Bamboo cultivation does exist in China for over 7000 years and is deeply rooted in Chinese culture and daily life. The bamboos have always been used to make all sorts of daily life objects and before the invention of paper, they were the most important materials for writing during around 800 years. The first brushes were also made from bamboo.
Bamboo is an abundant, cheap and easily renewable resource for papermaking. It is used solely or mixed with other fibers. In the past bamboo was grown everywhere in China except in the extreme north but it grew until the provinces along the Yellow River (Huang He), its cultivation has moved south because of deforestation.
The bamboo species identified in paper making vary according to the authors. Pan Jixing identifies four genuses: Phyllostachys edulis, Phyllostachys nigra (Lodd.ex Lindl.) Munro, Pleioblastus amarus Keng and Dendrocalamus affinis Rendle.
But also other types are cited: Drepanostachyum falcatum (Nees) Keng, Indosasa McClure, Melocanna bambusoides Trinius, Phyllostachys aurea Carr. ex M. Riv & C.Riv, Phyllostachys heteroclada Oliv., Semiarundinaria densiflora Rendle T.H. Wen and Schizostachyum Nees.
The very first bamboo papers were made from the 5th to 6th century. Bamboo becomes the major source of fibers for paper from the second half of the eighth century during the Tang Dynasty. At first it is a substitute for hemp, first textile material, and to rattan which is completely exhausted at the end of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). It is abundant and cheap because it grows quickly. Under the Tang, a feudal period marked by a strong political stability, cultural development and economic prosperity, the need of paper for writing documents, increases.
The use of bamboo started in Guangdong where it grows in abundance with a hot and humid climate. The method extends to Zhejiang and Jiangsu during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). Indeed, it is under the Song that movable type printing was invented, accelerating the development of the paper industry. However it seems that the production is still at an early stage and the result imperfect.
Various written accounts show that if bamboo paper was invented in the late eighth century, it became popular, especially among artists, during the late 12th century, early 13th century.
It is during the Ming Dynasty (1348 -1644) that the technique of making paper from bamboo will improve. A detailed description is given in "Tian Gong Kai Wu" or "Creations of nature and work of man" (17th century book from Song Yingxing), where a long chapter is devoted to making paper from bamboo.
Bamboo papermaking has remained more or less the same. In the 1950s the production of handmade paper made from bamboo was about 120.000 tons.
