Editing Cai Lun (section)

==Legacy==
===Global influence===
====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}}

====Spread of paper====
{{further|History of paper}}
[[File:Cai Lun with Donchō and Mochizuki Seibee (Minobu Museum of History and Folklore).jpg|thumb|upright|right|''The Three Gods of Paper-making'', Cai Lun (in the middle) with the Korean monk [[Damjing]] (on the left), who brought the art to Japan, and Mochizuki Seibei (who brought the art to {{nihongo|Nishijima|[[:ja:西嶋和紙|西嶋]]}}). Kept in the [[Minobu]] Town Museum of History and Folklore.{{sfn|Minobu Town Museum of History and Folklore}}|alt=One man standing behind two seated men; they all are in particularly formal garb]]

Cai's improvements to paper and the papermaking process are considered especially impactful to [[human history]],{{sfnm|1a1=Eliot|1a2=Rose|1y=2009|1p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=CFiDCjMcnvcC&dq&pg=PA99 99]|2a1=Hart|2y=2000|2p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=jvbNRbDKY1wC&pg=PA39 39]|3a1=Day|3a2=McNeil|3y=1996|3pp=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780415060424/page/122/mode/2up 122–123]|4a1=David|4y=1935|4p=115}} as they resulted in the spread of literature and [[Democratization of knowledge|knowledge]] around the world, and advancements in communications.{{sfnm|1a1=Tsien|1y=1985|1p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Lx-9mS6Aa4wC&pg=PA2 2]–3|2a1=Eliot|2a2=Rose|2y=2009|2p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=CFiDCjMcnvcC&dq&pg=PA99 99]}} However, Cai is only somewhat known outside [[East Asia]] and is often excluded from major encyclopedias.{{sfn|Hart|2000|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=jvbNRbDKY1wC&pg=PA36 36]}} The scholar of paper history, [[Thomas Francis Carter]], drew parallels between Cai and [[Johannes Gutenberg]], the inventor of the first [[printing press]] which was [[movable type]], calling them "spiritual father and son" respectively.{{sfn|Carter|1925|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=PgEYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA180 180]}} In his 1978 book, ''[[The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History]]'', [[Michael H. Hart]] ranked him 7th, above figures such as Gutenberg, [[Christopher Columbus]], [[Albert Einstein]] and [[Charles Darwin]].{{sfn|Hart|2000|p=vii}} In 2007, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' ranked him among the "Best Inventors" of all time.{{sfn|''Time''|2007}}

{{anchor|Zuo Bo|Tso Po|Tzu-i|Tso Tzǔ-yi}}<!--Zuo Bo, Tso Po, Tzu-i and Tso Tzǔ-yi redirect here, do NOT unbold these names below-->After Cai's efforts in 105 CE, a renowned paper maker who may have been an apprentice to Cai{{sfn|Hunter|Hunter|1978|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=1sEp3rtK994C&pg=PA53 53]}}—variously recorded by modern sources as '''Zuo Bo''';{{sfn|''Britannica''|2020}} '''Tso Po''' ({{lang|zh|左伯}}, [[courtesy name]]: '''Tzu-i''': {{lang-zh|labels=no|c=子邑|p=Ziyi}}<ref name="Sanfu Juelu" group="‡" />) from [[Donglai Commandery|Donglai]], [[Shandong]];{{sfn|Tsien|1962|p=[https://archive.org/details/writtenonbamboos0000chie/page/137/mode/1up 137]}} or '''Tso Tzǔ-yi'''{{sfn|Hunter|Hunter|1978|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=1sEp3rtK994C&pg=PA53 53]}}—improved the process in 150 CE{{sfn|Hunter|Hunter|1978|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=1sEp3rtK994C&pg=PA466 466]}} or later in the Han dynasty.{{sfn|Tsien|1962|p=[https://archive.org/details/writtenonbamboos0000chie/page/137/mode/1up 137]}} Other than this, the basic principles of Cai's papermaking process have changed little over time,{{sfn|Day|McNeil|1996|p=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780415060424/page/122/mode/2up 122]}} and the new form of paper spread throughout China.{{sfnm|1a1=Hunter|1a2=Hunter|1y=1978|1p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=1sEp3rtK994C&pg=PA53 53]|''Britannica''|2020}} According to legend, the [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] monk [[Damjing]] brought the process to [[Japan]], though this is unconfirmed. Damjing occupies a similar [[patron saint]] position in Japan that Cai does in China.{{sfnm|1a1=Hunter|1a2=Hunter|1y=1978|1p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=1sEp3rtK994C&pg=PA53 53]|2a1=Tsien|2y=1985|2p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Lx-9mS6Aa4wC&pg=PA108 108]}} By the 600s the process appeared in [[Turkestan]], [[Korea]], and [[India]],{{sfnm|1a1=Tsien|1y=1985|1p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Lx-9mS6Aa4wC&pg=PA3 3]|2a1=Carter|2y=1925|2p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=PgEYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA4 4]}}{{efn|Although India seems to have only begun widely producing paper in the 12th-century.{{sfn|Tsien|1985|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Lx-9mS6Aa4wC&pg=PA3 3]}}}} while Chinese prisoners from the [[Battle of Talas]] spread the knowledge to Arabs in the [[Abbasid Caliphate]].{{sfnm|1a1=Narita|1y=1966|1p=14|2a1=Tsien|2y=1985|2p=3}} Unlike many [[List of Chinese inventions|Chinese inventions]] that were created independently in [[Western Europe]], the modern papermaking process was a wholly Chinese product and gradually spread via the Arabs to Europe, where it also saw widespread manufacturing by the 12th century.{{sfn|Day|McNeil|1996|p=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780415060424/page/122/mode/2up 122]}} On 2 August 2010, the [[International Astronomical Union]] honored Cai's legacy by naming [[Cai Lun (crater)|a crater on the Moon]] after him.{{sfn|USGS Astrogeology Science Center|2010}}

===Influence in China===
====Folklore====
{{see also|Chinese folklore|Joss paper}}
While Cai's personal life is mostly unknown, a popular [[Folklore|folktale]] suggests he was a shopkeeper and [[trickster]] with a wife and brother, though there is no historical confirmation for this.{{sfn|Blake|2011|p=55}} The story goes that after Cai's improvements to paper there was little demand for the product so he had an ever-growing surplus.{{sfn|Blake|2011|p=55}} As such, Cai and his wife developed a ploy to increase sales; they told townsfolk that paper becomes money in the afterlife [[Money burning#Eastern Asian burning|when burned]].{{sfn|Blake|2011|p=55}}

In the most popular variation to the tale, Cai Mo and Hui Niang—Cai's brother and sister-in-law of unconfirmed [[historicity]]—take the place of Cai and his wife.{{sfn|Blake|2011|p=55}} In this version, Hui convinced Cai Mo to learn the new papermaking trade from his younger brother, and when he returned in only three months, the paper he and his wife produced was too low quality to sell.{{sfn|Blake|2011|pp=55–56}} To address this, Hui pretended to have died, and Cai Mo stood beside her coffin, wailing and burning money as tribute.{{sfn|Blake|2011|p=56}} Then, their neighbors checked in on them, and Hui sprung out of the coffin, explaining that the burned money was transferred to her in the afterlife, with which she paid ghosts to return her from the dead.{{sfn|Blake|2011|p=56}} Believing the story, the neighbors quickly purchased large amounts of paper for their own use.{{sfn|Blake|2011|p=57}}{{efn|See {{harvtxt|Blake|2011|pp=55–57}} for a detailed account of the tale.}} While mostly a fictitious story, intense wailing and burning offerings are commonplace in Chinese culture.{{sfn|Blake|2011|p=57}}{{efn|See {{harvtxt|Blake|2011|pp=57–63}} for other variations on the story less related to Cai Lun.}}

====Deification and remembrance====
Of those who originated China's [[Four Great Inventions]] of the ancient world—the [[compass]], [[gunpowder]], papermaking and printing—only the inventor of papermaking, Cai Lun, is known.{{sfn|Narita|1966|p=1}} Additionally, in comparison to other Chinese inventions such as the writing brush and [[ink]], the development of paper is the best documented in literary sources.{{sfn|Tsien|1962|p=[https://archive.org/details/writtenonbamboos0000chie/page/136/mode/1up 136]}}

After his death in 121 CE, a shrine with his grave was built in his hometown, but was soon neglected and damaged by floods while his name was largely forgotten.{{sfn|Narita|1966|p=13}} During the early [[Tang dynasty]], many national heroes were [[Apotheosis|deified]], such as [[Li Bai]] and [[Guan Yu]] as the gods of wine and war respectively. Cai was among the important people declared gods, and was deified as the national god of papermaking.{{sfnm|1a1=Day|1a2=McNeil|1y=1996|1p=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780415060424/page/123/mode/1up 123]|2a1=Tsien|2y=1985|2p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Lx-9mS6Aa4wC&pg=PA106 106]–107}} Cai also became a patron saint for papermakers, with his image often being painted or printed onto paper mills and paper shops in not only China, but also Japan.{{sfnm|1a1=Tsien|1y=1985|1p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Lx-9mS6Aa4wC&pg=PA107 107]|2a1=Carter|2y=1925|2p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=PgEYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA3 3]}} In 1267, a man named Chen Tsunghsi raised funds to repair the long-damaged shrine, and renovated it to include a statue of Cai and a [[mausoleum]].{{sfn|Narita|1966|p=13}} Chen stated that "Tsai Lung's [Cai Lun's] extraordinary talent and his achievement are exemplary to all ages."{{sfn|Narita|1966|p=13}} A stone mortar, which legends claim Cai used to make paper, may have been brought to the mausoleum, although other sources say it was brought to the Imperial Museum in the capital of [[Lin'an Prefecture|Lin'an]].{{sfnm|Narita|1966|1p=13|Carter|1925|2p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=PgEYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA3 3]}} A great ceremony was held for the new mausoleum, though it fell into ruin again and was restored in 1955.{{sfnm|Narita|1966|1p=13|Carter|1925|2p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=PgEYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA3 3]}} Today, the temple still stands in Leiyang as the {{ill|Cai Lun Temple|zh|蔡侯祠}} near a pool, renamed the "Cai Lun Pool", that was thought to be near Cai's home.{{sfn|Carter|1925|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=PgEYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA3 3]}} In the Song dynasty, Fei Chu ({{floruit|1265}}{{sfn|Tsien|1985|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Lx-9mS6Aa4wC&pg=PA47 47]}}) said there was a temple in [[Chengdu]] where hundreds of families in the papermaking business would come to worship Cai.{{sfn|Tsien|1985|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Lx-9mS6Aa4wC&pg=PA48 48]}}

[[File:Cai Lun's Tomb.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Cai Lun's traditional tomb, {{ill|Longting, Yangxian|zh|龙亭镇 (洋县)|lt=Longting}}, [[Hanzhong]], [[Shaanxi Province]].]]
During the late [[Qing dynasty]], papermakers created religious groups, known as either "spirit-money associations" ({{Transliteration|zh|shenfubang}}) or "Cai Lun associations" ({{Transliteration|zh|Cai Lun hui}}).{{sfn|Eyferth|2009|p=98}} In 1839, the {{Transliteration|zh|shenfubang}} from the town of Yingjiang was sued by {{Transliteration|zh|shenfubangs}} in Macun and Zhongxing of [[Jiajiang County]], [[Sichuan]].{{sfn|Eyferth|2019|p=208}} The conflict began when the {{Transliteration|zh|shenfubang}} of Yingjiang claimed that their statue of Cai—which they carried throughout Jiajiang County annually—gave them ritual supremacy over Macun and Zhongxing papermakers, whom they demanded pay for and take part in their celebrations.{{sfn|Eyferth|2019|p=208}} The {{Transliteration|zh|shenfubangs}} from Macun and Zhongxing denied the demand, citing their long history of worshipping Cai, which resulted in increasing conflict between the sides and eventually a lawsuit.{{sfn|Eyferth|2019|p=208}} The [[county magistrate]] reproached both parties for descending into conflict and said: "Did they not understand that all of them owed their livelihood to Lord Cai, who had taught them the art of papermaking? Were they not all disciples of Lord Cai, who wanted them to share the benefits of the trade?"{{sfn|Eyferth|2019|p=209}}

In the 21st century, Leiyang is still famous as Cai's birthplace and has active paper production.{{sfn|Holdstock|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=7-mKDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA101 101]}} His traditional tomb lays in the Cai Lun Paper Culture Museum of Longting, [[Hanzhong]], Shaanxi Province.{{sfn|Wang|2015}} In modern-day China, Cai's name is closely associated with paper,{{sfn|Carter|1925|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=PgEYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA3 3]}} and is the namesake of at least five roads: Cailun Road, [[Pudong]], Shanghai;{{sfn|''Google Maps'' a}} Cailun Road, [[Minhang District]], Shanghai;{{sfn|''Google Maps'' b}} Cailun Road, [[Fuyang District]], [[Hangzhou]], [[Zhejiang]];{{sfn|''Google Maps'' c}} Cailun Road East Crossing, [[Weiyang District, Xi'an|Weiyang District]], [[Xi'an]];{{sfn|''Google Maps'' d}} and Cailun Road, [[Yaohai District]], [[Hefei]], [[Anhui]].{{sfn|''Google Maps'' e}}