<P> Papyrus books were in the form of a scroll of several sheets pasted together, for a total length of 10 meters or more . Some books, such as the history of the reign of Ramses III, were over 40 meters long . Books rolled out horizontally; the text occupied one side, and was divided into columns . The title was indicated by a label attached to the cylinder containing the book . Many papyrus texts come from tombs, where prayers and sacred texts were deposited (such as the Book of the Dead, from the early 2nd millennium BC). </P> <P> Writing on bone, shells, wood and silk existed in China long before the 2nd century BC . Paper was invented in China around the 1st century AD . The discovery of the process using the bark of the blackberry bush is attributed to Ts'ai Louen (the cousin of Kar - Shun), but it may be older . Texts were reproduced by woodblock printing; the diffusion of Buddhist texts was a main impetus to large - scale production . The format of the book evolved with intermediate stages of scrolls folded concertina - style, scrolls bound at one edge ("butterfly books") and so on . </P> <P> The first printing of books started in China and was during the Tang Dynasty (618--907), but exactly when is not known . The oldest extant printed book is a Tang Dynasty work of the Diamond Sutra and dates back to 868 . When the Italian Catholic missionary Matteo Ricci visited Ming China, he wrote that there were "exceedingly large numbers of books in circulation" and noted that they were sold at very low prices . </P> <P> In Mesoamerica, information was recorded on long strips of paper, agave fibers, or animal hides, which were then folded and protected by wooden covers . These were thought to have existed since the time of the Classical Period between the 3rd and 8th centuries, CE . Many of these codices were thought to contain astrological information, religious calendars, knowledge about the gods, genealogies of the rulers, cartographic information, and tribute collection . Many of these codices were stored in temples but were ultimately destroyed by the Spanish explorers . </P>

When was the first book written on paper
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