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Show 8 was formed on the "laid" style of mould, fabricated from vegetable fibres This carly paper, however, docs not date from the time when paper wa invented, there beinga lapse of some forty to fifty years between the actua invention and the period represented by the ancient paper uncarthed i the Great Wall of China. It is my contention that the "wove" type of moul was used for making the first paper and that the "laid" mould was a after-invention, being conceived sometime between 105 A.D., when pape wa invented, and 150 A.D., the date attributed to the earliest paper tha has been found ¢ employment of these simple "wove" moulds, upon which cac individual shect of paper is allowed to dry, is the most interesting aspec of all Chinese papermaking. The use of the common flexible "laid" mould in Ghina at the pr\.sl.nl time is not dissimilar to the methods employed i Korea, and there s not necessary to enter into a detailed descriptio of this method of tormmg paper As outlined in thesecuon dealing with moulds, the "wove" mould of Kwangtung are used in the making of paper for the packing of gol leaf and for mahug lamcm: The paper mill near Fatshan, Kwangtung operates throughout the year as m raw material used for making th paper is not scasmnble, being scraps of old discarded papers which originally made of bamboo (P}l,vlbumc/t): mm ) and ceiba (Bombax i fibres. The small buildings which house the Fatshan mill are of er construction of bamboo, china fir, and nnuvc-madc bricks, the roofs bun of tile. The cight or ten workers sleep in one of the small storage rooms preparing their own meals and cating the meagre fare in the open crouche upon their haunches. Hundreds of moulds are stacked on the veranda, and on rainy days, when it is not possible towork, the moulds undergo repairs for Ll\cy are of delicate construction and need constant attention In preparing the pulp for papermaking in the Fatshan mill, the scrap of old bamboo paper are soaked in water held in large carthenware jar {4 Digital image © 2004 Marriott Library, Universiy of Utah. All ights reserved |
