CHINESE SCRIPT AND PAPERMAKING

 

	Before the invention of paper, most Chinese scripts were written on heavy bamboo or wooden slips. Today's bagful of books would be equal to five big carts loaded with slips at that time. The development of language called for new medium for writing.
	Records about Cai Lun's papermaking in Hou Han Shu (the Later Han Books).
	A portrait of Cai Lun. In 105 A.D., drawing on previous practices from others before him, Cai Lun invented paper by using tree bark, hemp, and pieces of cloth. From then on, paper has become the most important writing medium in China.
	Process of papermaking.
	Process of papermaking.
	The transmission of paper to other places soon triggered enormous changes around the world, accelerating the evolution human civilizations.

CHINESE SCRIPT AND THE UNITY OF CHINA

	Like the culture itself, the Chinese Script invented by the Han people has long interacted with other ethnic groups, thus speeding up the unity of the Chinese nation. Qing palace tablets in Manchu and Chinese.
	Like the culture itself, the Chinese Script invented by the Han people has long interacted with other ethnic groups, thus speeding up the unity of the Chinese nation. Qing palace tablets in Manchu and Chinese.
	Porcelain bottle with Chinese and Xixia Scripts.
	Rubbing from Mogao Grottoes, with six scripts including Chinese, Monggolian, Tibetan and Manchu. Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).
	A golden seal with Chinese, Manchu and Tibetan, issued by the Qing government to Dalai Lama.
	A golden seal with Chinese, Manchu and Tibetan, issued by the Qing government to Dalai Lama.

CHINESE SCRIPT AND CHINESE BOOKS
Characters are the basic elements of books in Chinese. They not only reveal the stories within, but also affect how the books will look.

	The Chinese characters have a life beyond time and place. A moderately educated Chinese today can easily understand a Chinese book written thousands of years ago. Young and old alike, reading ancient books in the library.
	Chinese books with horizontal and vertical writings.
	Chinese books, left�bound and right�bound.