Inkstones were used by SCHOLARS, who practiced the highly respected art of brush writing on paper called CALLIGRAPHY.

Along with painting, calligraphy was considered one of the highest arts.
Did you know paper was invented in China during the Han dynasty? Historical records show that the invention of paper was reported to the Chinese Emperor in the year 195 AD. Recent archaeological studies place the actual invention of paper 200 years earlier. For about five hundred years only the Chinese made paper, then the invention spread to Japan, other parts of Asia, and Egypt. The rest, as they say, is history!