When incense such as agarwood first appeared on the scene, they were largely scarce and expensive, out of reach of the "common" folk. Incense gradually became more accessible and found increasing uses in daily life across all social strata. Thanks to this, Chinese incense culture has endured for millennia, having a major impact on Chinese society.

After Buddhism was introduced to China during the Han Dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE), agarwood, which has a refreshing, sweet, and cool fragrance, was burned during Buddha worship. It was quickly discovered that the aroma of agarwood could calm the mind and lead the soul to a state of transcendence. So, people invented incense burners, censers, and appropriate utensils and began burning agarwood at home.

During the Sui and Tang dynasties (581–907), a prosperous period in China's history, agarwood was used for incense, making medicine, Buddhist rituals, and even painting walls and building pavilions. According to legend, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang built the Chenxiang (agarwood) Pavilion for Yang Guifei to escape the summer heat in Chang'an.

By the Song Dynasty (960–1279), agarwood had become affordable enough to be bought and used by commoners. The incense was emancipated from homes and temples, being burned at banquets and celebrations to add to the atmosphere. Those who could afford it would be more lavish with their agarwood, using it to fumigate clothes, perfume their bodies, and boil in water to make tea.

Song Dynasty incense-making technology was quite advanced. Incense shops across the capital's markets sold incense cakes, incense pills, and incense sticks. Stamped incense (also known as seal incense), with various patterns or characters embossed on it, was wildly popular among young people (even in ancient times, the youth had to find a way to set themselves apart from their parents’ generation).

The ancients believed that agarwood was a spiritual "expectorant" able to remove mental blockages and soothe the body and mind. Thus, craftsmen often used the wood of the Aquilaria tree from which agarwood incense is extracted to craft various artistic objects, often with practical uses. Large items included screens, bookshelves, tea sets, and inkstone boxes, while on the smaller side, there were brush trays, brush holders, ruyi scepters, and bracelets. Most of these were designed to be placed in studies or bedchambers for easy access. Among the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911) artifacts kept by the Palace Museum are numerous pieces crafted from Aquilaria wood, including ruyi scepters and goblets engraved with scenes of deer in the wild.

From ancient times to the present, agarwood has been a graceful friend to those with a scholarly bent, playing an important role in their lives. When the weather got hot, Zhou Bangyan (a Northern Song literary figure) "burned agarwood to dispel the heat" and sleep better at night. Li Qingzhao (Song Dynasty poet) wrote: "I light the agarwood at bedtime. By the time I wake, its fragrance has diminished, but the reek of alcohol on my person has not." Huang Tingjian (a famous poet in the Northern Song Dynasty) burned agarwood while meditating: "A wisp of yellow cloud is circling the table, and when deep in meditation, I imagine becoming one with it."