Cai Lun and the Invention of Paper in Han China

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore one of the most transformative innovations in human history: paper, as perfected by the Han court eunuch Cai Lun in 105 CE. They discuss earlier writing materials like bamboo slips and silk, the technical process of making paper from mulberry bark and hemp, and how paper gradually spread along the Silk Road to Central Asia and beyond. They also touch on the social and bureaucratic context that made paper so valuable in the Han empire, from tax records to poetry. The episode examines the archaeological evidence, including the oldest surviving paper fragments from the 2nd century BCE, and addresses the myth that Cai Lun invented paper from scratch versus refining existing techniques. Along the way, they mention related topics like the invention of ink, the role of eunuchs in the Han bureaucracy, and how paper ultimately reached the Islamic world and Europe centuries later.

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