Hero's Life, Cai Lun

Answer 1

Cai Lun (63 - 121), also known as Jing Zhong, was a native of Guiyang County of the Eastern Han Dynasty (now Leiyang, Hunan) and an eunuch of the Eastern Han Dynasty. His life was full of twists and turns and had important significance in many aspects. It could be called a unique "hero's life."

Cai Lun had been educated since he was a child and had outstanding talent. However, at the age of 12, he entered the palace and became a eunuch. There were two reasons for entering the palace. One was that the family was poor and the parents were unable to raise them. The other was that the father and grandfather violated the criminal law and were forced to enter the palace. However, he did not give up on himself and studied diligently after entering the palace. At the age of 17, he began to serve as a member of the Little Yellow Sect. Although his rank was low, his talent and ability quickly gained the emperor's attention. Eight years later, he was promoted to the "Middle Attendant" and became the highest-ranking close minister beside the emperor. He was responsible for conveying imperial edicts and managing documents. He had greater power and could participate in the planning and decision-making of national affairs.

Cai Lun had made great contributions to culture and technology. He summarized the experience of paper-making since the Western Han Dynasty and improved the paper-making process. At that time, people mainly used expensive and inconvenient silk and heavy bamboo slips as materials for recording. Cai Lun found it inconvenient to carry bamboo slips in his daily work, and because he liked field observation, he found that bark and other materials could be used to make paper. Therefore, he used bark, hemp head, rags, old fishing nets and other materials as raw materials. After boiling, soaking, pounding, copying and other technological steps, he invented paper medicine.(Using the green sticky juice extracted from fresh wild pepper leaves) to make the plant fibers in the paper pulp float evenly, thus making the plant fiber paper with better quality and lower cost than the previous writing materials, namely "Caihou paper". In the first year of Yuanxing (105 years), Cai Lun presented the art of paper making to the court, which was praised by Emperor He of Han Dynasty and ordered to be implemented throughout the country. The invention and promotion of paper-making technology had a profound significance for the development of human civilization. It promoted the widespread use of paper, making writing and printing more convenient and economical. It also promoted the development of culture and technology, and spread to all parts of the world. It was one of the "four great inventions" of ancient China. Cai Lun was also listed as the "best inventor in history" by Time magazine. Modern scholar Liu Guangyu believed that he was the first great inventor in China who changed the world, especially the cultural landscape.

However, Cai Lun's court career was also deeply involved in court struggles. At the end of Yongping of Emperor Ming of Han Dynasty, he entered the palace to serve. In the first year of Emperor Zhang of Han Dynasty, Cai Lun was promoted to Xiaohuang Gate under the order of Empress Dou to supervise the affairs of Song noble people. In the seventh year of the first year of construction (82 years), Empress Dou framed Song noble people, and Cai Lun listened to the order to verify the matter. In the first year of Jianguang (121 years), Empress Dowager Deng died and Emperor An took over the government. Cai Lun was interrogated and investigated because he had been ordered by Empress Dowager Dou to frame the Song noble. He could not bear to be humiliated and finally committed suicide by taking poison.

In general, Cai Lun was a heroic figure in terms of invention and creation. His paper-making technique had an indelible effect on the progress of world civilization, but he was also deeply involved in the whirlpool of power struggles in the palace and finally ended in tragedy.

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