Nowadays, if we want to record something, we have many tools to choose from. We have paper, pens, PDAs, etc. However, in ancient times, what did people use to write?

Long ago, when people wanted to record something, they had to carve letters on thin wood or bamboo strips with a knife. This took a lot of time. Furthermore, the wood and bamboo strips were not only heavy, they were also hard to store. As time passed, some people started to write on silk cloth. Silk cloth was light and easy to carry, but it was very expensive. Most people could not afford to use silk.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, a person called Tsai Lun (63-121) felt that writing was too troublesome. It either took a long time to carve, or was too expensive. He wanted to find something that would make writing and recording easier. But he could not find it.

One day, Tsai Lun went on a sightseeing trip with his friends. He saw something tangled in the grass by the lake. It looked like balls of cotton. Tsai Lun asked an old fisherman fishing nearby, "Hello Sir, Could you tell me what this is?" The old fisherman took a look and laughed. He told Tsai Lun, "This is nothing special. Just tree bark and hemp that has been soaked in water for a long time." Tsai Lun took a closer look at the material, and found that it was smooth, soft, and did not break easily.

"This is similar to silk!" he thought. "Well..." Tsai Lun suddenly had an idea. After he got home, Tsai Lun started to collect old rags, tree bark and fishnets. Tsai Lun cut the materials into small pieces, and soaked it in limewater to form pulp. The pulp was boiled to a thick paste, and poured into clear water. Then, Tsai Lun ran a fine curtain through the water to collect the fiber and laid a thin layer. Then, he dried it and made the world"s very first sheet of paper. From then on, it became much easier for people to write and record things.

　　現代的人想要寫字的話，有很多方便的工具可以使用，譬如紙、筆、PDA……等等。但是古時候的人，會拿什麼東西寫呢？

　　很久很久以前，人們要寫字，只能用刀在木片、竹片上刻出文字。這樣不但要花很多時間，而且木片、竹片非常笨重，也不容易保存。後來有人想到可以在絲布上寫字，雖然又輕又方便，但是絲布非常昂貴，一般人根本買不起。

　　東漢的時候，有一個人名叫蔡倫（63—121），他覺得寫字實在太麻煩了，不是要花很多時間，就是要花很多錢，所以他一心想找到能讓寫字變得簡單的方法，可是一直找不到。

　　有一次，蔡倫和朋友出門遊玩，忽然發現河邊的草叢裡，掛著一些很像棉花的東西。蔡倫就問正在釣魚的老爺爺：「老先生，請問這是什麼東西？」老爺爺看了一眼，笑著說：「髒東西啦！樹皮、麻草泡在水裡後，就會這樣子。」蔡倫拿起來仔細看了看，發現它又光滑又柔軟，也不太容易破。

　　「這和絲布很像呢！說不定……」蔡倫心裡忽然有個主意，回家之後，開始收集破布、樹皮、漁網……等東西。蔡倫先把它們切成小塊，放在石灰水裡泡到爛，再煮成黏漿，接著把黏漿放到清水中，用細簾子撈取纖維，鋪成薄薄的一層，曬乾之後，就是世界上的第一張紙。從此，人們寫字、記事情，就變得簡單又方便了。