Editing Cai Lun

{{Short description|Chinese Han dynasty official, credited with inventing modern paper}}
{{family name hatnote|[[Cai (surname)|Cai]]|lang=Chinese}}
{{featured article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Cai Lun
| native_name        = {{langn|zh-hans|蔡伦}}
| image              = Cai-lun.jpg
| caption            = [[Qing-era]] print depicting Cai as the [[Patron saint|patron]] of [[papermaking]], 18th century{{efn|This 18th-century print of Cai depicts him as the patron of papermaking with 4 attendants and a sacrificial pig and chicken;{{sfn|Tsien|1985|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Lx-9mS6Aa4wC&pg=PA108 108]–[https://books.google.com/books?id=Lx-9mS6Aa4wC&pg=PA109 109]}} the Chinese text above says "Patron Saint Cai Lun".{{sfn|Tsien|1985|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Lx-9mS6Aa4wC&pg=PA108 108]}} No contemporary likenesses of Cai survive.{{sfn|Hunter|Hunter|1978|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=1sEp3rtK994C&pg=PA51 51]}}}}
| alt                = Print of a bearded and formally dressed man surrounded by four attendants, a pig and a chicken
| birth_date         = {{circa|50–62&nbsp;CE}}
| birth_place        = {{ill|Guiyang Commandery|zh|桂阳郡}}, [[Han Empire]] {{nowrap|(modern-day [[Leiyang]], Hunan)}}
| death_date         = 121 CE (aged 59–71)
| death_place        = [[Old City of Luoyang|Luoyang]], Han Empire
| known              = Development of [[paper]] and [[papermaking]]
| occupation         = [[Eunuch]] court official
{{collapsible list|title=Court positions|
| {{Transliteration|zh|[[Xiao Huangmen]]}} ({{circa|80}}{{snd}}88)
| {{ill|Zhongchang shi|zh|中常侍|italic=y}} (88–121)
| {{Transliteration|zh|Shangfang Ling}} (88/89–121)
}}
}}
{{Infobox Chinese
| pic        = Cai Lun (Chinese characters Kaiti).svg
| piccap     = Cai's name in traditional (top) and simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
| picupright = 0.475
| s          = {{linktext|蔡|伦}}
| t          = 蔡倫
| mc         = {{IPA|/tsʰɑi<sup>H</sup> liuɪn/}} 
| w          = Ts{{wg-apos}}ai4 Lun2
| p          = Cài Lún
| mi         = {{IPAc-cmn|c|ai|4|-|l|un|2}}
| suz        = Tsha Lun
| h          = Tshai Lun
| j          = Coi3 Leon4
| y          = Choi Lèuhn
| ci         = {{IPAc-yue|c|oi|3|-|l|eon|4}}
| poj        = Chhoà Lûn
| tl         = Tshuà Lûn
|altname    = Jingzhong {{nowrap|([[courtesy name]])}}
|t2         = {{linktext|敬|仲}}
|s2         = 敬仲{{sfn|de Crespigny|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=49OvCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA27 27]}}
|p2         = Jìngzhòng{{sfn|de Crespigny|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=49OvCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA27 27]}}
|w2         = Ching4-Chung4{{sfn|Tsien|1985|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Lx-9mS6Aa4wC&pg=PA40 40]}}
}}

'''Cai Lun''' ({{lang-zh|s=蔡伦}}; [[courtesy name]]: '''Jingzhong''' ({{lang-zh|labels=no|t=敬仲|s=敬仲}}); {{circa|50–62}} – 121 CE), formerly [[romanization of Chinese|romanized]] as '''Ts'ai Lun''', was a [[Eunuchs in China|Chinese eunuch]] court official of the [[Eastern Han dynasty]]. He occupies a pivotal place in the [[history of paper]] due to his addition of [[Pulp (paper)|pulp]] via [[Bark (botany)|tree bark]] and [[hemp]] ends which resulted in the large-scale manufacture and worldwide spread of paper. Although traditionally regarded as the inventor of [[paper]], earlier forms of paper have existed since the 3rd century BCE, so Cai's contributions are limited to innovation, rather than invention.

Born in {{ill|Guiyang Commandery|zh|桂阳郡}} (in what is now [[Leiyang]]), Cai arrived at the imperial court in [[Old City of Luoyang|Luoyang]] by 75 CE, where he served as a [[Chamberlain (office)|chamberlain]] for [[Emperor Ming of Han|Emperor Ming]], and then as {{Transliteration|zh|[[Xiao Huangmen]]}}, an imperial messenger for [[Emperor Zhang of Han|Emperor Zhang]]. To assist [[Empress Dou (Zhang)|Lady Dou]] in securing her adopted son as [[Taizi|designated heir]], he interrogated [[Empress Jingyin|Consort Song]] and her sister, who then killed themselves. When [[Emperor He of Han|Emperor He]] ascended the throne in 88 CE, Dou awarded Cai with two positions: {{ill|Zhongchang shi|zh|中常侍|italic=y}}, a political counselor to the emperor that was the highest position for eunuchs of the time, and also as {{Transliteration|zh|Shangfang Ling}}, where Cai oversaw the production of instruments and weapons at the Palace Workshop.

Despite Emperor He's successful [[coup d'état]] against the Dou family in 92 CE, Cai was undisturbed by his former ally's downfall. His position in the Palace Workshop increased in scope; he became responsible for the production of [[ceremonial weapon]]s, which the {{Transliteration|zh|[[Book of the Later Han|Hou Hanshu]]}} reports were of exemplary craftsmanship. However, Cai's most noted innovation was in 105 CE, when he substantially improved the papermaking process with the use of tree bark, hemp waste, old rags, and [[Fishing net|fishnets]]. His new type of paper quickly displaced the [[bamboo and wooden slips]] used until then, and Cai received wealth and fame throughout the empire. In 110 CE, [[Deng Sui|Lady Deng]], who had become the [[empress dowager]] to the young [[Emperor An of Han|Emperor An]], appointed Cai to oversee 100 scholars' new edition of the [[Five Classics]]. Cai was rewarded for his imperial service in 114 CE; he received the title of [[Marquess#Equivalent non-Western titles|marquis]], and was [[Feoffment|enfeoffed]] lord of {{ill|Longting, Yangxian|zh|龙亭镇 (洋县)|lt=Longting}}, a small village. When his ally Deng died in 121 CE, Cai was ordered to the [[Ministry of Justice (imperial China)|Ministry of Justice]] because of his involvement in the death of the emperor's grandmother, Consort Song. Ashamed at his predicament and expecting to be sentenced to death, he committed [[suicide]] that year and died in the capital city in which he had spent almost his entire adult life.

Cai's improvements to paper-making are considered to have had an enormous impact on [[human history]], and of those who created China's [[Four Great Inventions]]—the [[compass]], [[gunpowder]], papermaking and [[printing]]—Cai is the only inventor whose name is known. Although in China he is revered in [[Ancestor veneration in China|ancestor worship]], [[Apotheosis|deified]] as the god of papermaking, and appears in [[Chinese folklore]], he is mostly unknown outside of [[East Asia]]. His hometown in Leiyang remains an active center of paper production.
{{TOC limit|3}}

==Sources==
The main source of information on Cai Lun is just 300 characters in volume 78 of the {{Transliteration|zh|[[Book of the Later Han|Hou Hanshu]]}} ({{lang|zh-Hant|後漢書}}; ''Book of the Later Han''), an [[Twenty-Four Histories|official history]] compiled by the [[Liu Song dynasty]] historian and politician [[Fan Ye (historian)|Fan Ye]].{{sfn|Tsien|1962|p=[https://archive.org/details/writtenonbamboos0000chie/page/136/mode/1up 136]}} [[Tsien Tsuen-hsuin]], a modern [[sinologist]], noted that while Fan's account is the most comprehensive, it is problematic as it was written nearly 300 years after Cai's death.{{sfn|Tsien|1962|p=[https://archive.org/details/writtenonbamboos0000chie/page/136/mode/1up 136]}} The primary source Fan used was the 2nd-century ''[[Dongguan Hanji]]'' ({{lang|zh-Hant|東觀漢記}}; ''History of the Eastern Han''),{{sfn|Li|Denecke|Tian|2017|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=tO4wDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA195 195]–[https://books.google.com/books?id=tO4wDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA196 196]}} in which {{ill|延笃|zh|lt=Yan Du}} is credited as the author of Cai's biography.{{sfn|de Crespigny|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=49OvCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA933 933]}} Yan's brief 70-character account is near-contemporary but only survives in a reconstructed state from a lost original.{{sfn|Tsien|1962|p=[https://archive.org/details/writtenonbamboos0000chie/page/136/mode/1up 136]}}<ref group="‡">{{harvtxt|''Dongguan Hanji'' 20/2b}}: "蔡倫字敬仲桂陽人為中常侍有才學盡忠重慎每至休沐輒閉門絶賔客曝體田野典作尚方造意用樹皮及敝布魚網作紙〈案一本作倫典尚方作紙用故麻名麻紙木皮名糓紙魚紙名網紙〉元興元年奏上之帝善其能自是莫不用天下咸稱蔡侯紙"<br />{{harvtxt|Tsien|1962|p=[https://archive.org/details/writtenonbamboos0000chie/page/136/mode/1up 136]}}: "Cai Lun, [[courtesy name]] Jingzhong, a native of {{ill|桂阳郡|zh|lt=Guiyang Commandery}}, served [at the court] as {{ill|中常侍|zh|lt=''Zhongchang shi''}}. He was a man of talent and learning, loyal and careful. When he was off duty, he usually shut himself up and refused to see visitors but exposed himself to nature. When he was charged with the office of {{Transliteration|zh|Shangfang Ling}}, he initiated the idea of making paper from tree bark, old rags and fishing nets. He submitted the process to the emperor in the first year of {{Transliteration|zh|Yuanxing}} [105] and received praise for his ability. From this time, paper has been in use and is universally called the 'paper of Cai Lun'".</ref> Another older source is a brief mention by the 3rd-century scholar Dong Ba, ({{lang-zh|labels=no|c=董巴}}){{sfn|Tsien|1962|p=[https://archive.org/details/writtenonbamboos0000chie/page/137/mode/1up 137]}} who is quoted referencing Cai's papermaking accomplishments in the 10th-century ''[[leishu]]'' encyclopedia {{Transliteration|zh|[[Taiping Yulan]]}} (''Readings of the Taiping Era'').{{sfn|Tsien|1962|p=[https://archive.org/details/writtenonbamboos0000chie/page/137/mode/1up 137]}}{{efn|See {{harvtxt|Tsien|1962|p=[https://archive.org/details/writtenonbamboos0000chie/page/137/mode/1up 137]}} for a full English translation of Dong Ba's account in the {{Transliteration|zh|[[Taiping Yulan]]}} [[:zh:s:太平御覽/0605#紙|605/7a]].}}

Later history books, such as the [[Song dynasty]]'s {{ill|Shiwu Jiyuan|zh|事物紀原|lt={{Transliteration|zh|Shiwu Jiyuan}}}} ({{lang|zh-Hant|事物紀原}}; ''Compound Source of Matters and Facts''), also include Cai and his work in papermaking.{{sfn|Barrett|2011|p=203}} However, some major history books, such as the ''[[Annals of the Later Han]]'' and ''{{Transliteration|zh|[[Zizhi Tongjian]]}}'' (''Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance'') do not mention Cai's papermaking achievements.{{sfn|Barrett|2011|p=203}}{{efn|While Cai's contributions to the papermaking process are not included in the ''{{Transliteration|zh|[[Zizhi Tongjian]]}}'', it did make multiple brief references to Cai's political activities in volumes [[:zh:s:資治通鑑/卷049|49]] and [[:zh:s:資治通鑑/卷050|50]].<ref>[[#CITEREFSIMAGUANG|''Zizhi Tongjian'' 49, 50]]</ref>}} Sinologist T. H. Barrett suggested this was because "Cai Lun was, after all, a palace [[eunuch]], precisely the sort of person normally viewed with antagonism by the regular bureaucrats who controlled the writing of official (and even most unofficial) history."{{sfn|Barrett|2011|p=203}}

==Life and career==
===Birth and background===
Cai Lun was born in [[Guiyang Commandery]] ({{lang|zh-Hant|桂阳郡}}; modern-day [[Leiyang]], [[Hunan]] province){{sfn|Tsien|1985|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Lx-9mS6Aa4wC&pg=PA40 40]}}<ref group="‡">{{harvtxt|''Hou Hanshu'' (78/68:2513–14)}}: "{{lang|zh-Hant|蔡伦字敬仲，桂陽人也。}}"<br />"Cai Lun's courtesy name was Jingzhong, and he was from Guiyang Commandery."</ref> in the [[Eastern Han dynasty]] (25–220 CE).{{sfnm|1a1=Holdstock|1y=2018|1p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=7-mKDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA101 101]|2a1=Provisional Urban Council|2a2=Hong Kong Museum of History|2y=1998|2p=60}}{{efn|The [[Han dynasty]] {{ill|桂阳郡|zh|lt=Guiyang Commandery}} is not to be confused with the unrelated modern-day [[Guiyang County]] or the city of [[Guiyang]].}} His exact year of birth is unknown; estimates include {{circa|50}},{{sfn|Li|Denecke|Tian|2017|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=tO4wDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA51 51]}} {{circa|57}},{{sfn|Day|McNeil|1996|p=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780415060424/page/122/mode/2up 122]}} and {{circa|62}}.{{sfn|''Britannica''|2020}}{{efn|Sinologist [[Rafe de Crespigny]] suggested that Cai was the same age as [[Zheng Zhong]], a fellow [[eunuch]],{{sfn|de Crespigny|2016|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=jSJ4DgAAQBAJ&pg=PA176 176]}} whose birth year is also unknown.{{sfn|de Crespigny|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=49OvCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA1130 1130]}}}} Other than being born into a poor family, virtually nothing is known of his early life.{{sfn|Narita|1966|pp=1–2}} Guiyang was a southern [[Commandery (China)|commandery]], where [[Han Chinese]] had immigrated for hundreds of years to plant and cultivate rice.{{sfn|Monro|2016|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=-Y6mCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA57 57]}} Legends suggest there was a pool near his home, south of which was a stone mortar that Cai would later use for [[papermaking]].{{sfnm|1a1=Tsien|1y=1985|1p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Lx-9mS6Aa4wC&pg=PA107 107]|2a1=Hunter|2a2=Hunter|2y=1978|2p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=1sEp3rtK994C&pg=PA52 52]}}

===Early imperial court service===
{{further|History of the Han dynasty#Policies under Guangwu, Ming, Zhang, and He}}

It is not known how Cai came to be in the service of the imperial court in [[Old City of Luoyang|Luoyang]] (modern-day [[Luoyang]], [[Henan]] province), which was distant from his birthplace.{{sfn|de Crespigny|2016|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=jSJ4DgAAQBAJ&pg=PA176 176]}} The {{Transliteration|zh|Hou Hanshu}} reports that he was first employed during the end of the {{Transliteration|zh|Yongping}} era (58–75) of [[Emperor Ming of Han|Emperor Ming]].{{sfn|de Crespigny|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=49OvCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA27 27]}}<ref group="‡">{{harvtxt|''Hou Hanshu'' (78/68:2513–14)}}: "{{lang|zh-Hant|以永平末始给事宫掖}}"<br />"He began serving in the palace at the end of the {{Transliteration|zh|Yongping}} era".<br />{{harvtxt|Hunter|Hunter|1978|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=1sEp3rtK994C&pg=PA50 50]}}: At the close of the reign of {{Transliteration|zh|Yongping}}, Cai Lun was employed at the court".</ref> The site of modern Guiyang Commandery was known to have had various iron mines at the time,{{sfnm|1a1=Poo|1y=2018|1p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Z7paDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA98 98]|2a1=Wagner|2y=2001|2p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=hgpCx2c9JQEC&pg=PA91 91]}} so the former director of the [[Paper Museum]] in Tokyo, Kiyofusa Narita, suggested that "through the assistance of some who were in charge of the iron foundry, he found opportunity to go to the capital city".{{sfn|Narita|1966|p=2}} Narita cited Cai's future court appointment to oversee the production of weapons, especially [[Chinese swords|swords]], as evidence that he must have learned the skills to do so earlier in his life, likely from the iron foundry.{{sfn|Narita|1966|p=2}} Alternatively, if there is any truth to the various [[#Folklore|folktales about Cai]], his supposed habits of trickery may have helped him receive a court appointment.{{sfn|Blake|2011|p=55}}

Cai is known to have been a eunuch in 75 CE, although it is possible he was employed somewhat earlier in the {{Transliteration|zh|Yongping}} era;{{sfnm|1a1=Tsien|1y=1985|1p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Lx-9mS6Aa4wC&pg=PA40 40]|2a1=Hunter|2a2=Hunter|2y=1978|2p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=1sEp3rtK994C&pg=PA50 50]}} sinologist [[Rafe de Crespigny]] suggested this was in the early 70s.{{sfn|de Crespigny|2016|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=jSJ4DgAAQBAJ&pg=PA176 176]}} In the Han dynasty, eunuchs were employed in imperial service and were the only people eligible for certain specialized tasks, such as watching over the [[Imperial Chinese harem system|imperial harem]] and the imperial household; there were also certain promotions available exclusively for them.{{sfn|Cartwright|2017}} Cai's position was probably as a liaison between the [[privy council]] and the emperor, and likely involved duties akin to a [[chamberlain (office)|chamberlain]] for the imperial family.{{sfn|Monro|2016|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=-Y6mCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA57 57]}} Narita notes Cai's role meant he would have had many chances to become acquainted with the most powerful people in the empire.{{sfn|Narita|1966|p=2}} Around 80 CE, during the subsequent {{Transliteration|zh|Jianchu}} era (76–84) under [[Emperor Zhang of Han|Emperor Zhang]], Cai was promoted to a ''[[Xiao Huangmen]]'' ({{lang|zh-Hant|小黄門}}; "Attendant at the Yellow Gates").{{sfn|de Crespigny|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=49OvCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA27 27]}}<ref group="‡">{{harvtxt|''Hou Hanshu'' (78/68:2513–14)}}: "{{lang|zh-Hant|建初中，为小黄門。}}"<br />"At the beginning of the {{Transliteration|zh|Jianchu}} era, he served as {{Transliteration|zh|Xiao Huangmen}}".<br />{{harvtxt|Carter|1925|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=PgEYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA3 3]}}: "During the period {{Transliteration|zh|Jianchu}} (76–84), Cai Lun formed part of the Imperial Guard."</ref> The positions, with a salary-rank of 600 ''shi'' or ''dan'',{{efn|During the Han dynasty, the power a government official exercised was determined by his annual salary-rank, measured in grain units known as ''dan'' ([[wikt:石|石]] or ''shi'', a unit of volume, approximately {{convert|35|L|USbsh}}).{{sfn|Bielenstein|1980|p=131}}{{sfn|de Crespigny|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=49OvCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA1221 1221]}} See [[Government of the Han dynasty#Salaries]] for further information.}} involved delivering and receiving messages between the imperial palace apartments and the outside court.{{sfn|de Crespigny|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=49OvCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA1218 1218]}}

===Palace intrigue and workshop===
Since 82 CE, [[Liu Qing (prince)|Liu Qing]], Zhang's son from his concubine [[Empress Jingyin|Consort Song]], had been the [[Taizi|designated heir]], secured by the favor of [[Empress Ma (Han dynasty)|Empress Ma]].{{sfn|de Crespigny|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=49OvCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA539 539]}} However, Ma's death in 79 CE made [[Empress Dou (Zhang)|Lady Dou]] the empress, and—aiming to develop her family's power—she adopted [[Emperor He of Han|Prince Zhao]] with the intention of installing him as heir.{{sfn|de Crespigny|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=49OvCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA160 160]}} As a result, when Song became ill in 82 and asked for herbs, Dou falsely accused her of planning to use the herbs for witchcraft against Zhang.{{sfn|Peterson|2000|p=105}} Dou then ordered Cai to interrogate Consort Song and her sister, another imperial consort, to force a confession; they both killed themselves.{{sfnm|1a1=de Crespigny|1y=2007|1p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=49OvCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA27 27]|2a1=Peterson|2y=2000|2p=105}} Believing Dou's accusation, Zhang replaced Liu Qing with Prince Zhao as heir.{{sfn|de Crespigny|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=49OvCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA539 539]}}

Prince Zhao, ruling as Emperor He, was 10 years old at his accession in 88 CE, so Dou took control as [[empress dowager]] and secured her authority by giving various positions to her four brothers, particularly [[Dou Xian]],{{sfn|de Crespigny|2007|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=49OvCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA161 161], 1130}} who promoted Cai to {{ill|中常侍|zh|lt=Zhongchang shi}} ({{lang|zh-Hant|中常侍}}; "Regular Attendant") for his loyalty.{{sfnm|1a1=de Crespigny|1y=2007|1p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=49OvCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA27 27]|2a1=de Crespigny|2y=2016|2p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=jSJ4DgAAQBAJ&pg=PA176 176]}} Cai served as a private counselor to He in political matters;{{sfn|Narita|1966|p=3}}<ref group="‡">{{harvtxt|''Hou Hanshu'' (78/68:2513–14)}}:"{{lang|zh-Hant|及和帝即位，转中常侍，豫参帷幄。}}"<br />"After Emperor He took the throne, he became {{Transliteration|zh|Zhongchang shi}}, and he participated in key strategic decisions."<br />{{harvtxt|Carter|1925|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=PgEYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA3 3]}}: "The Emperor He, on coming to the throne, knowing that Cai Lun was a man full of talent and zeal, appointed him a privy counsellor."<br />{{harvtxt|Hunter|Hunter|1978|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=1sEp3rtK994C&pg=PA50 50]}}: "The Emperor He, upon his accession, learning of Cai Lun's superior qualities and talents, named him private counsellor".</ref> this post gave Cai a salary-rank of 2000 ''shi'', and was the highest eunuch-exclusive position, which also made him a chief eunuch of the palace.{{sfn|de Crespigny|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=49OvCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA27 1218]}} In the {{Transliteration|zh|Hou Hanshu}}, Cai was characterized as, in the words of de Crespigny, "honest, cautious and a good judge of policy".{{sfn|de Crespigny|2016|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=jSJ4DgAAQBAJ&pg=PA177 177]}}<ref group="‡">{{harvtxt|''Hou Hanshu'' (78/68:2513–14)}}:"{{lang|zh-Hant|伦有才學，尽心敦慎，数犯严颜，匡弼得失。每至休沐，辄闭門绝宾，暴体田野。}}"<br />"Cai Lun was talented and learned. He used his full effort and was careful. He often was willing to correct the wrongs, even when it offended the stern faced [those in power]. When he had vacation days, he would close his door and not entertain guests, but spent time in the field."</ref> Cai was also designated {{Transliteration|zh|Shangfang Ling}} ({{lang|zh-Hant|尚方令}}; "Prefect of the Palace Workshop"{{sfn|de Crespigny|2016|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=jSJ4DgAAQBAJ&pg=PA176 176]}} or "Prefect of the Masters of Techniques"{{sfn|Bielenstein|1980|p=52}}) later in 88 or 89 CE.{{sfnm|1a1=de Crespigny|1y=2007|1p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=49OvCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA27 27]|2a1=Tsien|2y=1985|2p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Lx-9mS6Aa4wC&pg=PA40 40]}}<ref group="‡">{{harvtxt|''Hou Hanshu'' (78/68:2513–14)}}:"{{lang|zh-Hant|后加位尚方令。}}"<br />"He was later given the additional post of Shangfangling."</ref> While in this eunuch-only position,{{sfn|Bielenstein|1980|p=52}} he would have been responsible for the production of instruments and weapons for imperial use.{{sfn|Tsien|1985|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Lx-9mS6Aa4wC&pg=PA40 40]}} The role had a salary-rank of 600 ''shi''—though this was in addition to the 2000 ''shi'' from his continued {{Transliteration|zh|Zhongchang shi}} post.{{sfn|Bielenstein|1980|p=61}}

When Emperor He came of age in 92 CE he led various officials, especially [[Zheng Zhong]], in a [[coup d'état]] to overthrow the Dou family.{{sfn|de Crespigny|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=49OvCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA1130 1130]}} Cai was not involved in their removal, and though he was previously allied with the family, he was undisturbed by the Emperor's coup.{{sfn|de Crespigny|2016|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=jSJ4DgAAQBAJ&pg=PA176 176]}} In 97 CE, his position as {{Transliteration|zh|Shangfang Ling}} expanded in scope, as he became responsible for [[Ceremonial weapon|ceremonial swords]] and other items. The {{Transliteration|zh|Hou Hanshu}} describes his craftsmanship as high-quality and a model for later generations.{{sfnm|1a1=de Crespigny|1y=2016|1p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=jSJ4DgAAQBAJ&pg=PA176 176]|2a1=de Crespigny|2y=2007|2p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=49OvCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA27 161]}}<ref group="‡">{{harvtxt|''Hou Hanshu'' (78/68:2513–14)}}:"{{lang|zh-Hant|永元九年，监作秘剑及诸器械，莫不精工坚密，为后世法。}}"<br />"In the 9th year of the {{Transliteration|zh|Yongyuan}} era [97], he oversaw the manufacturing of imperial swords and other equipment, which were all made carefully and well, and he became an example for later generations."<br />{{harvtxt|Carter|1925|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=PgEYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA3 3]}}: "In the ninth year of the period {{Transliteration|zh|Yongyuan}} (97) Cai Lun became inspector of public works. By his plans and according to his arrangements, engineers and workmen made, always with the best of materials, swords and arms of various sorts. Later generations could do no better than imitate his methods of work."<br />{{harvtxt|Hunter|Hunter|1978|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=1sEp3rtK994C&pg=PA50 50], [https://books.google.com/books?id=1sEp3rtK994C&pg=PA52 52]}}: "In the ninth year of the reign of {{Transliteration|zh|Yongyuan}} (97), Cai Lun was made inspector of works and through his efforts the engineers and workmen by the use of fine materials and skill produced swords and arms that served as models for future generations."</ref>

===Development of paper===
{{see also|Papermaking|Science and technology of the Han dynasty}}
[[File:Making Paper.gif|thumb|[[Woodcut]]s depicting the five seminal steps in ancient Chinese [[papermaking]]. From the 1637 ''[[Tiangong Kaiwu]]'' of the [[Ming dynasty]].{{sfn|Provisional Urban Council|Hong Kong Museum of History|1998|p=60}}|alt=A gif of five images of workers completing various manual tasks to create paper]]

In 105, Cai publicly declared that he had invented a new composition for paper with a new papermaking process.{{sfn|Eliot|Rose|2009|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=CFiDCjMcnvcC&dq&pg=PA99 99]}} Writing had a long history in China with writing surfaces being [[bamboo and wooden slips]] (wood for short text and [[bamboo]] for lengthy text).{{sfnm|1a1=Hunter|1a2=Hunter|1y=1978|1p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=1sEp3rtK994C&pg=PA48 48]|2a1=Carter|2y=1925|2p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=PgEYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1 1]}} These media were inconvenient as they were awkward to store, heavy, and difficult to write on.{{sfn|Hunter|Hunter|1978|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=1sEp3rtK994C&pg=PA48 48]}} After [[Meng Tian]] purportedly created an animal-hair brush for writing in 3rd-century BCE, [[silk]] and [[Textile|cloth]] became alternatives that addressed these issues, but they were too expensive for widespread use.{{sfn|Hunter|Hunter|1978|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=1sEp3rtK994C&pg=PA48 48]}} The absence of a practical solution motivated continued experimentation with different materials; Cai's [[Pulp (paper)|pulp]] solution proved the most effective.{{sfn|Carter|1925|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=PgEYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA2 2]}} His process still used bamboo, but also introduced [[hemp]] waste, old rags, [[Fishing net|fishnets]], and most importantly, [[Bark (botany)|bark]] from trees (likely [[Morus (plant)|mulberry]]).{{sfnm|1a1=Hunter|1a2=Hunter|1y=1978|1p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=1sEp3rtK994C&pg=PA52 52]|2a1=Tsien|2y=1985|2pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Lx-9mS6Aa4wC&pg=PA4 4], 40, 57}} The materials were boiled to a pulp that was beaten with a wood or stone mallet before being mixed with a large amount of water. The resulting mixture was then processed with wooden [[sieve]]s and the excess water removed, leaving the paper finished once dry.{{sfn|Day|McNeil|1996|p=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780415060424/page/122/mode/2up 122]}} The paper that resulted from this method is often referred to as "Cai Hou paper" ({{lang|zh-Hant|蔡侯纸}}).{{sfn|Tsien|1985|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Lx-9mS6Aa4wC&pg=PA295 295]}} This event and its context are relayed in an often cited passage of the {{Transliteration|zh|Hou Hanshu}}:{{efn|English translations of the excerpt are included in {{harvtxt|Carter|1925|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=PgEYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA3 3]}}, {{harvtxt|Hunter|Hunter|1978|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=1sEp3rtK994C&pg=PA50 50], 52}}, {{harvtxt|Tsien|1962|p=[https://archive.org/details/writtenonbamboos0000chie/page/136/mode/1up 136]}} and {{harvtxt|Tsien|1985|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Lx-9mS6Aa4wC&pg=PA40 40]}}.}}
{{Blockquote|
|text=<poem>{{lang|zh|自古書契多編以竹簡，其用縑帛者謂之為紙。縑貴而簡重，並不便於人。倫乃造意，用樹膚、麻頭及敝布、魚網以為紙。元興元年奏上之，帝善其能，自是莫不從用焉，故天下咸称蔡侯紙。}}
In ancient times writings and inscriptions were generally made on tablets of bamboo or on pieces of silk called {{Transliteration|zh|chih}}. But silk being costly and bamboo heavy, they were not convenient to use. Cai Lun then initiated the idea of making paper from the bark of trees, hemp, old rags, and fishing nets. He submitted the process to the emperor in the first year of {{Transliteration|zh|Yuanxing}} [105] and received praise for his ability. From this time, paper has been in use everywhere and is universally called the "paper of Lord Cai."</poem>
|source={{Transliteration|zh|Hou Hanshu}} 78/68:2513–14<ref group="‡">{{harvtxt|''Hou Hanshu'' (78/68:2513–14)}}: "{{lang|zh-Hant|自古書契多編以竹簡，其用縑帛者謂之為紙。縑貴而簡重，並不便於人。倫乃造意，用樹膚、麻頭及敝布、魚網以為紙。元興元年奏上之，帝善其能，自是莫不從用焉，故天下咸称蔡侯紙。}}"<br />{{harvtxt|Tsien|1962|p=[https://archive.org/details/writtenonbamboos0000chie/page/136/mode/1up 136]}}: In ancient times writings and inscriptions were generally made on tablets of bamboo or on pieces of silk called {{Transliteration|zh|chih}}. But silk being costly and bamboo heavy, they were not convenient to use. Cai Lun then initiated the idea of making paper from the bark of trees, hemp, old rags, and fishing nets. He submitted the process to the emperor in the first year of {{Transliteration|zh|Yuanxing}} [105] and received praise for his ability. From this time, paper has been in use everywhere and is universally called the "paper of Lord Cai."</ref>
}}

Many legends about the inspiration for Cai's invention exist; one of the most popular said that Cai was inspired by watching [[paper wasp]]s make their nests.{{sfn|Holdstock|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=7-mKDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA101 101]}} Tsien suggested that Cai was inspired by the people of his birthplace, who used bark from mulberry trees to create cloth as a writing surface.{{sfn|Tsien|1985|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Lx-9mS6Aa4wC&pg=PA4 4]}} Irrespective of its origin, in 105 CE, Cai's new papermaking process both impressed He and earned him fame throughout the empire.{{sfnm|1a1=Hunter|1a2=Hunter|1y=1978|1p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=1sEp3rtK994C&pg=PA52 52]|2a1=Carter|2y=1925|2p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=PgEYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA3 3]|3a1=Hart|3y=2000|3p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=jvbNRbDKY1wC&pg=PA37 37]}}

===Final years and death===
After the infant [[Emperor Shang of Han|Emperor Shang]]'s eight-month reign, in 106 CE Emperor He was succeeded by 13-year-old [[Emperor An of Han|Emperor An]], while [[Deng Sui|Lady Deng]] ruled as empress dowager.{{sfn|de Crespigny|2007|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=49OvCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA531 531], 580}} Both Cai and Zheng maintained influence in Deng's court.{{sfn|de Crespigny|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=49OvCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA27 27]}} In 110 CE, Deng assembled more than 100 scholars—including {{ill|Liu Zhen (Eastern Han)|zh|劉珍 (東漢)|lt=Liu Zhen}}, {{ill|Liu Taotu|zh|劉騊駼}} and [[Ma Rong]]—in the Eastern Pavilion of the palace to begin creating a definitive edition of the [[Four Books and Five Classics#Five Classics|Five Classics]].{{sfn|de Crespigny|2007|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=49OvCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA127 127], 593}} She appointed Cai to oversee and supervise the production; de Crespigny said that this meant Cai "was seriously concerned with scholarship".{{sfn|de Crespigny|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=49OvCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA27 27]}}<ref group="‡">{{harvtxt|''Hou Hanshu'' (78/68:2513–14)}}: "{{lang|zh-Hant|四年，帝以經傳之文多不正定，乃选通儒谒者劉珍及博士良史诣东观，各雠校汉家法，令伦监典其事。}}"<br />"In the fourth year of the ''Yuanchu'' era, the Emperor, finding that the various classics often did not have standard texts, selected the yezhe Liu Zhen, along with other well-learned people and good officials to gather at Dongguan to edit and correct the Han laws in accordance, and made Cai Lun in charge of the project."</ref> In 114 CE, he was awarded the title of ''[[Marquess#Equivalent non-Western titles|marquis]]'' and the imperial court [[Feoffment|enfeoffed]] him as the lord of {{ill|Longting, Shaanxi|zh|龙亭镇 (洋县)|lt=Longting}}, a small village of 300 families{{sfnm|1a1=Hunter|1a2=Hunter|1y=1978|1p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=1sEp3rtK994C&pg=PA52 52]|2a1=Narita|2y=1966|2p=12}} in modern-day [[Yang County]], [[Shaanxi]].{{sfn|Provisional Urban Council|Hong Kong Museum of History|1998|p=60}}<ref group="‡">{{harvtxt|''Hou Hanshu'' (78/68:2513–14)}}: "{{lang|zh-Hant|元初元年，邓太后以伦久宿卫，封为龍亭侯，邑三百户。}}"<br />"In the first year of the ''Yuanchu'' era, Empress Dowager Deng, on account that Cai Lun had long been in service, created him the Marquess of Longting with a fief of 300 households."</ref> Later that year Zheng died and Cai succeeded him as the head of the Dowager's household.{{sfn|de Crespigny|2016|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=jSJ4DgAAQBAJ&pg=PA177 177]}}

An assumed power after Deng's death in 121 CE, though the court was dominated by the influence of Empress [[Yan Ji]] and her brothers.{{sfn|de Crespigny|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=49OvCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA935 935]}} Remembering Cai's part in the death of his grandmother, Consort Song, An ordered Cai to report to the [[Ministry of Justice (imperial China)|Ministry of Justice]] to answer the charges, and presumably sentence him to death.{{sfn|de Crespigny|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=49OvCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA27 27]}} Ashamed that the Emperor would send him to death in a dishonorable way, Cai bathed and dressed in formal clothes before [[Suicide|killing himself]] by drinking poison.{{sfn|de Crespigny|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=49OvCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA27 27]}}<ref group="‡">{{harvtxt|''Hou Hanshu'' (78/68:2513–14)}}: "{{lang|zh-Hant|伦初受窦后讽旨，诬陷安帝祖母宋贵人。及太后崩，安帝始亲万机，敕使自致廷尉。伦耻受辱，乃沐浴整衣冠，饮药而死。國除。}}"<br />"Previously, Cai Lun, under Empress Dou's orders, made false accusations against Emperor An's grandmother Consort Song. After the Empress Dowager's death, Emperor An began to oversee all affairs of state. He ordered Cai Lun to self-report to the ministry of justice. Cai Lun did not want to be humiliated, and therefore, after bathing and putting on formal wear, drank poison and died. His fief was cancelled."</ref>

==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}}

==References==
===Notes===
{{notelist}}

===Citations===
====Early====
:''When applicable, this list identifies the relevant passage of early sources in addition to a modern citation. Per [[WP:TRANSCRIPTION]], a translation from a Wikipedia editor is given and, if available, a loose translation from a modern source is provided.''
{{Reflist|group="‡"|30em|refs=
<ref name="Sanfu Juelu" group="‡">{{ cite book
| author= Zhao Qi (趙歧) | orig-date= 100s
| chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/02084304.cn/page/n77/mode/1up
| editor= Zhang Shu (張澍) | editor-link=:zh:張澍
| date= 1800s
| quote= 令左伯字子邑東萊人"<br />"He ordered Zuo Bo, courtesy name Ziyi, who came from Donglai...
| title= Sanfu Juelu| script-title=zh:三輔決錄
| title-link=:zh:三輔決錄
| chapter= 2.14b }}</ref>
}}

====Modern====
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
====Early====
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |author=Yan Du |script-title=zh:東觀漢記 |title=[[:s:zh:後漢書|''Dongguan Hanji'']] |trans-title=[[Dongguan Hanji|History of the Eastern Han]] |volume=[[:s:zh:東觀漢記 (四庫全書本)/卷20|20]] |language=zh|ref={{sfnRef|''Dongguan Hanji'' 20/2b}} |author-mask=Compiled by {{ill|延笃|zh|lt=Yan Du}} (2nd century) }}
* {{cite book |author=Fan Ye |script-title=zh:後漢書 |title=[[:s:zh:後漢書|''Hou Hanshu'']] |trans-title=[[Book of the Later Han]] |volume=[[:s:zh:後漢書/卷78#蔡伦|78]] |language=zh|ref={{sfnRef|''Hou Hanshu'' (78/68:2513–14)}} |author-mask=Compiled by [[Fan Ye (historian)|Fan Ye]] (5th century) }}
* {{cite book |author=Sima Guang |script-title=zh:資治通鑑 |title=[[:s:zh:資治通鑑|''Zizhi Tongjian'']]  |trans-title=[[Zizhi Tongjian|Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance]] |volume=[[:s:zh:資治通鑑/卷049|49]], [[:s:zh:資治通鑑/卷050|50]] |language=zh |ref=CITEREFSIMAGUANG |author-mask=Compiled by [[Sima Guang]] (1084 )}}
{{refend}}

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* {{cite book |last=de Crespigny |first=Rafe |year=2016 |title=Fire Over Luoyang: A History of the Later Han Dynasty 23-220 AD |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |location=Leiden |isbn=978-90-04-32520-3 |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=jSJ4DgAAQBAJ}} }}
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* {{cite book |last=Eyferth |first=Jacob |title=Eating Rice from Bamboo Shoots |year=2009 |chapter=4: Artisans into Peasants |volume=314 |pages=92–115 |publisher=[[Harvard University Asia Center]] |location=Pittsburgh |isbn=978-0-674-03288-0 |jstor=j.ctt1x07xz5 |doi=10.2307/j.ctt1x07xz5.10 }}
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* {{cite book |last1=Hart |first1=Michael H. |author1-link=Michael H. Hart |year=2000 |orig-date=1978 |title=The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History |edition=2nd |publisher=[[Kensington Books|Citadel]] |location=New York |isbn=978-0-8065-1350-8 |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=jvbNRbDKY1wC}} }}
* {{cite book |last1=Hunter |first1=Dard |author1-link=Dard Hunter |last2=Hunter |first2=Cornell |year=1978 |orig-date=1943 |title=Papermaking: The History and Technique of an Ancient Craft |edition=2nd |publisher=[[Dover Publications]] |location=New York |isbn=978-0-486-23619-3 |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=1sEp3rtK994C}} }}
* {{cite book |last=Holdstock |first=Nick |year=2018 |title=Chasing the Chinese Dream: Stories from Modern China |publisher=[[I.B. Tauris]] |location=London |isbn=978-1-78453-373-1 |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=7-mKDwAAQBAJ}} }}
* {{cite book |last=Monro |first=Alexander |year=2016 |title=The Paper Trail: An Unexpected History of a Revolutionary Invention |publisher=[[Vintage Books]] |location=New York |isbn=978-0-307-96230-0 |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=-Y6mCQAAQBAJ}} }}
* {{cite book |author=Poo Mu-chou |author-link=Poo Mu-chou |year=2018 |title=Daily Life in Ancient China |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-1-107-02117-4 |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=Z7paDwAAQBAJ}} |ref={{sfnRef|Poo|2018}} }}
* {{cite book |last=Narita |first=Kiyofusa |year=1966 |title=Life of Ts'ai Lung and Japanese Paper-Making |publisher=Dainihon Press |location=Tokyo |oclc=8310445 }}
* {{cite book |author=Tsien Tsuen-Hsuin |author-link=Tsien Tsuen-Hsuin |year=1962 |title=Written on Bamboo and Silk: The Beginnings of Chinese Books and Inscriptions |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |location=Chicago |oclc=1153461323 |url=https://archive.org/details/writtenonbamboos0000chie |url-access=registration |ref={{sfnRef|Tsien|1962}} }}
* {{cite book |author=Tsien Tsuen-Hsuin |editor-last=Needham |editor-first=Joseph |editor-link=Joseph Needham
|year=1985 |title=Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Part 1, Paper and Printing |publisher=Caves Books |location=Taipei |isbn=978-0-521-08690-5 |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=Lx-9mS6Aa4wC&q}} |ref={{sfnRef|Tsien|1985}} }}
* {{cite book |last=Peterson |first=Barbara Bennett |year=2000 |title=Notable Women of China: Shang Dynasty to the Early Twentieth Century |publisher=[[M. E. Sharpe]] |location=New York |isbn=978-0-7656-0504-7 }}
* {{cite book |editor-last1=Li |editor-first1=Wai-yee |editor-last2=Denecke |editor-first2=Wiebke |editor-last3=Tian |editor-first3=Xiaofei |year=2017 |title=The Oxford Handbook of Classical Chinese Literature (1000 BCE-900 CE) |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-935659-1 |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=tO4wDgAAQBAJ}} }}
* {{cite book |last=Wagner |first=Donald B. |year=2001 |title=The State and the Iron Industry in Han China |publisher=[[Nordic Institute of Asian Studies]] Publishing |location=Copenhagen |isbn=978-87-87062-83-1 |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=hgpCx2c9JQEC}} }}
* {{cite book |last=Wilkinson |first=Endymion |author-link=Endymion Wilkinson |year=2018 |title=[[Chinese History: A New Manual]] |publisher=[[Harvard University Asia Center]] |location=Cambridge |edition=5th |isbn=978-0-9988883-0-9 }}
* {{cite book |author1=Provisional Urban Council [香港臨時市政局] |author-link1=Provisional Urban Council |author2=Hong Kong Museum of History [中國歷史博物館聯合主辦] |author-link2=Hong Kong Museum of History |date=1998 |script-title=zh:天工開物 中國古代科技文物展 |title=Tian gong kai wu: Zhongguo gu dai ke ji wen wu zhan |trans-title=Heavenly Creations: Gems of Ancient Chinese Inventions |script-chapter=zh:造纸 |chapter=Zàozhǐ |trans-chapter=Papermaking |language=zh, en|publisher=[[Hong Kong Museum of History|香港歷史博物館 [Hong Kong Museum of History]]] |location=Hong Kong |pages=54–71 |isbn=978-962-7039-37-2 |oclc=41895821 |ref={{sfnRef|Provisional Urban Council|Hong Kong Museum of History|1998}} }}
{{refend}}

=====Journals=====
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite journal |last=Barrett |first=T. H. |year=2011 |title=The Woman Who Invented Notepaper: Towards a Comparative Historiography of Paper and Print |journal=[[Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society]] |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=199–210 |jstor=23011493 }}
* {{cite journal |last=David |first=Percival |author-link=Percival David |year=1935 |title=The Chinese Exhibition |journal=Journal of the Royal Society of Arts |publisher=[[Royal Society of Arts]] |volume=84 |issue=4333 |pages=111–121 |jstor=41360618 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Kern |first=Martin |year=2001 |title=Ritual, Text, and the Formation of the Canon: Historical Transitions of "Wen" in Early China |journal=[[T'oung Pao]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |volume=87 |issue=1/3 |pages=43–91 |doi=10.1163/15685320152565349 |jstor=4528866 }}
{{refend}}

=====Online=====
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Cartwright |first=Mark |date=27 July 2017 |title=Eunuchs in Ancient China |encyclopedia=[[World History Encyclopedia]] |access-date=13 December 2020 |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1109/eunuchs-in-ancient-china/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201210102245/https://www.ancient.eu/article/1109/eunuchs-in-ancient-china/ |archive-date=10 December 2020 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite encyclopedia |date=1 January 2020 |title=Cai Lun {{pipe}} Biography, Paper & Facts |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]] |location=Chicago |access-date=18 May 2020 |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Cai-Lun |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201004012655/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Cai-Lun |archive-date=4 October 2020 |url-status=live |ref={{sfnRef|''Britannica''|2020}} }}
* {{cite web |script-title=ja:西嶋の『造紙三神像』の掛け軸 |trans-title=Hanging scroll with the Three Gods of Paper-making, Nishijima |publisher=Minobu Town Museum of History and Folklore |location=[[Minobu, Yamanashi|Minobu]] |language=ja|access-date=22 June 2020 |url=http://www3.town.minobu.lg.jp/lib/shiryou/washi/kihon1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190825023553/http://www3.town.minobu.lg.jp/lib/shiryou/washi/kihon1.html |archive-date=25 August 2019 |url-status=live |ref={{sfnRef|Minobu Town Museum of History and Folklore}} }}
* {{cite web |date=2 August 2010 |title=Planetary Names: Crater, craters: Cai Lun on Moon |publisher=[[Astrogeology Research Program|USGS Astrogeology Science Center]] |location=[[Flagstaff, Arizona|Flagstaff]] |access-date=22 June 2020 |url=https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/14749?__fsk=-1921080193 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626025233/https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/14749?__fsk=-1921080193 |archive-date=26 June 2020 |url-status=live |ref={{sfnRef|USGS Astrogeology Science Center|2010}} }}
* {{cite magazine |date=2007 |title=Cai Lun (circa A.D. 50–121) |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=27 February 2021 |url=https://content.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1677329_1677708_1677866,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200219140915/http://content.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1677329_1677708_1677866,00.html |archive-date=19 February 2020 |url-status=live |ref={{sfnRef|''Time''|2007}} }}
* {{cite web |last=Wang |first=William |date=23 April 2015 |title=Cai Lun Paper Culture Museum: A page out of history |publisher=[[China Internet Information Center]] |access-date=4 June 2020 |url=http://www.china.org.cn/travel/2015-04/23/content_35398275.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009082624/http://www.china.org.cn/travel/2015-04/23/content_35398275.htm |archive-date=9 October 2020 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite web |title=Cai Lun Lu, Pudong Xinqu, Shanghai Shi, China |website=[[Google Maps]] |access-date=25 March 2021 |url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Cai+Lun+Lu,+Pudong+Xinqu,+Shanghai+Shi,+China/@31.1923144,121.6009595,17z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x35b27794f42e1a45:0x600e62529e80ce3b!8m2!3d31.1927455!4d121.6032061 |archive-date=4 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210804014147/https://www.google.com/maps/place/Cai+Lun+Lu,+Pudong+Xinqu,+Shanghai+Shi,+China/@31.1923144,121.6009595,17z/data=%214m5%213m4%211s0x35b27794f42e1a45:0x600e62529e80ce3b%218m2%213d31.1927455%214d121.6032061 |url-status=live |ref={{sfnRef|''Google Maps'' a}} }}
* {{cite web |title=Cailun Road, Minhang District, Shanghai, China |website=[[Google Maps]] |access-date=25 March 2021 |url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Cai+Lun+Lu,+Minhang+Qu,+Shanghai+Shi,+China/@31.0042681,121.3970862,17z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x35b28920063964af:0xa5a6c5ba78baa03f!8m2!3d31.0042635!4d121.3992749 |archive-date=4 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210804014147/https://www.google.com/maps/place/Cai+Lun+Lu,+Minhang+Qu,+Shanghai+Shi,+China/@31.0042681,121.3970862,17z/data=%214m5%213m4%211s0x35b28920063964af:0xa5a6c5ba78baa03f%218m2%213d31.0042635%214d121.3992749 |url-status=live |ref={{sfnRef|''Google Maps'' b}} }}
* {{cite web |title=Cailun Road, Fuyang District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China |website=[[Google Maps]] |access-date=25 March 2021 |url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Cai+Lun+Lu,+Fuyang+Qu,+Hangzhou+Shi,+Zhejiang+Sheng,+China/@30.0102383,119.9701379,17z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x344b84ad9f89abf1:0x22964c04b035868f!8m2!3d30.0102337!4d119.9723266 |archive-date=4 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210804014149/https://www.google.com/maps/place/Cai+Lun+Lu,+Fuyang+Qu,+Hangzhou+Shi,+Zhejiang+Sheng,+China/@30.0102383,119.9701379,17z/data=%214m5%213m4%211s0x344b84ad9f89abf1:0x22964c04b035868f%218m2%213d30.0102337%214d119.9723266 |url-status=live |ref={{sfnRef|''Google Maps'' c}} }}
* {{cite web |title=Cailun Road East Crossing, Weiyang District, Xi'an, Xi'an, China |website=[[Google Maps]] |access-date=25 March 2021 |url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Cailun+Road+East+Crossing,+Weiyang+Qu,+Xian+Shi,+China/@34.3716214,108.8876662,17z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x36637e8f71ac4397:0x97ad65b4d8d57641!8m2!3d34.371617!4d108.8898549 |archive-date=4 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210804014148/https://www.google.com/maps/place/Cailun+Road+East+Crossing,+Weiyang+Qu,+Xian+Shi,+China/@34.3716214,108.8876662,17z/data=%214m5%213m4%211s0x36637e8f71ac4397:0x97ad65b4d8d57641%218m2%213d34.371617%214d108.8898549 |url-status=live |ref={{sfnRef|''Google Maps'' d}} }}
* {{cite web |title=Cailun Road, Yaohai District, Hefei, Anhui, China |website=[[Google Maps]] |access-date=25 March 2021 |url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Cai+Lun+Lu,+Yaohai+Qu,+Hefei+Shi,+Anhui+Sheng,+China/@31.9081541,117.3754672,17z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x35cb6fe3a5c1a9ad:0xf03228c18ef62758!8m2!3d31.9081496!4d117.3776559 |archive-date=4 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210804014148/https://www.google.com/maps/place/Cai+Lun+Lu,+Yaohai+Qu,+Hefei+Shi,+Anhui+Sheng,+China/@31.9081541,117.3754672,17z/data=%214m5%213m4%211s0x35cb6fe3a5c1a9ad:0xf03228c18ef62758%218m2%213d31.9081496%214d117.3776559 |url-status=live |ref={{sfnRef|''Google Maps'' e}} }}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite journal |last=Bielenstein |first=Hans |author-link=Hans Bielenstein |year=1976 |title=Lo-Yang in Later Han Times |journal=Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities |publisher=Elanders Boktryckeri Aktiebolag |location=Kungsbacka |volume=48 |page=29 |oclc=802970490}}
* {{cite book |author=Pan Jixing (潘吉星) |editor=Lu Jiaxi (卢嘉锡) |year=1998 |title=Zhongguo kexue jishushi |script-title=zh:中国科学技术史 |trans-title=History of Science and Technology in Pre-Modern China |chapter=Zaozhi yu yinshua juan |script-chapter=zh:造纸与印刷卷 |trans-chapter=Papermaking and printing |publisher=Kexue |location=Beijing |oclc=46855715 |language=zh }}
* {{cite book |last=Tschichold |first=Jan |author-link=Jan Tschichold |year=1955 |title=Der Erfinder des Papiers Tsʼai Lun in einer alten chinesischen Darstellung |trans-title=The inventor of the paper Tsʼai Lun in an old Chinese illustration |language=de|publisher=Zürcher Papierfabrik an der Sihl |location=Zürich |oclc=755942817}}
* {{cite book |author=Tsien Tsuen-Hsuin |author-link=Tsien Tsuen-Hsuin |year=2011 |title=Collected Writings on Chinese Culture |publisher=[[The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press]] |location=Shatin |isbn=978-962-996-422-1 |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=0MTL6V5gxogC}}}}
* {{cite book |last=Yardley |first=Christopher B. |year=2015 |title=The Representation of Science and Scientists on Postage Stamps: A Science Communication Study |chapter=Stamps as Communicators of Public Policy |pages=77–142 |publisher=[[ANU Press]] |location=Canberra |isbn=978-1-925021-80-6 |jstor=j.ctt15hvqxp.7}} See pages 79–80 for information on a stamp of Cai Lun issued by [[China Post]] in 1962
{{refend}}

==External links==
* [http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Han/personscailun.html Cai Lun] at [[Chinaknowledge]]

{{Han Dynasty topics}}
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<!-- Cai Lun's birthdate is uncertain, no specific category should be added for it -->

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cai, Lun}}
[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]
[[Category:121 deaths]]
[[Category:1st-century Chinese people]]
[[Category:2nd-century Chinese people]]
[[Category:Chinese inventors]]
[[Category:Chinese politicians who died by suicide]]
[[Category:Deified Chinese men]]
[[Category:Han dynasty eunuchs]]
[[Category:Han dynasty government officials]]
[[Category:Papermakers]]
[[Category:Papermaking in China]]
[[Category:People from Leiyang]]
[[Category:Suicides by poison]]
[[Category:Suicides in the Han dynasty]]