论中国纸发明和工艺改进的年代——兼论西汉初造纸者和东汉蔡伦改进造纸工艺的功绩

On the Years of the Invention of Chinese Paper and Its Technological Improvements ——On Immortal Contributions of Paper-makers at the Beginning of the Western Han Dynasty and Cailun's Technology of Improving Papermaking

纸是中国古代四大发明之一,在考古界未发现纸以前的2 700多年中,一直认为是东汉蔡伦发明纸。西汉纸的相继发现,将中国纸的发明又提前了200多年,为蔡伦改进造纸工艺、制造更加适用的纸奠定了基础。西汉已有纸和蔡伦发明纸之说并不矛盾,它证明了一项科学发明的过程,使蔡伦造纸说更加科学和合理。

Paper is one of the four greatest inventions of ancient China. In more than 2 700 years before the archaeological circles didn抰 discover the paper, Cailun of the Eastern Han Danasty had been thought to be the inventor of paper. The discovery of paper one after another in the Western Han Dynasty has again made the invention of Chinese paper more than 200 years ahead of time, and has laid good foundation for Cailun抯 technology of improving papermaking. There is no contradictory to say that there was paper in the Western Han Dynasty and Cailun invented paper, which proves a process of a scientific invention and has made the saying of Cailun抯 papermaking more scientific and reasonable.