History of Paper - Diffusion of Paper

Diffusion of Paper

Paper spread slowly outside of China; other East Asian cultures, even after seeing paper, could not make it themselves. Instruction in the manufacturing process was required, and the Chinese were reluctant to share their secrets. The paper was thin and translucent, not like modern western paper, and thus only written on one side. The technology transferred to Japan from China by Buddhist priests, around 610, where fibres (called bast) from the mulberry tree were used.