Page History

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It is believed that paper was invented by Ts'ai Ts’ai Lun in 105 CE in China. Papermaking skills were passed on to Korea and from there were carried to Japan. As a result, the papers of these three countries have certain similarities. Currently traditional Japanese papers are an essential material in paper conservation, and, therefore, have been fairly well investigated. However, not many people know how Korea contributed to the development of papermaking or what kinds of paper Koreans have produced.

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Goguryeo (39 BCE – 668 CE) was a large Korean kingdom established during the 1st century BCE, and it governed the northern part of the Korean peninsula. Baecze and Sinla were rival kingdoms that controlled the southern part of the Korean peninsula, dividing it into east and west. It is believed that the kingdom of Goguryeo started to record its history from the beginning of its era and left Yugi, 100 volumes of written history. The kingdom of Baecze compiled its history at the end of the 4th century and Sinla did the same in the middle of the 6th century. There are no records of papermaking during this era, but it can be presumed that by that time traditional papermaking skills were well developed; otherwise it would have been impossible to supply the large amount of paper needed to satisfy the demands of writing so many history books. Although the kingdom of Sinla was the latest in terms of cultural development, eventually it conquered the other two kingdoms and unified them in 668CE. This period is called Tongil-Sinla and presents valuable historic remains. For example, the earliest known extant printed Buddhist text, Dharani Sutra, was found at the Pulguk Temple in Kyungju, which was the capital of Tongil-Sinla. It was inside a stupa sealed in 751 CE. Moreover it was found with a record that had the exact date when this project was started, and the papermaker's papermaker’s name. During its conservation, it was confirmed that the paper had been made of paper mulberry, which Koreans term dac.

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As the prosperity of Tongil-Sinla declined because of civil war during the early 10th century, the last king of Tongil-Sinla surrendered to a newly rising kingdom, Koryo. During this period, the publishing of all kinds of books flourished, including Buddhist texts, medical and history books. Paper money was also issued. It was the golden age of papermaking and publishing, especially during the 11th and 12th centuries. As a result, the demand for paper increased and the Koryo government exhorted farmers to cultivate paper mulberry throughout the country from 1145 on, and also encouraged people to make paper.

Wiki MarkupKoryojee, the paper made in Koryo, was frequently mentioned in literature and history books in China as koryojee gained fame among scholars and emperors due to its excellent quality\[1\]. It is said that it was thick, strong, and white and its surface was lustrous due to the traditional finishing process, chujibub.

Wiki MarkupHaving Buddhism as the state religion, the Koryo government sponsored many Buddhist activities. One of its important achievements was the publication of the Tripitaka, the Buddhist sutras and commentaries, despite being at war with the Mongol empire in the 13th century. The total number of woodblocks for one set of the sutras came to 86,686, and 162,890 sheets of paper were needed for printing the Korean edition of the Tripitaka\[2\]. It was also during this period that the first movable metal typeface was invented in Koryo. Although the exact date of the invention is difficult to identify, many scholars speculate that it was more than 150 years before Gutenberg used movable type in the 15th century. The earliest text printed was Jikjisimcheyojeol done in 1377. It is kept in the French National Library in Having Buddhism as the state religion, the Koryo government sponsored many Buddhist activities. One of its important achievements was the publication of the Tripitaka, the Buddhist sutras and commentaries, despite being at war with the Mongol empire in the 13th century. The total number of woodblocks for one set of the sutras came to 86,686, and 162,890 sheets of paper were needed for printing the Korean edition of the Tripitaka[2]. It was also during this period that the first movable metal typeface was invented in Koryo. Although the exact date of the invention is difficult to identify, many scholars speculate that it was more than 150 years before Gutenberg used movable type in the 15th century. The earliest text printed was Jikjisimcheyojeol done in 1377. It is kept in the French National Library in Paris.

The downfall of the Koryo kingdom came about because of the intolerably heavy tribute duty demanded by the Mongols. Papermaking started to decline with the waning of the Koryo kingdom.

The Chosun Kingdom (1392 – 1910)

Wiki MarkupThe Chosun kingdom that replaced the Koryo kingdom, was a neo-Confucian state. During its approximately 500 years, many literary and philosophy books were published. From the beginning of this kingdom, there was an effort to revive papermaking skills by establishing a papermaking department operated by the government. However, because of the increasing popularity of publishing a wide range of books, there was a lack of material. The Chosun government sent papermakers to China to learn their papermaking methods using different raw materials and also imported materials from Japan; in 1430 King Sejong sent an envoy to Daema Island to get fine Japanese mulberry for cultivation\[3\]. A wide range of different raw materials, such as pine tree bark, rice straw, and bamboo, were used for papermaking. Although this was not the first time that other materials had been mixed with paper mulberry, such mixtures became more common from this period on.

Wiki MarkupThe peaceful era of the early Chosun culture ended in 1592 when the Japanese invaded after Japan was newly-unified under Hideyoshi Toyotomi. During the six years of war, Hideyoshi and his generals pillaged the Chosun cultural properties, and many craftsmen were taken as slaves and transported to Japan. The papermaking industry was greatly damaged by this invasion since it was based on the labor of farmers in the agricultural off season. After this war the government pressured Buddhist monasteries to supply paper as monks were already producing papers for religious texts. At the same time, a heavy tribute of paper was was demanded by China during the Yuan, Ming, and Ching dynasties. All these factors exhausted the papermaking industry, and the quality of paper produced in this period declined. It was near the end of this period when western paper equipment was brought to Korea from Japan by a Korean government official in 1884\[4\].

THE KOREAN PAPERMAKING PROCESS

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The prepared dacjuc is put into a rectangular wooden container filled with water, and it is stirred with a bamboo stick and mixed thoroughly to break up the floccules of pulp. After that, dacpul, a mucilaginous starch extracted from the root of Hibiscus manihot L., is added to help the fibers disperse evenly and prevent them from sinking in the water during the sheet formation process. Too much dacpul will delay drainage and the sheet will become very thin, whereas too little dacpul will bring faster drainage and accordingly the sheet will be very thick.
The traditional way of sheet formation is called whabaldugee and it is one of the features that differentiates the Korean papermaking technique from other Asian methods. The papermaking screen rests upon the mould frame. During the process the craftsman holds the screen and the mould together. The far side of the mould is attached to a string hung from above. The craftsman scoops the vat stock from his side first and he lets it flow towards the far side by slanting the mould. This first scoop forms the ground of the sheet. The second scoop is taken laterally from either side and it flows away to the opposite side by slanting the mould. This is repeated until the desired thickness is achieved. Unlike a Japanese mould, there is no deckle on top of the screen to contain the stock, after dipping there is only enough time to allow a change of direction before the stock discharges off the opposite side. As a result the sheet formation process should be done quickly and this technique requires experience and skill to master. Due to this method, the paper on the craftsman's craftsman’s side is usually thicker and gradually gets thinner toward the far side.

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There are only bits and pieces of information on the materials used over time in traditional papermaking in Korea. However, paper mulberry has clearly been the main material since the eighth century. There are two main kinds of paper mulberry in Korea: Broussonetia kazinoki Sieb and Broussonetia papyrifera (L) Vent. Both belong to the Moraceae family and are native to Korea, Japan and China. However, over time some have crossbred with other varieties and it is rather difficult to characterize some of them. Paper mulberry grows naturally throughout the country to a height of about three meters. Broussonetia kazinoki is called chamdac in Korean and Broussonetia papyrifera (L) Vent is called kuzinamu in Korean.

Wiki MarkupFormation aid has been used by Koreans from early days due to their unique sheet formation technique. Hibiscus manihot L. appeared to become more common from the middle of the 19th century, but before that elm tree bark along with a plant that belongs to the mallow family but is not Hibiscus manihot L. was used\[5\]. Its name in Korean is dacpul. There are 2 -- – 3 species and all of them are planted during May and harvested in October or November. The flower is light yellow or white with a dark purple center. The viscous liquid from its roots is indispensable for traditional Korean papermaking. It prevents mulberry fibers from entangling and at the same time makes them disperse evenly in water during sheet formation.

One of the traditionally used yellow dyes is Phellodendron amurense Ruprecht. Its chemical analysis shows that this includes berberine, C20H19O5N, which has an insect repellent effect. The paper dyed with this yellow color was commonly used for Buddhist scriptures and government documents.

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It is not clear when bamboo screens were first used for papermaking in Korea, but it seems that bamboo and stems of pampas-grass or other native grasses have been used as the main materials for papermaking screens for a long time. However, these days bamboo is mainly used. For making a screen only the outer layer of bamboo taken from between the nodes is used because the outer grain of bamboo is stronger and lasts longer. The split bamboo is carefully trimmed to make fine splints with an even thickness. Then the splints are bound together using fine thread on a weaving stand. Traditionally silk threads were twined and coated with persimmon juice, which makes silk threads strong and durable in water. Twined horse hair was also used for this purpose, but nowadays nylon threads substitute for them. In order to provide even strength during the making of a screen, small weights are tied to the end of each thread. The edges of a completed screen are wrapped with fabric.unmigrated-wiki-markup

There are three distinctive features of traditional Korean papermaking screens; one is that its length is longer than its width, and second the silk threads, which usually leave imprints as chain lines on paper, run along the length. The silk thread changes position in the middle of the screen moving over half a space. By doing this, the craftsman could avoid forming distinctive imprints on the paper from the silk threads that could weaken parts of a sheet. Normally Japanese and Chinese bamboo screens show some paired chain lines, which are more narrowly spaced than others. The length of bamboo splints is limited as only the parts of bamboo between the nodes are used. Therefore, in order to make the desired width of screen, often splints would be connected using silk threads. In Japanese and Chinese screens the joined ends of the splints appear alternately, and as a result both ends of the splints are bound with threads to secure the joined areas. However, a traditional Korean screen does not show these paired chain lines as the joined parts of two splints are usually scattered across the screen\[6\].

SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS

Traditional Korean papers have some distinctive characteristics due to the unique sheet formation and calendaring techniques that allow paper to have not only multi-grain directions and multi-layers but also a smooth, compact surface. Fifteen old Korean paper samples dated to the 14th century and the 18th century and five contemporary products were selected for close observation of their paper characteristics. Each sample was examined using a polarizing microscope and a scanning electron microscope (SEM).

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Korea played a vital role in the development of papermaking and in the transmission of papermaking skills to Japan. Knowledge of the techniques and materials used in traditional papermaking in Korea will help in understanding the history of papermaking in East Asia.

Notes

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1. Pan Chi-Hsing, Chungguk jejigisulsa \ [History of Chinese Papermaking Technology\], translated from Chinese into Korean by Cho Bungmuk. Seoul: Sungchang, 2002. (back)
2.Cho Hung-Kyun, A Rresearch Report on Traditional Korean Papermaking. Seoul: Korean Science Foundation, 1996. p 41. (back)
3. Ibid., p 47. (back)
4.Lee Sung-Cheul, Urihanji \ [Traditional Korean Paper\]. Seoul: Hyeonamsa, 2002. p 82. (back)
5.Cho, A Research Report on Traditional Korean Papermaking, p 45. (back)
6.Barrett, Timothy, Japanese Papermaking -- – Traditions, Tools, and Techniques. New York: Weatherhill, 1983. Pan Chi-Hsing, Chungguk jejigisulsa \ [History of Chinese Papermaking Technology\], translated from Chinese into Korean by Cho Bungmuk. Seoul: Sungchang, 2002. (back)

KEY REFERENCES

Wiki Markup•Barrett, Timothy, Japanese Papermaking -- – Traditions, Tools, and Techniques. New York: Weatherhill, 1983.
•Carter, Thomas Francis, The Invention of Printing in China and Its Spread Westward. New York: Columbia University Press, 1925.
•Hunter, Dard, A Papermaking Pilgrimage to Japan, Korea and China. New York: Pynson Printers, 1936.
•---------, Papermaking: The History and Techniques of an Ancient Craft. 1947. Reprint. New York: Dover Publications, 1978.
•Lee Sung-Cheul, Urihanji \ [Traditional Korean Paper\]. Seoul: Hyeonamsa, 2002.
•Cho Hung-Kyun, A Research Report on Traditional Korean Papermaking. Seoul: Korean Science Foundation, 1996.
•Pan Chi-Hsing, Chungguk jejigisulsa \ [History of Chinese Papermaking Technology\], translated from Chinese into Korean by Cho Bungmuk. Seoul: Sungchang, 2002.
•Sung Ying-Hsing, T'ienT’ien-Kung K'aiK’ai-Wu \ [Chinese Technology in the Seventeenth Century\], translated from Chinese into English by E-Tu Zen Sun and Shiou-Chuan Sun. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1966.