Papermaking

In the medieval era China was one of the most sophisticated countries in the world, superior to even Europe. In 618 China was unified under the reign of the Li family, who started the Tang Dynasty. during this time China expanded its influence by demanding tribute from Korea and Vietnam. A universal law code was made, and the dynasty reintroduced confucian scholars running the government. The 1,100 mile Grand Canal was built, which linked the Yellow River in northern China with the Yangzi River in southern China. This improved trade and overall communication in China. China was also a very isolated country and it wasn 't involved in other nations affairs. These are just a few of the many reasons China was superior to Europe in the medieval era. The collapse of the Han Dynasty and its massive armies was news that traveled far. There was a brief rule of several powerful warlords, a period known as the Three Kingdoms. However, they were more interested in conquering each other than protecting China, this lead to political divide. As in Medieval Europe, this had very bad consequences for Chinese security. At the end of the Three Kingdoms, barbarians stormed the borders to take China for themselves. They mostly ruled the North while the Chinese fought from the South. After an alliance was made between Turkish tribes and the Chinese were the Mongols pushed out of China.This wasn 't good for Europeans because when the mongouls fled from China, they migrated west, and later on would…

Paper Mache What is papier mache? Papier mache is a composite material usually including pieces of paper or pulp, sometimes reinforced some sort of textile, and held together by an adhesive. There are two main ways to make papier mache. The first and simplest way is to tear strips of paper and glue them down over your mold. The second way is obtained by soaking the paper or boiling it in hot water, creating a material known as paper pulp, to which then glue or adhesive is added. With either…

Overall with the two videos, I saw how they made parchment from animal skins. It was unbelievable that the transition of the animal skin turns into a thick piece of paper to make a book. However, it is not a fast process when making it. The process of making the animal skins into parchment was they had to pick the right animal with the right skin texture. Then they put the animal skin in lime water for some days so the hair can loosen up and be scraped off for into a smooth surface. Then they…

For some time the ancient Chinese “played monopoly” by closely guarding the secret and eliminating other oriental centres of which paper may have been produced. Chinese merchants and missionaries shared paper, and their knowledge of papermaking, to neighboring and trustworthy lands such as Japan, Korea, and Central Asia. During a war between the Tang Dynasty and the Arab Empire in 751 AD, the Arabs captured some Tang soldiers and paper making workers. In prison the Arabs forced the Chinese to…

Be true to yourself, help others, make each day your masterpiece, make friendship a fine art, drink deeply from good books - especially the Bible, build a shelter against a rainy day, give thanks for your blessings and pray for guidance every day.(John Wooden). Visiting Both beautiful museums “ The Morgan Conservatory for Papermaking” , “Zygote Press” was amazing. Definitely an experience that will always be remember. Just walking into The Morgan it just influence you to want to come up with…

The finished pulp products and other materials delivered to the paper mill are further broken down into what is known as slurry (the main material used for making paper products). The three main procedures in the papermaking process is forming, pressing and drying. In the first process, the slurry enters the headbox then the wire section where water is removed until a thin, wet mat is produced. During the second process, the thin mat is transferred to the next machine to be pressed many times…

Robert Rauschenberg was a remarkable contemporary artist whose art style makes the name “Andy Warhol” and the like come to mind, developing artwork at similar time frames and sharing similar techniques. Unlike traditional popular culture artists, Rauschenberg created prints with a hybrid technique of photography, printmaking, and papermaking. He refers to his artwork as combines, because of the three dimensional effect observed when viewing these unique prints. Rauschenberg is classified mainly…

Papermaking was transferred to the west by a Chinese prisoner. So, yeah… pretty much paper making… That’s why its here. 2. The Mongols vs. Afro-Eurasia We’ve already mentioned the Mongols as big-deal world power in this era, but what they’re getting at here is that the Pax Mongolica or Mongol peace allowed for unprecedented world trade and the spread of many East Asian technologies to the West (ex. Gunpowder & Bubonic Plague) 3. The Crusaders vs. Anybody not Christian The Crusaders were…

Throughout all of ancient history there have been many cases of long-established trade, none of these are as famous as the Silk Road of China. The Silk Road integrated China and the Western World, including India, Greece, Persia and Rome. It was named the Silk Road in 1877 by the German geographer Ferdinand von Richthofen. The Silk Road was first established in the second century BC and it was put out of use in the 1400’s. Not only was silk traded on this road but culture as well. Many…

The Art of Bookmaking In the 800’s, Baghdad became a major papermaking center for creating books, but how were Islamic books made? Books were very important for the Muslims’ value of education. Wealthy people like kings and nobles supported bookmaking and it also provided job opportunities. Illustrators, scholars, craftsmen, calligraphers, paper and leather suppliers, and librarians all were necessary in the art of bookmaking. The Islamic bookmaking was a complicated process that consisted of…