The Woman Who Loves History has Huigen, No. 80
The legend of Cai Lun's papermaking in the Han Dynasty is found in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty by Fan Ye of the Southern Song Dynasty.
Fan Ye wrote in the book: In ancient times, bamboo was used to write texts and contracts, and at that time, what people called "paper" actually referred to silk, a thicker silk fabric. It is light but expensive, bamboo is cheap but heavy, and both have a lot of constraints. Cai Lun made what is now called "paper" from bark, short linen, rags, and fishing nets. In the first year of the Han Dynasty, he offered paper to the emperor. The Emperor greatly appreciated his abilities. Since then, everyone has begun to use paper made by Cai Lun and called it "Cai Hou paper".
First, the blacksmith family at the foot of the mountain stood on the right side of the palace, so they became the "chief eunuch"
Cai Lun was born into a family of blacksmiths, whose ancestors were famous craftsmen who engaged in smelting and casting at the foot of mt. Ōmizan in the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Wei Sa was too punctual in Guiyang County, and set up iron officials in Guiyang, so the Cai family gradually established a close relationship with the officials of the imperial court. In 75 AD, after being castrated, the young Cai Lun came to Luoyang, the capital of the Eastern Han Dynasty, thousands of miles away. He entered the palace and began his life as a eunuch.
Intelligent and diligent, he became the "Little Yellow Gate" the following year, and was promoted to the position of eunuch official in charge of the delivery of official documents, the "Yellow Gate Waiter", and had the opportunity to contact the emperor.
The emperor at that time was Emperor Zhang of Han and the empress was Empress Dou. Empress Dou, who was the lady of the palace, had no sons, and in order to consolidate her position in the harem, she tried to frame any concubines or palace ladies in the harem who she did not like or threatened her position. Cai Lun is her main accomplice.
Empress Dowager Dou ordered Cai Lun to force The Crown Prince Liu Qing's mother, Song Guiren, to commit suicide, and framed her for "coercing evil charms" (confusing the emperor with rhetoric and crooked ways). In this way, the crown prince Liu Qing was deposed as the crown prince and renamed the King of Qinghe. So she asked Cai Lun to write an anonymous letter, framed Liang Guiren, the birth mother of the infant prince Liu Zhao, took the opportunity to inherit the young Liu Zhao to her name, and naturally asked the emperor to make Liu Zhao the crown prince.
In 88 AD, Emperor Zhang of Han died. At the age of 10, Liu Zhao succeeded to the throne, later emperor of Han and The Han Dynasty. Empress Dou was enthroned as empress dowager, and Cai Lun was also promoted to "Zhongchang Attendant" (中常侍), with 2,000 stones, both a close vassal of the little emperor and a participant in the decision of major state affairs.
After Empress Dowager Dou's death, Cai Lun "responded by chance" and merged with Deng Sui, the empress of Han and Emperor, and once again firmly established the position of "chief eunuch".
Second, Cai Hou papermaking: that is, "thousands of autumn deeds", but also "little horse farts"
Deng Sui loved writing and painting, but as we said, "paper" at that time was actually a kind of cloth, very expensive. Even for the royals, it seems too extravagant to use "paper" for the queen to "doodle" at will. So, Deng Sui wanted a cheaper, better quality paper to write and draw. Cai Lun seized this opportunity, and he personally took on the position of "Shang Fang Ling" in charge of supervising the development and manufacture of artifacts in the Han Dynasty court, and let the entire "department" focus on "papermaking improvement".
In the first year of the Han Dynasty (105 AD), Cai Lun presented the emperor and empress with "paper" made of bark, short linen, tattered clothes and rotten fishing nets. The emperor liked this paper very much, and ordered its use and promotion in the court, inside and outside the imperial court.
Nine years later, emperors of the Han Dynasty crowned Cai Lun as the "Marquis of Longting" and had 300 households, so people called this paper "Cai Hou Paper".
In the same year, the emperor died prematurely without heirs. His 13-year-old nephew Liu Hu became emperor. Deng Sui "ascended" to the throne of empress dowager.
Third, the cycle of retribution, I did not expect that the heirs of the deposed prince would have another day to ascend the great treasure
As the saying goes, "Heavenly reason circulates, retribution is not pleasant."
Liu Hu was precisely the son of Liu Qing, the deposed prince of the year and now the King of Qinghe.
When Deng Sui was alive, he was still able to protect Cai Lun thoroughly. When Empress Dowager Deng Sui died and Liu Hu took over the government, it was natural that Cai Lun would not be spared.
In the first year of the Eastern Han Dynasty (121 AD), Cai Lun was involved in the murder of Emperor Han'an's grandmother, Song Guiren. He participated in the conspiracy to depose Liu Qing's crown prince and was taken by Emperor An of Han. Emperor An demanded that Cai Lun confess his crimes to the court lieutenant himself. Cai Lun was not willing to be humiliated, and after bathing, he put on the imperial robe and drank poison to commit suicide.
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