Sep 4, 2025
Although the Chinese didn't immediately think of it as a writing material (preferring split bamboo for everyday use, and silk for high-status texts) paper found a multitude of applications across the Chinese empire while the codex spread across the Roman Mediterranean and Near East. Usefully, it could be made from a variety of raw materials; hemp, mulberry bark and old fishing nets all made good paper, and linen fibres, readily available in the form of worn-out underwear, worked particularly well.
"The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper" - Roland Allen
