China is one of the countries with the earliest civilization in the world. Inkstone has a long history in China. According to archaeological data, inkstone was first evolved from grinding machine and appeared in Neolithic Age. Among the millstones and grinding racks unearthed from the cultural site of Anbanposhao in Xi 'an, some millstones have grooves and mortars, and there are traces of grinding pigments in the grooves and mortars. In 1976, among the jades unearthed from Muhao Tomb in Yinxu, Anyang, there were color plates for color matching. These colored plates, millstones and millstones may be the predecessors of inkstone.

The rectangular slate unearthed from the Western Zhou Dynasty tomb in Luoyang is wide in front and narrow in back. The slate was polished and cinnabar was left on the ground. The shape and use of this slate palette are very close to the later inkstone. From 65438 to 0975, wooden slips, ink and grindstones were found in Qin tomb in Yunmeng Shuihudi, Hubei Province, indicating that there was ink stone grinding in the late Warring States period.

Inkstone was widely used in the Han dynasty, and the number passed down from generation to generation was also large. 1973, a complete set of stationery, such as pens, ink, inkstones, wooden slips (without words) and bronze needles, was also unearthed in a tomb of Wendi in Fenghuang Mountain, Jiangling, Hubei Province in the eleventh year. Many Han tombs unearthed inkstones, indicating that the ink at that time needed to be grinded with grindstones, which proved that inkstones were the earliest.

After the Han dynasty, with the development of ink-making technology, ink can be ground directly on the inkstone, so the grinding stone is no longer used. She inkstone was produced in Weilongshan, Wuyuan (now Wuyuan, Jiangxi), so she inkstone is also called Weilongshi. During the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, she began to make inkstones, which enjoyed a good reputation in the society at that time. In addition to inkstone platform, Chengni inkstone platform represented by Jiangzhou, Shanxi Province was also produced in the Tang Dynasty. Many porcelain kilns in the Tang Dynasty also fired inkstones. The inkstone burned in Qiongyao, Sichuan Province is complete in size, rough in glaze and simple in shape. In the Tang Dynasty, most inkstones were dustpan-shaped, with two feet or one foot. At that time, because the bricks and tiles in the palace building sites in Qin and Han Dynasties were unearthed one after another, some people also made inkstones with bricks and tiles in Qin and Han Dynasties, commonly known as tile inkstones, but unfortunately there are not many left in the world.