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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.

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.

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.