IF there were no paper, what would the world look like? Perhaps people would still write on pieces of bamboo, or perhaps they would have arrived in the age of electronic writing in another way.

　　Yet thanks to paper, people can still enjoy reading in bed and the ladies can receive nicely written love letters.

　　The invention of paper occurred first in ancient China. The creator, named Cai Lun, is the one we should give thanks to. He was a eunuch of the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25-220). Rather than dwelling bitterly on his bodily mutilation he instead worked hard for the emperor. In the year AD 105, he invented paper.

　　Though we can't know what paper look like at that time, we can easily guess the first generation of paper cannot have been as exquisite as the modern version.

　　Before Cai's invention, the production of original paper - "bo" (silk pieces) was a very expensive process. Inspired by the production of silk and cotton cloth, ancient people produced the original silk paper for writing.

　　But of course, the cost was extremely high. Only those from the emperor's family could afford it. Ordinary people still wrote on pieces of bamboo, which were heavy and not easy to preserve.

　　Cai's innovation helped paper become an article that large numbers of people could afford. He used bark, shreds of cloth and old fishnets as materials. After repeated experiments, Cai succeeded.

　　From the 2nd century to the 6th century, paper gradually replaced bamboo and silk and became the main material for writing. The creation of paper advanced the development of the country's culture.

　　During this period, the production of paper spread to nearby Viet Nam and Korea. In later centuries, it also spread to Japan and Central Asia, then onwards to Europe.

　　Refined paper

　　During the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the production of paper was developed much further. In particular, the most fully perfected type of writing paper ever produced began to arise at this time.

　　It is said that there were a total of 18 procedures involved in making xuanzhi (rice paper). Even today this type of paper is still the best suited to calligraphy and painting. It is produced in Jing County of Anhui Province. This area used to belong to Xuanzhou in ancient times, so it received the name as xuan.

　　The material used to make xuanzhi is the bark of green sandalwood. During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), people added straw in it.

　　Such paper, which is very supple and thin, yet still very strong, is the favourite of artists due to its high quality, ideal absorption of ink and retention of colour. Due to this paper people can still enjoy the fresh colours of ancient masterpieces, even after hundreds of years.

　　During the Nantang Dynasty (937-975), paper-making skills were developed even further. The emperor Li Yu was addicted to painting, and the chengxintang paper made under his supervision was considered to be "as thin as film, as clean as jade, smooth and supple, the very best kind of paper". This paper won a very high reputation among scholars and aristocrats.

　　Most scholars and artists thought of such paper as a treasure. Liu Chang of the Song Dynasty (960-1279) was granted 100 pieces of chengxintang paper by the palace. He gave ten of them to his friend Ouyang Xiu, a famous writer.

　　Ouyang so delighted in the paper he passed two of the sheets to his friend Mei Yaocheng, a famous poet. Mei was too happy to express himself. He wrote several poems especially for the two pieces of paper he had received.

　　"The paper is as smooth as ice in the spring, I am astonished by the luxurious feeling of it in my hand."

　　Five years later, another friend gave Mei 100 pieces of this wondrous paper. Mei was so happy he almost went crazy with delight. He wrote another poem praising it and compared the paper to jade. He said each piece of the paper was worth a kilogram of gold.

　　Admired writing

　　Apart from the intrinsic value of paper, due to its high quality, its value also grew along with the flourishing of literature and art. People may think of paper as one of the most cheap and basic goods in the world, but if an admired piece of writing lead to wide emulation it could raise the price of paper significantly.

　　The story luoyang zhigui (expensive paper in Luoyang), tells a strange story about expensive paper. The writer, Zuo Si of the Jin Dynasty (265-420), was born into a poor family and stammered when he spoke.

　　Though he was very talented, no one appreciated his merits. He spent 10 years writing an essay named San Dun Fu (Rhapsody on the Three Capitals) and eventually his talent was recognized by a celebrated individual.

　　Suddenly, his essay won a high reputation. All the scholars and officials in Luoyang (now in Central China's Henan Province) copied and read it. Because of the rising usage of paper, the price of paper rocketed so far in the city that few people could any longer afford it.

　　This story sounds a little exaggerated, but it has been passed down from generation to generation. Although technical development should ensure paper will never be in short supply again, most Chinese scholars still dreamed about the day when their work will win the admiration of people everywhere.