# Cai Lun

> He didn't invent paper, but he cracked the formula that made it cheap and scalable. A eunuch court official in second-century China, he swapped expensive silk and bamboo for tree bark, hemp waste, and old fishnets — and the written word spread everywhere.

*Chinese official credited with inventing paper (died 121)*

**Canonical URL:** https://fame.am/person/cai-lun

## Identity
- **Profile type:** Scientist ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q39631))
- **Category:** Scientists
- **Country:** China
- **Born:** 48
- **Died:** 121
- **Status:** deceased
- **Gender:** male

## Bio

Born in Guiyang Commandery around 50–62 CE, Cai Lun entered the imperial court at Luoyang by 75 CE as a chamberlain, later serving as imperial messenger and rising to the highest rank available to eunuchs under Emperor He in 88 CE. His role at the Palace Workshop put him in charge of crafting ceremonial weapons, but in 105 CE he unveiled his breakthrough: a papermaking process using tree bark, hemp waste, rags, and fishnets that quickly replaced bamboo and wooden slips across the empire. Wealth and imperial favor followed; by 114 CE he held the title of marquis and oversaw a scholarly edition of the Five Classics. When his patron, the empress dowager Deng, died in 121 CE, old crimes surfaced — he had once helped orchestrate the interrogation and subsequent suicide of Consort Song to secure a succession. Ordered to the Ministry of Justice and expecting execution, Cai poisoned himself in the capital where he'd spent nearly his entire adult life.

## Fame
- **Popularity score:** 58.6 / 100
- **Momentum:** 0.0 / 100  (trend: STABLE)
- **Historical depth:** 22.4 / 100
- **Now attention:** 8.2 / 100
- **Source confidence:** 60.0 / 100
- **Profile completeness:** 70.0 / 100

## Topics
#Scientists, #Scientist, #Politics, #Science, #Ancient History

## Sources
- [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cai_Lun)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q229235)
- [Pantheon 2.0](https://pantheon.world/profile/person/Cai%20Lun)
- [Çay Lun](https://az.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%87ay_Lun)
- [Cai Lun](https://ban.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cai_Lun)
- [Цай Лунь](https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A6%D0%B0%D0%B9_%D0%9B%D1%83%D0%BD%D1%8C)
- [Цай Лун](https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A6%D0%B0%D0%B9_%D0%9B%D1%83%D0%BD)
- [ཚའེ་ལུན།](https://bo.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%BD%9A%E0%BD%A0%E0%BD%BA%E0%BC%8B%E0%BD%A3%E0%BD%B4%E0%BD%93%E0%BC%8D)
- [Cai Lun](https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cai_Lun)
- [چای لون](https://ckb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%DA%86%D8%A7%DB%8C_%D9%84%D9%88%D9%86)
- [Cchaj Lun](https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cchaj_Lun)
- [Cai Lun](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cai_Lun)
- [Τσάι Λουν](https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%A4%CF%83%CE%AC%CE%B9_%CE%9B%CE%BF%CF%85%CE%BD)
- [Cai Lun](https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cai_Lun)
- [Cai Lun](https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cai_Lun)
- [Cai Lun](https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cai_Lun)
- [Cai Lun](https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cai_Lun)
- [تسای لون](https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AA%D8%B3%D8%A7%DB%8C_%D9%84%D9%88%D9%86)
- [Cai Lun](https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cai_Lun)
- [Cai Lun](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cai_Lun)
- [Cai Lun](https://fy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cai_Lun)
- [צאי לון](https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A6%D7%90%D7%99_%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%9F)
- [काई लुन](https://hi.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%88_%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%A8)
- [Cai Lun](https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cai_Lun)
- [Caj Lun](https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caj_Lun)
- [تساي لون](https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AA%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%8A_%D9%84%D9%88%D9%86)
- [تساى لون](https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AA%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%89_%D9%84%D9%88%D9%86)

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