2023-06-19 06:08:35
Switzerland is a hub for commodity trading. Did you know that this activity represents 4% of Swiss GDP, and even 22% of tax revenue for the canton of Geneva. This week, focus on paper. We will examine the writing before the paper. Then, we will discuss the history of paper. We will see that paper was born in China.
This gives us the opportunity to admire above an animation Five woodcuts illustrating the five basic steps of papermaking in ancient Chinatirée du Tiangong Kaiwu de 1637 de la dynastie Ming. (Five woodcuts depicting the five seminal steps in ancient Chinese papermaking. From the 1637 Tiangong Kaiwu of the Ming dynasty).
For many centuries, paper has been the primary medium for disseminating knowledge. Even today, although in competition with the electronic media, it remains essential for the printing of books and newspapers. In addition, it fulfills many other functions: it is used in particular for packaging, cleaning and decoration.
Writing before paper
The first writing materials, not to mention the stone sculptures and cave paintings, were the clay tablets, introduced into Mesopotamia around 4000 BC. They were, however, quickly replaced by a material invented in Egypt: the papyrus roll, which was the most widespread writing medium throughout Antiquity. Its importance is evidenced by the fact that in many languages the name of paper derives from the word papyrus (in English paper, in French papier, in Spanish papel, etc.).
History of paper: origins in China
Historical sources attribute the invention of paper to Ts’ai Lun, a high official of the Chinese imperial court who, in 105 AD, began to produce sheets of paper using shreds of worn fabricof the’tree bark and fishing nets.
The Chinese have kept their production secrets for centuries. In the 6th century, their invention arrived in Japan thanks to the Buddhist monk Dam Jing. The Japanese quickly learned the art of papermaking and began using a pulp derived from mulberry bark to produce the material.
The oldest paper find is a piece of map unearthed in the Fangmatan archaeological site in central China and dated to 179 AD.
The Arabs discovered paper in 751, after the battle of Talas, during which they had taken many Chinese prisoners. Among them were two papermakers who started producing paper in the city of Samarkand (in present-day Uzbekistan).
In the same series, “Raw materials and art”:
Cereals and Van Gogh Coffee and culture Cotton and Edgar Degas Cocoa and Luis Meléndez Sugar and Sartre Copper and Chardin Steel and Gayle Hermick Maize and Jean Mortel Biogas and Victor Hugo Hydrogen and the globe aerostatic The wind, Da Vinci and Monnet The sun and Firedrich Gold and Klimt Barley and antiquity Soy and Seikei Zusetsu Aluminum and Jule Verne Rice and Morimura Gitō Money and the Elblag museum Tin and Jean Treck Oats and Géricault Milk and Vermeer Water and Renoir Potatoes and Millet Lapis lazuli and the Scrovegni chapel in Padua Honey and Pierre de Cosimo Sorbet and the Ottoman sorbet seller Spices and the Moluccas Marble and the Venus de Milo The olive tree and the painter of Antimenes
Sources :
The invention of paper and the history of its production from its origins to today (geopop.it)
History of paper – Wikipedia (wikipedia.org)
Photo credit : File:Making Paper.gif – Wikimedia Commons
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#Raw #materials #art #Paper #woodcut #Tiangong #Kaiwu