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Cai Lun

Materials Engineering

Cai Lun, formerly romanized as Ts'ai Lun, was a Chinese eunuch court official of the Eastern Han dynasty. He occupies a pivotal place in the history of paper because his addition of pulp from tree bark and hemp ends led to the large-scale manufacture and worldwide spread of paper. Although he is traditionally regarded as the inventor of paper, earlier forms of paper existed from the 3rd century BCE, so his contribution was an innovation rather than an invention. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

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Source Cai Lun (Wikipedia)
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Cai Lun (Wikipedia)
  • Lead section
    Cai Lun (Chinese: 蔡伦; courtesy name: Jingzhong (敬仲); c. 50-62-121 CE), formerly romanized as Ts'ai Lun, was a Chinese eunuch court official of the Eastern Han dynasty.
  • Invented: Papermaking, Lead paragraph
    He occupies a pivotal place in the history of paper due to his addition of pulp via tree bark and hemp ends which resulted in the large-scale manufacture and worldwide spread of paper.
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