniques around 105 CE. Drawing on earlier methods, he developed a practical and scalable process using inexpensive, readily available raw materials – including tree bark, hemp rags, old fishing nets, and worn cloth. The resulting product, known as “Cai Hou Paper” (“Marquis Cai’s Paper”), was lightweight, durable, and far more economical than writing media previously in use.
This innovation marked a turning point in Chinese – and world – history: paper gradually replaced cumbersome bamboo slips (jiandu) and expensive silk as the primary writing surface, dramatically facilitating the recording, preservation, and dissemination of knowledge. Cai Lun’s method laid the foundation for the spread of literacy, administration, and scholarship across China and, eventually, the globe.
His contribution is documented in the Book of the Later Han (Hou Hanshu), which explicitly credits him with presenting his refined paper to Emperor He of Han in 105 CE.
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