Paper: An Invention That Freed Knowledge, or a Weapon That Shaped Thought?

In 213 BCE, Chancellor Li Si asked Qin Shi Huang to collect and burn privately held books on poetry, history and teachings that could be used against the Qin state. The surviving memorial made exceptions for agriculture, medicine, divination and Qin history. The government did not merely silence speech. It chose which texts would survive.

Around AD 105, Cai Lun presented Emperor He of Han with an improved kind of paper made from bark, hemp waste, old cloth and damaged nets. Paper existed before him, but the court credited him with making a cheaper and more useful material. A sheet was lighter than a bundle of bamboo and cheaper than silk. Power had a new way to travel.