Question
Ancient China Was a World Changer
Creating Connections Social Studies: World History II
There's so much paper everywhere today. It's in signs, bags, and many other things. Paper is so simple that we don't even think about how much we use it. But who invented it?
The people of ancient China get credit for both papermaking and paper money, too.
Before paper was invented, people around the world wrote on all sorts of materials, such as clay tablets or metal or animal skins. In ancient China, people often wrote on strips of bamboo or silk. Sometimes they used bones. But bamboo and bones were heavy. Silk was light but pricey.
Historians say everything changed around 100 BCE. Emperor Han Ho Ti gave a court official named Cai Lun some documents. They were carved on bamboo strips. Cai Lun took them home using a bull-drawn cart. On the way, the cart tipped. The strips fell on the ground. Cai Lun had to wait for another bull. While he waited, he thought about how awkward the documents were.
After that, Cai Lun got to work. He soaked bamboo and other materials in water. He beat the soggy mix into a pulp. Then he drained the water. Next, he let the pulp dry. It became a smooth, lightweight material.
Cai Lun later showed his work to the emperor. He was impressed.
Recent discoveries suggest other forms of paper had been around for a century or two. But historians say that Cai Lun's version started the spread of papermaking from Asia to Europe. Most point to him as the "father of modern papermaking."
Paper was first used by the Chinese for wrapping delicate objects. But by the third century, it was widely used for writing down notes and stories. Official laws and announcements were also written on paper.
Flying Cash
In the ninth century, people in China invented a new use for paper: currency. The Tang Dynasty government printed official paper certificates. These were used to pay merchants in faraway places. Each slip of paper was printed with a value. The paper could be traded in for coins of equal worth. But paper was so much easier to carry than coins.
There was a problem, though. The paper money tended to blow away in the wind. That earned it the nickname "flying money."
There wasn't a whole lot of money flying around in China at first. The government printed only a limited amount. But by the Song Dynasty years (960–1279), paper money was the official currency. The law said that anyone who didn't accept the paper money could be tried and put to death.
The bills were printed with special ink and images. That way, they couldn't easily be counterfeited. Some people still tried to make fake money. But if they were caught, they also could be put to death.
Question 1
1 / 8
Suppose you were writing a summary of the Article. Which of these sentences would be most important to put in the summary?
Papermaking and paper money were first introduced in ancient China.
Papermaking used bamboo and other materials when it was first invented.
Paper money in ancient China was printed with special ink and images.
Paper money in ancient China earned the nickname "flying money."
Creating Connections Social Studies: World History II
There's so much paper everywhere today. It's in signs, bags, and many other things. Paper is so simple that we don't even think about how much we use it. But who invented it?
The people of ancient China get credit for both papermaking and paper money, too.
Before paper was invented, people around the world wrote on all sorts of materials, such as clay tablets or metal or animal skins. In ancient China, people often wrote on strips of bamboo or silk. Sometimes they used bones. But bamboo and bones were heavy. Silk was light but pricey.
Historians say everything changed around 100 BCE. Emperor Han Ho Ti gave a court official named Cai Lun some documents. They were carved on bamboo strips. Cai Lun took them home using a bull-drawn cart. On the way, the cart tipped. The strips fell on the ground. Cai Lun had to wait for another bull. While he waited, he thought about how awkward the documents were.
After that, Cai Lun got to work. He soaked bamboo and other materials in water. He beat the soggy mix into a pulp. Then he drained the water. Next, he let the pulp dry. It became a smooth, lightweight material.
Cai Lun later showed his work to the emperor. He was impressed.
Recent discoveries suggest other forms of paper had been around for a century or two. But historians say that Cai Lun's version started the spread of papermaking from Asia to Europe. Most point to him as the "father of modern papermaking."
Paper was first used by the Chinese for wrapping delicate objects. But by the third century, it was widely used for writing down notes and stories. Official laws and announcements were also written on paper.
Flying Cash
In the ninth century, people in China invented a new use for paper: currency. The Tang Dynasty government printed official paper certificates. These were used to pay merchants in faraway places. Each slip of paper was printed with a value. The paper could be traded in for coins of equal worth. But paper was so much easier to carry than coins.
There was a problem, though. The paper money tended to blow away in the wind. That earned it the nickname "flying money."
There wasn't a whole lot of money flying around in China at first. The government printed only a limited amount. But by the Song Dynasty years (960–1279), paper money was the official currency. The law said that anyone who didn't accept the paper money could be tried and put to death.
The bills were printed with special ink and images. That way, they couldn't easily be counterfeited. Some people still tried to make fake money. But if they were caught, they also could be put to death.
Question 1
1 / 8
Suppose you were writing a summary of the Article. Which of these sentences would be most important to put in the summary?
Papermaking and paper money were first introduced in ancient China.
Papermaking used bamboo and other materials when it was first invented.
Paper money in ancient China was printed with special ink and images.
Paper money in ancient China earned the nickname "flying money."
Answers
Answered by
GPT-5 mini
Papermaking and paper money were first introduced in ancient China.
This sentence captures the main idea of the article — the key inventions and their origin — making it the most important for a summary.
This sentence captures the main idea of the article — the key inventions and their origin — making it the most important for a summary.
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