1. T HE M OST I MPORTANT T HING I L EARNED A BOUT THE H AN … By: Larissa M.

2. …THE HAN INVENTED PAPER!!! I NFORMATION !!! This section is about the history of paper, how it’s made, etc.

3. THEY INVENTED PAPER!!! Let’s start at the beginning. Before the invention of paper, Ancient Chinese used to write on silk or bamboo. The problem with silk was that it was VERY expensive, and not everyone could afford it; therefore not everyone had the right to write on silk (I mean they had the right, they just couldn’t access the right because they couldn’t afford silk). The problem with bamboo was that it was VERY hard to write on, and it was VERY hard to bind into books. The Han invented paper in the 1 st century C.E.. When paper was invented, it helped a lot, because it was cheaper than bamboo AND silk, and it was WAY easier to bind into books and to write on. (You see, the Chinese valued a style of writing called calligraphy that seemed to flow like nature, and bamboo ruined that flow technique because it was bumpy.)

4. THEY INVENTED PAPER!!! C ONTINUED Paper was made using either silk fibers, hemp, bamboo, straw, and seaweed. Or a combination of materials. Ingredients for making paper (above) were boiled into a soupy pulp. Then, a screen was dipped in the pulp and brought out. When the pulp dried on the screen… WHALA! PAPER!

5. P ICTURES !!! This section has pictures of paper, calligraphy, bamboo, etc.

6. PAPER!!! This picture is before paper. It is ancient Chinese characters on a bamboo book. From: http://www.chinat oday.com/culture/b amboo_and_chines e/bamboo_book.jpg http://www.chinat oday.com/culture/b amboo_and_chines e/bamboo_book.jpg

7. PAPER!!! This picture was after paper. It is of ancient Chinese characters on paper. From: http://www.history forkids.org/learn/c hina/literature/pic tures/earlypaper.j pg http://www.history forkids.org/learn/c hina/literature/pic tures/earlypaper.j pg

8. CALLIGRAPHY!!! This is what one style of modern calligraphy looks like. Ancient Chinese calligraphy probably looked different. From: http://www.identif ont.com/samples/ monotype- imaging/LucidaCal ligraphy.gif http://www.identif ont.com/samples/ monotype- imaging/LucidaCal ligraphy.gif

9. CALLIGRAPY!!! This is what ancient Chinese calligraphy probably looked like. From: http://library.think quest.org/07aug/00 117/asiaChineseC alligraphy_wiki.jp g http://library.think quest.org/07aug/00 117/asiaChineseC alligraphy_wiki.jp g