Editing Cai Lun (section)

====Historical assessment====
Due to modern archeological investigations, it is now certain that different forms of paper existed in China as early as 3rd-century BCE,{{sfnm|1a1=Barrett|1y=2011|1p=203|2a1=Kern|2y=2001|2p=89}}{{efn|Prior to this, older sources such as {{harvtxt|David|1935|p=115}} gave the date as 1st-century BCE; {{harvtxt|Tsien|1985|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Lx-9mS6Aa4wC&pg=PA38 38]}} and {{harvtxt|Eliot|Rose|2009|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=CFiDCjMcnvcC&dq&pg=PA99 99]}} (citing {{harvtxt|Tsien|1985}}) gave the 2nd-century BCE as the oldest; {{harvtxt|Barrett|2011|p=203}} gave the 3rd-century BCE and noted that Tsien updated his 2nd edition of ''Written on Bamboo and Silk: The Beginnings of Chinese Books and Inscriptions'' (2011), to give the date as 3rd-century as well.}} though the findings do not necessarily discount the credit given to Cai.{{sfn|Tsien|1985|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Lx-9mS6Aa4wC&pg=PA41 41]}} The Chinese scholar Tsien Tsuen-hsuin explained that the term used in Cai's ancient biography, ''zào yì'' ({{lang|zh-Hant|造意}}), can be understood as "to initiate the idea", meaning that he furthered the ongoing process with the addition of important materials.{{sfn|Tsien|1985|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Lx-9mS6Aa4wC&pg=PA41 41]}} Additionally, Cai is responsible for the earliest known use of tree bark and hemp as ingredients for paper,{{sfn|Tsien|1985|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Lx-9mS6Aa4wC&pg=PA41 41], 57}} and it is clear that paper did not see widespread use in China until Cai's improvements.{{sfnm|1a1=Kern|1y=2001|1p=89|2a1=Poo|2y=2018|2p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Z7paDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA120 120]}} As such, scholars have revised his contributions as ones that furthered an ongoing process instead of a sudden discovery.{{sfnm|1a1=de Crespigny|1y=2007|1p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=49OvCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA27 27]|2a1=Holdstock|2y=2018|2p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=7-mKDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA101 101]|3a1=Monro|3y=2016|3p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=-Y6mCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA13 13]}}{{efn|{{harvtxt|Wilkinson|2018|p=1029}} concludes that "The consensus today is that although Cai did not invent paper, he may have improved the way it was manufactured or cut the costs (using the bark of trees, cloth rags, and old fishing nets)."}} However, due to the pivotal significance of his improvements and the resulting spread of paper use throughout China,{{sfnm|1a1=Hunter|1a2=Hunter|1y=1978|1p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=1sEp3rtK994C&pg=PA53 53]|''Britannica''|2020}} Cai continues to be traditionally credited with inventing paper.{{sfnm|1a1=Day|1a2=McNeil|1y=1996|1p=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780415060424/page/122/mode/2up 122]|2a1=''Britannica''|2y=2020|3a1=Monro|3y=2016|3p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=-Y6mCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA13 13]|4a1=Tsien|4y=1985|4p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Lx-9mS6Aa4wC&pg=PA4 4]|5a1=Tsien|5y=1962|5p=131}} There is also speculation that Cai was the patron of this achievement and took credit from someone else, as [[Feng Dao]] may have done with his improvements to [[printing]].{{sfnm|1a1=Day|1a2=McNeil|1y=1996|1p=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780415060424/page/122/mode/2up 122]|2a1=Tsien|2y=1962|2p=135}}