The invention of paper in China
Two thousand years ago, this invention of wrapping valuables in China became the greatest means for the growth of the human mind. Lighter than bamboo, cheaper than silk, paper began to be used for writing. It soon reached Arabia.
It took him a long time to reach Europe. It arrived in Germany a few decades before the invention of the printing press. Why so long One reason was the weather. Paper made in Arabia was not very useful in Europe in the cold and humid climate of Europe. Some variety was needed here. But the big hurdle was that it was not in demand. Leather paper made of leather has been used in Europe for centuries. And it was expensive. A Bible written on leather required the skin of 250 sheep. Very few people could read and write. So that was not the problem. But with the rise of the commercial class, the demand for everyday writing began to grow. Cheap writing materials were needed to keep contracts and accounts, and this cheap Arab material seemed attractive. And because of the cheap paper, the printing press became viable. The printing press would be useless if millions of sheep had to be slaughtered to make many copies of a book.
The printing press started a reformation movement. Science, novels, textbooks and much more. But the use of paper for printing was just the beginning. Now we decorate our walls with it. Whether in the form of wallpapers or posters and photographs. We make tea bags and coffee filters. Milk and juice cans are made. And boxes are made from its cardboard. It is even used as a building material. There is also paper to wrap and rig material. There are napkins, as well as receipts from the store. Also postage and match tickets. Also toilet paper and tissue paper.
Paper looks or works of art, but it is an industrial product that is being made on a very large scale. Paper was the first heavy industry in Europe. The initial paper was made of woven cotton. Chemicals were needed to break down this raw material and the best chemical was ammonia which came from urine. For centuries, paper mills have been a place of stench. It took a lot of energy to beat. The hammers used to do this with the energy coming from the mountain rivers.
After the initial procedure, the cellulose of the cotton would break down and float in the form of a thick yakni. It was poured and taught to make cellulose from a strong elastic carpet. It was paper.
One innovation after another came in this process. Threshing machines, bleach, additive ... From each one, paper production became faster and cheaper. Paper has become a cheap product. The middle class could also use it. And in 1702 it became so cheap that this material was used to make a product that was only twenty-four hours old. It was the world's first newspaper, The Daily Courant.
Then came the inevitable crisis. Demand for paper had grown so much that its raw materials had dwindled. Another alternative to making cellulose was wood. The Chinese knew how to make paper out of it, but in Europe cotton was replaced by wood at a slower pace. In 1719, the French biologist Antoine de Reymog wrote a scientific paper in which he pointed out that if wolves chew their wood and make it out of paper, why can't humans do such a thing? It was ignored for many years. When attention was paid to wood during this crisis, it became clear that wood was not an easy raw material and did not contain as much cellulose as cotton. By the middle of the 19th century, wood had become a major source of European paper.
Today most of the paper is made of paper. This is recyclable paper. And most of all, it's in China. A laptop is made in China. It is packaged in a cardboard box from Ningbo Paper Mill. It crosses the sea to Canada. The laptop is taken out and the box is thrown in the recycling bin. It comes back to Ningbo and makes another box. This process can be repeated six to seven times. After that, its fibers become weak and useless.
As far as writing is concerned, some people think that the days of paper are numbered. With the advent of computers comes the era of paperless offices. Well, at least I didn't go down without explaining myself first. The term paperless office dates back to the time of Thomas Edison, and the dream has been around ever since. Edison's wax cylinders, which revolutionized music, were made for the paperless office. Edison believed that recording sound instead of writing was the future. Edison wasn't right about that, and many of Paper's death predictions went wrong.
Since the advent of the computer in the 1970s, futurists have been predicting the end of the paper in the next 25 years. But like a stubborn child, he does not agree. Its sales have been going up. Yes, the computer has made it possible to distribute documents without paper, but the computer printer has made it so easy to convert this document into paper. Photocopying machines, printers, fax machines are all using paper.
Maybe these habits are starting to change now. Paper production peaked in the world in 2013. Then came the first year when its global output fell from its previous year. Many of us want to feel the book. Want to pick up a newspaper? We like the touch of paper instead of fingering the screen, but maybe it's the old romance of an older generation like me in the world of digital revolution. The cost of digital distribution is so low that cheap digital can beat old paper. It can do with paper what paper did with leather. Not on quality, but on price.
The paper is in decline, but it will not end. Not just on supermarket shelves or in tissue boxes, but in the office and college. Old technology lasts a long time. The pencil and the candle are still alive. The world produces more bicycles than cars.
Paper is not limited to books written in beautiful calligraphy. This is everyday material. Note notes, someone's hastily written phone number, the calculation on the back of the envelope and the list of deals I received ... All this may remain on paper for a long time.
0 Comments