No direct personal quotations by Cai Lun survive in the historical record.
元興元年奏上之。帝善其能，自是莫不從用焉，故天下鹹稱蔡侯紙。
Inventors
Cai Lun
Cai Lun (c. 63-121 CE) was a court eunuch of China's Eastern Han dynasty who perfected the manufacture of paper from bark, hemp waste, old rags, and fishnets, presenting his invention to Emperor He in 105 CE. Known as 'Marquis Cai's paper,' his product was lighter than bamboo strips and cheaper than silk, transforming how humanity records and transmits knowledge.
View this figure's profile
Cai Lun's Other Quotes
In ancient times, writings were generally inscribed on bamboo strips; those using silk cloth were called 'paper.' Silk was expensive and bamboo heavy — neither was convenient. Cai Lun then conceived the idea of making paper from tree bark, hemp waste, old cloth, and fishnets.
In the first year of Yuanxing [105 CE], he presented it to the throne. The Emperor praised his ability, and from that time on everyone adopted it; thus the world called it 'Marquis Cai's paper.'
Related Quotes
臣事項王、官不過郎中、位不過執戟。言不聴、画不用、故倍楚而帰漢。
-- Han Xin
Champions are not made in the ring, they are merely recognized there.
-- Sonja Henie
In the first year of Yuanxing [105 CE], he presented it to the throne. The Emperor praised his ability, and from that time on everyone adopted it; thus the world called it 'Marquis Cai's paper.'
-- Cai Lun
Your woman who accompanied you that long dangerous and fatiguing route to the Pacific Ocean and back deserved a greater reward for her attention and services on that route than we had in our power to give her.
-- Sacagawea