Good morning! Good afternoon! Good evening, depending on when you are reading this. Wow! I cannot believe Get Factual put up the last episode of the Silk Road documentary pretty quickly after episode two was posted. It took a long time, but I can at last finish up the Silk Road documentary. The run time for this episode is 52:14 and is called Revolutions.
The story begins with paper and the paper-making process. Chinese invented paper and many historians believe that the Silk Road should have been named the Paper Road. The paper had a huge impact on history, bigger than silk did. It was believed that paper was invented in the year 100 by a eunuch and he was using it to write. However, there is evidence that paper was invented further back and that it was used to wrap things. The Chinese would use bamboo to write on. However, if you were writing a novel there would be many bamboo shafts that would be needed. Eventually, the switch to paper was made because it was lighter in comparison to bamboo shafts. Eventually, the paper would leave China as a result of Buddhism. The Chinese Buddhists were interested in finding the writings of the Buddha. They traveled to India to get Buddha’s words. Eventually, a Buddhist library would be established in China and the monks would make paper from ropes and rags. The popularity of paper spread as a result of Buddhism and its usefulness for commercial accounts. Papermaking would spread to Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. Islam rose and would invade Central Asia. The Arab World and the Chinese world would clash. The Arabs were making their own paper. How they learned those skills is up today. The legend is that the Chinese army had paper makers and they were captured by the Arabs and taught the Arabs how to make paper. Reality may be very different and the Arabs may have learned paper-making as a result of the Silk Road. The Islamic government officials helped make the paper a valuable part of the government. The cheap paper also fueled the writing of books and fueled an age of literature and learning. I can understand why historians would want to call the Silk Road the Paper Road. It seemed that it was in Spain that Europeans encountered paper. However, in the same breath, it was mentioned that Venetian merchants would have encountered paper in the Muslim world too. Merchants would have witnessed paper use and would have brought it back. The paper was eyed with suspicion because the paper was flimsy in comparison to parchment. The Holy Roman Emperor required documents written on paper to be transcribed to parchment. However with a growing middle class, paper would be a cheaper alternative to parchment. Europe could also mass-produce paper, the rivers, and streams would provide the energy to produce paper pulp. Linen rags were also plentiful in Europe and it was a good source to make paper. Fabriano and Amalfi, two Italian towns, would become the leaders in paper manufacturers in Europe. The cheap paper would change Europe in many ways. To learn more about the ways continue to follow along with this section. Artists and writers would have been able to write and draw their ideas out. Drawing took off during this time as a result of the paper. Parchment was too expensive to waste. Meanwhile, printing was invented in East Asia. Printing allowed for standardization in printing and mass book printing took off. To learn more about the impact of books and the printing press continue to watch this episode to find out. I have to say, Esther reminds me of historians that present on Mysteries of the Abandoned. Her tone and cadence really took me to the Mysteries of the Abandoned series. The paper discussion was very well done and really went in depth about the spread of the paper. I can agree that maybe the Silk Road should be called the Paper Road. Over all, this would be an excellent episode to show in a history class because of the well-done presentation on paper and the impact of paper on the world. I would also use this for research purposes.
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