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Language:

Identification

Fibre type
Average fibre lenght	12-40μm
Average fibre width
Fibre ends
Striations, cross-markings, flexion creases	Fine diagonal striations.
Associated cells	Parenchymal cells of various shapes.
Special features	The fiber has a uniform thickness. The fibers are short compared to bast fibers.
Herzberg staining
Graff 'C' staining

Botanical classification

Calamus rotang L.

Order:

Arecales

Family:

Arecaceae

Synonyms:

Rotang linnaei (L.) Baill.

Rotanga calamus (L.) Crantz

Plant growing area

Native to tropical Asia (Southeast Asia) where it grows everywhere.

China (Sichuan, Zhejiang, Jiangxi).

Grows in rain forests.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China.

Plant cultivation and use

Calamus rattan is a rhizomatous, climbing palm, up to 20m high. Stipe or false trunk is long and thin, pinnate leaves are 60 to 80 cm long and are regularly arranged along the stem. The foliage is evergreen.

The white flowers are grouped in inflorescences. Fruits are rounded, and covered with reddish-brown scales; they exude a red resin called "dragon's blood" in traditional medicine, which has astringent properties. The fruits are edible. The sap of the plant is used for preparing a beverage.

Rotang palm prefers drained soils, adapts to exposure from shade to sun, but is very sensitive to low temperatures.

The stem provides rattan, flexible material widely used throughout Southeast Asia for the manufacture of furniture and basketry. The trunk fibers are also used for the manufacture of mats, ropes.

China:

Rattan has been used to make paper in several parts of China, especially in the southeast (Zhejiang, Jiangxi) for almost 1000 years. Also it has been used in Sichuan, but to a lesser extent compared to the production of Southeast.

Many Dunhuang yellow manuscripts were identified as rattan paper. Papermaking with rattan fibers starts in the 3rd century in Shanji (former Zhengxian - Zhejiang) where the rattan was planted through hundreds of miles in the mountains, along the river Shanji. This paper is called Shandeng.

This is the most popular paper during the Tang dynasty (618-907); its production is no longer confined to Shanji, but is also found in the neighboring districts of the Zhejiang and Jiangxij provinces.

Various official documents relate in the early 8th century that the paper is sent as a tribute.

The Administrative Code specifies that the white rattan paper should be used for requisition and punishment decrees, blue paper for offering messages in the Taoist temple in Daijingong, yellow paper for imperial orders.

The paper is described as smooth and durable, of various colors. It is used for calligraphy, and making books. It has also been used for making tea bags since its firm and relatively tight texture can well preserve the flavors.

Rattan running out in Shanji, operations moved from West to East Zhejiang during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). But gradually the resource is exhausted because the rattan is not cultivated. Its death is also linked to the increased use of bamboo as a raw material in the manufacture of paper, which replaces it as well as hemp. Indeed bamboo became the first paper material in the middle of the Tang dynasty.

Paper names

In Asia and particularly in China, Korea and Japan, the papers are intended for a wide range of use: Papers for calligraphy and art, Papers for ceremonies, Paper as a medium of exchange, money paper, Papers for making clothes, wall hangings and bedding, Papers for architecture, interior design, Papers for crafts of various kinds, for domestic purposes and leisure. The names assigned to the paper refers to different notions: The material used, The place of production, The method of production, Appearance, Dimensions, Use, The name of an artist or a studio etc.

China:

Suffixes zhi or chih = paper.
In China, unlike Korea and Japan, papers made with paper mulberry fibers are not prominent, the production of paper from bamboo fiber being the most important.

Used part of the plant:

Leaf

Use for paper making:

Fiber

Language:

English

Identification

Fibre type
Average fibre lenght	12-40μm
Average fibre width
Fibre ends
Striations, cross-markings, flexion creases	Fine diagonal striations.
Associated cells	Parenchymal cells of various shapes.
Special features	The fiber has a uniform thickness. The fibers are short compared to bast fibers.
Herzberg staining
Graff 'C' staining

Botanical classification

Calamus rotang L.

Order:

Arecales

Family:

Arecaceae

Synonyms:

Rotang linnaei (L.) Baill.

Rotanga calamus (L.) Crantz

Plant growing area

Native to tropical Asia (Southeast Asia) where it grows everywhere.

China (Sichuan, Zhejiang, Jiangxi).

Grows in rain forests.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China.

Plant cultivation and use

Rotang palm prefers drained soils, adapts to exposure from shade to sun, but is very sensitive to low temperatures.

The stem provides rattan, flexible material widely used throughout Southeast Asia for the manufacture of furniture and basketry. The trunk fibers are also used for the manufacture of mats, ropes.

China:

Various official documents relate in the early 8th century that the paper is sent as a tribute.

Paper names

China:

Used part of the plant:

Leaf

Use for paper making:

Fiber

Language:

French

Identification

Fibre type
Average fibre lenght	12-40μm
Average fibre width
Fibre ends
Striations, cross-markings, flexion creases	Fine diagonal striations.
Associated cells	Parenchymal cells of various shapes.
Special features	The fiber has a uniform thickness. The fibers are short compared to bast fibers.
Herzberg staining
Graff 'C' staining

Botanical classification

Calamus rotang L.

Order:

Arecales

Family:

Arecaceae

Synonyms:

Rotang linnaei (L.) Baill.

Rotanga calamus (L.) Crantz

Plant growing area

Native to tropical Asia (Southeast Asia) where it grows everywhere.

China (Sichuan, Zhejiang, Jiangxi).

Grows in rain forests.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China.

Plant cultivation and use

Rotang palm prefers drained soils, adapts to exposure from shade to sun, but is very sensitive to low temperatures.

The stem provides rattan, flexible material widely used throughout Southeast Asia for the manufacture of furniture and basketry. The trunk fibers are also used for the manufacture of mats, ropes.

China:

Various official documents relate in the early 8th century that the paper is sent as a tribute.

Paper names

China:

Used part of the plant:

Leaf

Use for paper making:

Fiber

Language:

English

Identification

Fibre type
Average fibre lenght	12-40μm
Average fibre width
Fibre ends
Striations, cross-markings, flexion creases	Fine diagonal striations.
Associated cells	Parenchymal cells of various shapes.
Special features	The fiber has a uniform thickness. The fibers are short compared to bast fibers.
Herzberg staining
Graff 'C' staining

Botanical classification

Calamus rotang L.

Order:

Arecales

Family:

Arecaceae

Synonyms:

Rotang linnaei (L.) Baill.

Rotanga calamus (L.) Crantz

Plant growing area

Native to tropical Asia (Southeast Asia) where it grows everywhere.

China (Sichuan, Zhejiang, Jiangxi).

Grows in rain forests.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China.

Plant cultivation and use

Rotang palm prefers drained soils, adapts to exposure from shade to sun, but is very sensitive to low temperatures.

The stem provides rattan, flexible material widely used throughout Southeast Asia for the manufacture of furniture and basketry. The trunk fibers are also used for the manufacture of mats, ropes.

China:

Various official documents relate in the early 8th century that the paper is sent as a tribute.

Paper names

China:

Used part of the plant:

Leaf

Use for paper making:

Fiber

Language:

French

Identification

Fibre type
Average fibre lenght	12-40μm
Average fibre width
Fibre ends
Striations, cross-markings, flexion creases	Fine diagonal striations.
Associated cells	Parenchymal cells of various shapes.
Special features	The fiber has a uniform thickness. The fibers are short compared to bast fibers.
Herzberg staining
Graff 'C' staining

Botanical classification

Calamus rotang L.

Order:

Arecales

Family:

Arecaceae

Synonyms:

Rotang linnaei (L.) Baill.

Rotanga calamus (L.) Crantz

Plant growing area

Native to tropical Asia (Southeast Asia) where it grows everywhere.

China (Sichuan, Zhejiang, Jiangxi).

Grows in rain forests.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China.

Plant cultivation and use

Rotang palm prefers drained soils, adapts to exposure from shade to sun, but is very sensitive to low temperatures.

The stem provides rattan, flexible material widely used throughout Southeast Asia for the manufacture of furniture and basketry. The trunk fibers are also used for the manufacture of mats, ropes.

China:

Various official documents relate in the early 8th century that the paper is sent as a tribute.

Paper names

China:

Used part of the plant:

Leaf

Use for paper making:

Fiber

Language:

Chinese

Local scripture:

省藤

Identification

Fibre type
Average fibre lenght	12-40μm
Average fibre width
Fibre ends
Striations, cross-markings, flexion creases	Fine diagonal striations.
Associated cells	Parenchymal cells of various shapes.
Special features	The fiber has a uniform thickness. The fibers are short compared to bast fibers.
Herzberg staining
Graff 'C' staining

Botanical classification

Calamus rotang L.

Order:

Arecales

Family:

Arecaceae

Synonyms:

Rotang linnaei (L.) Baill.

Rotanga calamus (L.) Crantz

Plant growing area

Native to tropical Asia (Southeast Asia) where it grows everywhere.

China (Sichuan, Zhejiang, Jiangxi).

Grows in rain forests.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China.

Plant cultivation and use

Rotang palm prefers drained soils, adapts to exposure from shade to sun, but is very sensitive to low temperatures.

The stem provides rattan, flexible material widely used throughout Southeast Asia for the manufacture of furniture and basketry. The trunk fibers are also used for the manufacture of mats, ropes.

China:

Various official documents relate in the early 8th century that the paper is sent as a tribute.

Paper names

China:

Used part of the plant:

Leaf

Use for paper making:

Fiber

Phellodendron amurense Rupr. © Plantillustrations

Phellodendron amurense Rupr. © C. Laroque

Botanical classification

Phellodendron amurense Rupr.

Order:

Sapindales

Family:

Rutaceae

Plant growing area

China (Anhui, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Shandong, Shanxi), Japan (Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku), Korea, Russia (Far East, Siberia, Sakhalin Island), Taiwan.

It grows in mountain, in river valleys, in forests and in thickets.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Japan, Korea .

Plant cultivation and use

Phellodendron amurense is a tree which can reach 10 to 15m high, with large branches, which bark of light gray color has the consistency of cork. As it is hardy, it can adapt to various soil types. Flowers are yellow-green and small. Flowering occurs in May-June. The fruits grow in clusters and have a strong odor when crushed. Fruits yield an oil which insecticidal properties are similar to those of pyrethrum.

Phellodendron amurense is widely cultivated especially in China, for its medicinal (infection treatment) and dyeing properties conferred by the alkaloids it contains.

The dye alkaloids are mainly berberine, but also menispérine, palmatine, jatrorrhizine, phellodendrine, candicine, magnoflorine.

The dye obtained from the bark has been widely used in Asia. The color varies from pale yellow to brown depending on the concentration. It is very sensitive to light and fades into an orange brown.

China:

Phellodendron amurense is one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine. Bark is the main part of the plant used medicinally but oil from the fruit is also used.

The method giving the appearance of old paper is called juan huang. This tradition of dyeing papers to give them the appearance of aged papers began in the 2nd or 3rd century, especially for books. This is a practice that seems designed to protect the books of insect damage and at the same time to give the paper a glossy surface. Dyeing was carried out before or after writing. Many Dunhuang manuscripts were treated in this way.

A decree in 675 (Tang Dynasty) mandates the use of yellow paper for official documents to protect them from insects. This practice will continue during the Song dynasty (960-1127). For the same reason the yellow papers are often used for writing sutras. An alternative to protect books from damage caused by insects was the use of litharge that gave to paper an orange color.

Paper dyeing is described in several books: « Qimin yaoshu » or «Main techniques for the welfare of the people” by Jia Sixie, (middle of 6^th century); « Zunsheng bajian » or «Eight orders to follow the meaning of life » by Gao Lian (1591); « Wuli xiaoshi » or « Some Knowledge of Physics » by Fang Yishi (1643).

It is specified in the "Qimin Yaoshu" that yellow papers are often embellished by waxing that gives a smooth and hard surface.

Japan:

This is the most important yellow dye for dyeing fabrics since the 7th century. It is also used for prints.

This is the most common yellow dye used to dye paper for copying sutras. This prevalence is due to its dying and insect repellent properties. After dyeing the paper was polished.

These papers were often used for writing poems and love letters but also for official documents.

The dye is often mixed with indigo to obtain green colors.

Usually the pulp is dyed in the tank before making the sheet.

Korea:

Because of their repellent properties, papers dyed with Phellodendron were widely used for bookbinding boards and to receive sutras texts or official writings (such as birth certificates).

They were also commonly used in the manufacture of embossed papers (neunghwaji).

Preparation process for making paper

China:

The outer bark of Phellodendron is removed and the inner part is chopped into pieces and placed in a bag, soaked in water and boiled; then the filtrate, a bitter yellow liquid, is collected by pressing the bark.
The residues are crushed and boiled again, three times and the filtrates of the three baths are mixed. This allows for a bigger quantity of liquid and a less saturated color. This liquid is called Huang po.
The paper to be dyed must be unsized to let dye penetrates better. The paper after dyeing has a glossy appearance.

An alternative is to immerse the paper simultaneously in the Phellodendron decoction and in decoctions of oak cups (Quercus acutissima or Quercus serrata) and safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) to get more yellow shades.

Japan:

Wood is cut in small pieces and boiled. The extract is filtered before dyeing. It is not necessary to use mordant.

Dyeing of paper is performed in two ways: pulp dyeing (sukizome) or sheet dyeing (hitashizome by dipping or hikizome by brushing).

To dye paper by soaking, the sheets are plucked one by one between two wooden sticks by the small side. This will keep the sheet flat during soaking.

Korea:

The inner part of bark, or wood are cut in small pieces and boiled. The extract is filtered before dyeing.

Papers dyed with Phellodendron amurense are fixed by etching with tannins extracted from the bark of chestnut or oak acorns.

The papers are dyed in three ways: dyeing of the pulp (Seonyeombeop), dyeing of the sheet by dipping, brushing and spraying (Huyeombeop ), combination of the both methods (Honyeombeop). Then the paper can be hammered.

Paper names

China:

Suffixes zhi or chih = paper.

In China, unlike Korea and Japan, papers made with paper mulberry fibers are not prominent, the production of paper from bamboo fiber being the most important.

Japan:

Suffixes kami, gami, shi = paper.
In Japan kozo papers are the most numerous.

Korea:

Suffix ji = paper.
In Korea papers made with paper mulberry bark are the most numerous.

Used part of the plant:

Bark

Wood

Use for paper making:

Dye

Insecticide

Language:

Chinese

Local scripture:

羅旦藤

Identification

Fibre type
Average fibre lenght	12-40μm
Average fibre width
Fibre ends
Striations, cross-markings, flexion creases	Fine diagonal striations.
Associated cells	Parenchymal cells of various shapes.
Special features	The fiber has a uniform thickness. The fibers are short compared to bast fibers.
Herzberg staining
Graff 'C' staining

Botanical classification

Calamus rotang L.

Order:

Arecales

Family:

Arecaceae

Synonyms:

Rotang linnaei (L.) Baill.

Rotanga calamus (L.) Crantz

Plant growing area

Native to tropical Asia (Southeast Asia) where it grows everywhere.

China (Sichuan, Zhejiang, Jiangxi).

Grows in rain forests.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China.

Plant cultivation and use

Rotang palm prefers drained soils, adapts to exposure from shade to sun, but is very sensitive to low temperatures.

The stem provides rattan, flexible material widely used throughout Southeast Asia for the manufacture of furniture and basketry. The trunk fibers are also used for the manufacture of mats, ropes.

China:

Various official documents relate in the early 8th century that the paper is sent as a tribute.

Paper names

China:

Used part of the plant:

Leaf

Use for paper making:

Fiber

Identification

Fibre type
Average fibre lenght	12-40μm
Average fibre width
Fibre ends
Striations, cross-markings, flexion creases	Fine diagonal striations.
Associated cells	Parenchymal cells of various shapes.
Special features	The fiber has a uniform thickness. The fibers are short compared to bast fibers.
Herzberg staining
Graff 'C' staining

Botanical classification

Calamus rotang L.

Order:

Arecales

Family:

Arecaceae

Synonyms:

Rotang linnaei (L.) Baill.

Rotanga calamus (L.) Crantz

Plant growing area

Native to tropical Asia (Southeast Asia) where it grows everywhere.

China (Sichuan, Zhejiang, Jiangxi).

Grows in rain forests.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China.

Plant cultivation and use

Rotang palm prefers drained soils, adapts to exposure from shade to sun, but is very sensitive to low temperatures.

The stem provides rattan, flexible material widely used throughout Southeast Asia for the manufacture of furniture and basketry. The trunk fibers are also used for the manufacture of mats, ropes.

China:

Various official documents relate in the early 8th century that the paper is sent as a tribute.

Paper names

China:

Used part of the plant:

Leaf

Use for paper making:

Fiber

Cannabis sativa L.© O.W.Thomé Flora von Deutschland 1885

Identification

Fibre type	Bast fiber
Average fibre length	11mm
Average fibre width	22µm (10-50µm)
Fibre ends	Tapering blunt.
Striations, cross-markings, flexion creases	Prominent cross-markings and longitudinal striations.
Associated Cells	Often present.
Special features	Long fibers. Large and abrundant parenchyma cells in the plant core. Thick walls with many cross-markings, dislocations and longitudinal striations. Blunt ends but also irregular because of the of the preparation method. Fibers from textiles do not contain associated cells in general, while those from the raw materials contain vessels with craters, parenchyma and short fibers with holes. Hemp fibers generally are larger than those of flax. Irregularities in the walls. Irregular large lumen, many cross-markings, irregular state fibers and fibrillation show if they come from rags.
Herzberg Stain	Purple yellow (bast) / dark purple (nucleus). wine red.
C. Graff Stain	Red.

Botanical classification

Cannabis sativa L.

Order:

Rosales

Family:

Cannabaceae

Synonyms:

Cannabis chinensis Delile

Cannabis indica Lam.

Cannabis sativa var. indica (Lam.) E. Small & Cronquist

Plant growing area

Native or naturalized in Bhutan, India, and Sikkim, Central Asia.

Cultivated throughout China, native or naturalized in Xinjiang.

Cannabis sativa is probably originally native to Central Asia, but its long cultivation makes it difficult to know its exact original distribution. This long cultivation and human selection for different desirable characteristics has resulted in considerable variations, but separation into either several species or the recognition of several varieties is probably not justified beyond the level of cultivated forms.

Hemp cultivation has accompanied human migration and conquest to spread over all continents.

Currently it is cultivated in all warm temperate regions.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Korea, Japan.

China:

Sichuan, Xinjiang.

Japan:

Shikoku (Tokushima, Kochi prefectures), Province: Chūbu (Fukui prefecture).

Plant cultivation and use

Annual plant up to 2m in height; very polymorphic plant, numerous breeds which quality varies with the weather, latitude, land.

The plant is dioecious (two sexes), but there are monoecious varieties.

The plant has been used for millennia as a source of fibres, for its seed oil, as food, as drug, as medicine; each part is harvested differently depending on its use.

It gives rise to two cultures: one for oil and one for fibres. Culture for the fibres is made on fertile land during summer.

The fibres are derived from the peripheral part of the stem; plant must pass a rigorous preparation in order to recover them.

The operation of retting is to place the stems in water for fermentation in order to eliminate the parenchyma surrounding the fibres. Then come the drying, crushing and beating operations to separate the long fibres.

China:

Hemp cultivation is probably one of the oldest and most durable in China. Hemp was grown all over China but particularly in the north. It probably evolved in northern China and was the first fibre plant to be cultivated. The oldest Chinese pharmacopeia book, "Bencao jing" or "Classic of Materia medica" (ca. 100 BC) mentioned that Taishan (Tai mount in Shandong province) was one of the oldest locations where hemp was grown in historical times. Hemp is the oldest plant to be used in making clothes before the use of cotton fibers in textiles from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

Hemp, flax, ramie, jute are called “ma” in old Chinese documents.

The use of hemp as fiber in papermaking is the oldest and dates back to the Western Han (206 BC-8 AD). The first papers are made from either fibre cloths or raw bast fibres. The oldest paper fragments from the Western Han period, discovered in Minfeg (Xinjiang province) dated from the beginning of the third century BC, the fragments found in Baqiao (Shaanxi province) dated 140- 87 BC and the fragments found in 1934 in Lobnor, near Loulan (Xinjiang province) dated from the first century BC, were all made with hemp fibres. Other common papermaking materials were used such as paper mulberry and ramie in the Han period and later as rattan introduced in the 3^rd century, but hemp remained the primary material for paper manufacture.

During the Tang period (618-907), hemp paper is considered as the best for calligraphy, bookbinding and official documents (including at Imperial Court’s) because it is light, strong and waterproof.

The use of hemp in paper making declined after the Tang period and was replaced progressively by ramie and bamboo.

Japan:

In Japan hemp plays a part in many rituals and stories since it is traditionally associated with purity and plays a symbolic role in the customs of the courtship.

Hemp as paper fiber is introduced to Japan via Korea at the end of the 6th century. Papers made from hemp fibers are called mashi.

The period from the 6th to the 12th century is marked by a centralized authority on the Chinese model which provokes the production of numerous documents. Hemp, gampi and kozo fibers are used in the manufacture of paper often in combination; however hemp fibers are the most popular and they are the most used during the Nara period (710-794).

One of the first texts to be printed upon paper in the world, the one million prayers “Dharani” from Empress Shotoku about 770 is composed of hemp.

Since the Heian period (794-1185), hemp will fall out of favour and replaced by gampi and kozo, easier to implement.

Korea:

In Korea, papermaking started no long after its birth in China; its origins are purported to fall somewhere between the third century and the end of the sixth century. The first Korean papermakers used materials and technologies similar to those of the Chinese which include hemp and ramie scraps and paper mulberry.

During the three kingdoms (Goguryo, Baekje and Silla : 18 B.C. - 668 A.D.) paper is made from hemp (ma ji) and paper mulberry (jo ji).

The paper made from hemp in Goguryo (37 BC-668 AD) was famous for its white color and smooth surface.

Goryo dynasty (918-1392) encouraged the cultivation of paper mulberry trees and private papermaking industry from 1145, to meet the growing demand for paper thanks to the publication and export of the complete collection of Buddhist sutras. So, hemp use in papermaking declined.

Under the Joeseon kingdom (1392-1910) in the early 15th century when lack of raw materials began to be felt, Korean papermakers are shipped to China to learn new techniques and the use of other raw materials to replace the paper mulberry fibers. These paper makers will reintroduce the use of hemp mixed with mulberry fibers.

Preparation process for making paper

China:

Cleaned fabric wastes are soaked in water in stone mortars. Then they are soaked or cooked in alcaline solution for one day. Finally they are crushed in a mortar or a grinder.

Japan:

Stems are harvested in late summer or autumn. They are either retted or steamed until the fibers are free. Then, the operation is followed by an alcaline cooking for 2 hours. The pulp is grinded ou beaten. The sheet is obtained by bailing.

Korea:

Waste fabrics are soaked in water and then shredded into small pieces before being crushed in a grinder. The pulp is steamed, rinsed with water before being crushed again. The pulp is poured into the vat and the sheet is formed on a fixed mold. Drying and bleaching are performed inside the mold.

Paper names

China:

Suffixes zhi or chih = paper.

In China, unlike Korea and Japan, papers made with paper mulberry fibers are not prominent, the production of paper from bamboo fiber being the most important.

Japan:

Suffixes kami, gami, shi = paper.

In Japan kozo papers are the most numerous.

Korea:

Suffix ji = paper.

In Korea papers made with paper mulberry bark are the most numerous.

Used part of the plant:

Stem

Use for paper making:

Fiber

Primary tabs

Calamus rotang L.

Calamus rotang L.

Calamus rotang L.

Calamus rotang L.

Calamus rotang L.

Calamus rotang L.

Phellodendron amurense Rupr.

Calamus rotang L.

Calamus rotang L.

Cannabis sativa L.

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Primary tabs

Calamus rotang L.

Calamus rotang L.

Calamus rotang L.

Calamus rotang L.

Calamus rotang L.

Calamus rotang L.

Phellodendron amurense Rupr.

Calamus rotang L.

Calamus rotang L.

Cannabis sativa L.

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