Cai Lun (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??; pinyin: C鄆 L鷑; Wade-Giles: Ts'ai Lun) (ca. 50 CE - 121); courtesy name Jingzhong (??); was a Chinese eunuch and political official. He is traditionally regarded as the inventor of paper and the papermaking process; in forms recognizable in modern times as paper (as opposed to papyrus).

Although early forms of paper had existed in China since the 2nd century BCE; he was responsible for the first significant improvement and standardization of paper-making by adding essential new materials into its composition. Pictures From History