Paper was first invented in the Western Han Dynasty. 105, Cai Lun in the Eastern Han Dynasty improved the papermaking technology, which was widely spread because of its convenient materials, simple technology, energy saving and environmental protection. The Biography of Cai Lun in the Later Han Dynasty records: "Since ancient times, books have mostly been compiled with bamboo slips, and those who use silks call them paper, which is expensive and simple, which is inconvenient for people. Lennart created this idea and made paper from bark, hemp head, cloth and fishing nets. ..... naturally, there is no shortage of human beings, so the world is salty and called' Cai Hou Paper'. "
The existence of paper can't be verified so far, and our archaeological findings can't prove the source of paper. Paper has existed for a long time, not after the Eastern Han Dynasty. Cai Lun in the Eastern Han Dynasty only reduced the cost of papermaking and improved it. In the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the concept of paper already existed. At that time, paper refers to something similar to paper, including parchment, silk paper, turtle paper, chip paper and bamboo paper. In short, the use and development of paper is a long process, and it can be definitely considered that paper began to be used in Cai Lun in the Eastern Han Dynasty.
But as a writing tool, before the invention of "paper", the wisdom of the ancients was equally profound, such as Oracle Bone Inscriptions and Zhong Ding's sacrificial rites, silk books, bamboo slips and so on. In the pre-Qin period, writing as a symbol of civilization was a luxury derived from aristocratic privilege. Expensive writing materials and tools are monopolized by the aristocratic class and cannot be enjoyed by ordinary people. The invention of "paper" and the improvement of technological process started the most powerful culture spreading revolution in the history of China, which made it possible for scholars from humble backgrounds to read and hyphenate.
Zhao Kuo, a youthful military theorist at the end of the Warring States Period, interpreted the satirical story of "an armchair strategist", which was painstakingly rendered and refined by later historians and writers, and was finally formally fixed as a familiar idiom around the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
From "allusions" to "idioms", this is not only the inevitable trend of China's historical development and cultural dissemination, but also the remarkable embodiment of the highly concise language art of ancient oriental civilization.