INVENTOR

Cai Lun

48 - 121

Photo of Cai Lun

Icon of person Cai Lun

Cai Lun (Chinese: 蔡伦; courtesy name: Jingzhong (敬仲); c. 50–62 – 121 CE), formerly romanized as Ts'ai Lun, was a Chinese eunuch court official of the Eastern Han dynasty. He occupies a pivotal place in the history of paper due to his addition of pulp via tree bark and hemp ends which resulted in the large-scale manufacture and worldwide spread of paper. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Cai Lun has received more than 719,157 page views. His biography is available in 68 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 65 in 2019). Cai Lun is the 14th most popular inventor (up from 17th in 2019), the 29th most popular biography from China (down from 24th in 2019) and the most popular Chinese Inventor.

Cai Lun is most famous for inventing paper.

Memorability Metrics

  • 720k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 74.74

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 68

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 12.70

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 2.98

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among INVENTORS

Among inventors, Cai Lun ranks 14 out of 426. Before him are Karl Benz, Henry Ford, Guglielmo Marconi, Charles Babbage, Louis Braille, and Samuel Morse. After him are Nikolaus Otto, Louis Daguerre, George Stephenson, Rudolf Diesel, Nicéphore Niépce, and Abbas ibn Firnas.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 48, Cai Lun ranks 1. After him is Ulpia Marciana. Among people deceased in 121, Cai Lun ranks 1. After him are Pompeia Plotina, Deng Sui, and Pope Primus of Alexandria.

Others Born in 48

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Others Deceased in 121

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In China

Among people born in China, Cai Lun ranks 29 out of 1,610. Before him are Guan Yu (162), Liu Bei (161), Ip Man (1893), Kangxi Emperor (1654), Zhuge Liang (181), and Mencius (-372). After him are Lü Bu (161), Zhuang Zhou (-369), Jiang Zemin (1926), Puyi (1906), Emperor Taizong of Tang (598), and Yongle Emperor (1360).

Others born in China

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  • Photo of Guan Yu

    Guan Yu

    MILITARY PERSONNEL

    162 - 220

    HPI: 75.46

    Rank: 23

  • Photo of Liu Bei

    Liu Bei

    POLITICIAN

    161 - 223

    HPI: 75.36

    Rank: 24

  • Photo of Ip Man

    Ip Man

    MARTIAL ARTS

    1893 - 1972

    HPI: 75.18

    Rank: 25

  • Photo of Kangxi Emperor

    Kangxi Emperor

    POLITICIAN

    1654 - 1722

    HPI: 75.10

    Rank: 26

  • Photo of Zhuge Liang

    Zhuge Liang

    ENGINEER

    181 - 234

    HPI: 74.99

    Rank: 27

  • Photo of Mencius

    Mencius

    PHILOSOPHER

    372 BC - 289 BC

    HPI: 74.88

    Rank: 28

  • Photo of Cai Lun

    Cai Lun

    INVENTOR

    48 - 121

    HPI: 74.74

    Rank: 29

  • Photo of Lü Bu

    Lü Bu

    MILITARY PERSONNEL

    161 - 199

    HPI: 74.47

    Rank: 30

  • Photo of Zhuang Zhou

    Zhuang Zhou

    PHILOSOPHER

    369 BC - 286 BC

    HPI: 74.38

    Rank: 31

  • Photo of Jiang Zemin

    Jiang Zemin

    POLITICIAN

    1926 - 2022

    HPI: 74.07

    Rank: 32

  • Photo of Puyi

    Puyi

    POLITICIAN

    1906 - 1967

    HPI: 73.99

    Rank: 33

  • Photo of Emperor Taizong of Tang

    Emperor Taizong of Tang

    POLITICIAN

    598 - 649

    HPI: 73.98

    Rank: 34

  • Photo of Yongle Emperor

    Yongle Emperor

    POLITICIAN

    1360 - 1424

    HPI: 73.69

    Rank: 35

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Among INVENTORS In China

Among inventors born in China, Cai Lun ranks 1. After him are Charles K. Kao (1933), Bi Sheng (990), Taiichi Ohno (1912), Yuan Longping (1930), Thonmi Sambhota (618), An Wang (1920), and Robin Li (1968).

Chinese born Inventors

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