China and the Paper Maker

Civilization V- Paper Maker

After reviewing over all the Civilization leaders, I finally decided to play China's Wu Zetian. I was drawn to her unique benefits, particularly the paper maker and the art of war. The paper maker is something that gives the player a huge boost in gold and science starting in the early game. It is interesting to note that China is the author of the creation of paper, making it entirely appropriate that China has this power. There are some clear connections of the benefits between the "paper maker" in the game and the early making of real paper in China.

Ancient paper making techniques.
Taken from: http://historyprojectteam2.weebly.com/chinas-empire.html

Paper was invented in China during the Han Dynasty around 100 B.C. With a growing nation, affairs within the government became increasingly complicated. There were many commerce and administrative efforts that greatly benefited from the use of a record-keeping and communication system that involved paper. In Civ. V, the paper maker building granted an increase in gold and science production. This can easily be compared to the benefits that early China reaped when inventing paper. Paper could facilitate economic administration of larger, growing communities through marking and numbering products, creating a very efficient method of keeping track of goods and production. With a clear system of record keeping, the king could now have a sense of what goods he has as well as what goods he needs for his kingdom. This is also directly similar to how administration would benefit. A king could now have a very accurate grasp on how many workers or soldiers he could have. With now a very accurate awareness of what goods are entering and leaving a kingdom as well as the number of workers, the king could now more easily control and grow an already expanding kingdom. Civ. V is accurate when comparing benefits of the paper maker building and the benefits of inventing paper in China. A civilization can grow both intellectually as well as economically with the paper maker building in the video game, just as China grew throughout history after inventing paper.