The first books to appear in Asia were tablets of bamboo or wood bounded with cord. The Chinese invented paper in the 2nd century AD by mixing bark and hemp . At first, the paper was used for scrolls, but later made into book form, folded like an accordion, stitched on one side, with paper or cloth covers glued to the outside. The books' text was of meticulously created calligraphy , written on both sides. But China didn't invent just paper. In the 6th century AD carved wooden blocks printed a Chinese edition of the 868 AD Buddhist text Diamond Sutra. While it took more initial time to create each block, this development exponentially reduced the work required to make multiple copies of a book, but because of the many characters in the Chinese language, it was rarely used.