The Four Great Inventions
四大发明
Papermaking
造纸术
As a Chinese eunuch, Cai Lun (蔡伦）is conventionally regarded as the inventor of paper.
中国的太监蔡伦，传统上被认为是发明造纸术的人。
He was bom in Guiyang (贵阳）during the Eastern Han Dynasty (东汉），and became a paperwork secretary (中常侍）of Emperor He (汉和帝）.
他在东汉时期生于贵阳，之后成为了汉和帝的中常侍。
For papermaking (造纸术），he tried materials like bark, hemp, silk, and even fishing net, but his exact formula has been lost to history.
在造纸时，他尝试了各种材料，如树皮、麻、蚕丝甚至渔网，但是他真正的配方已经失传了。
The emperor was pleased with the invention and granted Cai an aristocratic title and great wealth.
皇帝对于蔡伦的发明很高兴，于是授予了他贵族的头衔和巨额的财富。
Later, he became involved in intrigue, as a supporter of Empress Dou (戚太后）.
之后，蔡伦被卷入到密谋事件中，他支持戚太后。
He was involved in the death of her romantic rival, Consort Song.
他又与戚太后的情敌——静隐皇后之死扯上了关系。
Afterwards, he became an associate of Empress Deng Sui.
后来，他成为了邓绥皇后的幕僚。
In 121, after Consort Song's grandson Emperor An (汉安帝）assumed power after Empress Deng's death, Cai was ordered to report to prison.
121年，当静隐皇后的孙子于邓绥皇后去世以后继承帝位之后，蔡伦被投入狱中。
Before he was to report, he committed suicide by drinking poison after taking a bath and dressing in fine robes.
入狱前，他沐浴并换上了华丽的长袍，最后服毒自尽。
While paper is widely used worldwide today, the creator of this extremely important invention is little-known outside East Asia.
尽管今天纸在全世界被广泛使用，在东亚之外却只有很少一部分知道这项重大发明的创造者。
After Cai invented paper in 105, it immediately became widely used in China.
蔡伦于105年发明了造纸术之后，只在中国就得到了大面积的运用。
In 751, some Chinese paper makers were captured by Arabs after Tang troops were annihilated in the Battle of Talas River.
751年，一些中国的造纸工人因为唐朝军队在塔拉斯河之战中全军覆没而被阿拉伯人抓走。
The techniques of papermaking then spread to the West.
之后，造纸术就被传往全世界。
Cai's contribution is considered one of the most important inventions in history, since it enabled China to develop its civilization much faster than with earlier writing materials (primarily bamboo)， and it did the same with Europe when it was introduced in the 12th century or the 13th century.
蔡伦的贡献被认为是历史上最重要的发明之一，它使中国与使用早期书写工具（原先是竹子）相比文明发展的更快了，当它在12世纪或13世纪被传入欧洲后，它也发挥了相同的作用。
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