today. Many environmentalists, opposing the use of modern paper-making technology due to its high degree of pollution, are appealing to apply the ancient papermaking technology, since the process is pollution free.

According to China's historical data, in 105 A.D., a man named Cai Lun, using the knowledge handed down by his predecessors, made paper with tree bark, linen, old clothes and even fishing nets. With a big resource base of materials, the costs of making paper were reduced and paper was produced on a large scale.

Before Cai Lun invented paper, people used animal bones, tortoise shells, bronze, bamboo slips, wooden tablets and silk as recording materials. Since these materials were too expensive, only royalty and nobles could afford them, meaning ordinary people were mostly illiterate. Thanks to this invention, reading was available for the public.

In the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the Chinese began to make paper with rice straw and wheat stalks. By the mid-Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), China's handmade paper making had been well developed, producing good-quality paper in numerous varieties.

Paper was taken eastward to Korea and Japan in the early seventh century, to the Middle East in the eighth century, to Damascus and Rome in the 10th century, to Morocco in the 11th century, to India in the 13th century and to Italy in the 14th century. Italy, with paper mills in many cities, became an important base for the spread of papermaking technology in other European nations such as Germany and Britain.

At present, China is a major producer, consumer, as well as an importer of paper products in the world. According to He Yanli, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry of the National Development and Reform Commission, in 2006, there were 3,600 papermaking companies in China, with their combined production capacity approaching 70 million tons. The country's output of paper and paperboards reached 56 million tons that year, while its consumption of these products came to 66 million tons, both ranking second in the world.

Among the 66 million tons of paper and paperboards consumed in 2006, only 7 percent were directly used for daily life, while 60 percent were used for packaging, 30 percent for printing and writing, and the remainder for insulation of electrical appliances, fire resistance, heat insulation and filtration.

Cai Lun probably never realized that because of his invention, he would be immortalized. During the 20th Congress of International Paper Historians held in Malmedy, Belgium, on August 18-22, 1990, delegates from all countries uniformly honored Cai Lun as the great inventor of paper-making technology.

Printing

The earliest printing in China was the block-printing method in the first