中国香事 · Cultural library

Chinese Incense

Explore Chinese incense through its materials, history, objects, and place in everyday life. Begin with a subject, then follow the questions that matter to you.

Editor's introduction

Chinese Incense: A Culture of Scent and Craft Foundations · 5 min read

Chinese Incense: A Culture of Scent and Craft

From the blending of aromatics to finely made vessels and books devoted to fragrance, Chinese incense opens a window onto a rich culture of making, appreciating and living with scent.

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23 articles
How Does Incense Powder Become a Stick? Materials & Craft How Does Incense Powder Become a Stick? In Fujian’s Yongchun workshops, a bamboo splint, two dips in water and the sweep of a hand turn loose powder into a slender stick of incense. 3 min read · Read article What Does Agarwood Incense Smell Like? Materials & Craft What Does Agarwood Incense Smell Like? Explore the woody sweetness of agarwood incense through a Southern Song writer’s descriptions of blossom, pear and honeycomb. 4 min read · Read article What Does Benzoin Incense Smell Like? Materials & Craft What Does Benzoin Incense Smell Like? Discover benzoin’s warm, vanilla-like resin scent and its place in Chinese incense blending. 3 min read · Read article What Does Patchouli Smell Like in Incense? Materials & Craft What Does Patchouli Smell Like in Incense? Explore patchouli’s earthy scent and a Chinese tradition of fragrant leaves, spring tea and silk scent sachets. 3 min read · Read article How Long Is “An Incense Stick’s Time” in a Chinese Novel? History & Meaning How Long Is “An Incense Stick’s Time” in a Chinese Novel? Why a Chinese novelist might measure a silence by the burning of a stick, even when the character owns a watch. 2 min read · Read article How Did People Scent Their Clothes in Imperial China? History & Meaning How Did People Scent Their Clothes in Imperial China? A lady leans against a scent cage. A child chases a butterfly. A Ming painter shows how incense could become part of getting dressed. 2 min read · Read article Incense as a Gift: A Chinese Story of Friendship History & Meaning Incense as a Gift: A Chinese Story of Friendship A Song-dynasty story of incense and friendship offers a personal way to think about giving incense today. 3 min read · Read article Jasmine Incense: Bringing a White Flower into Everyday Life Materials & Craft Jasmine Incense: Bringing a White Flower into Everyday Life Discover how jasmine entered Chinese scent traditions, from flower-scented wood to tea, and what a jasmine fragrance name tells you about modern incense. 3 min read · Read article Plum Blossom Incense: How a Blend Can Evoke a Flower Materials & Craft Plum Blossom Incense: How a Blend Can Evoke a Flower Can plum blossom incense contain no plum blossoms? A historical Chinese recipe and a winter painting explain how a blend can evoke a flower. 3 min read · Read article Chinese Incense Holders: Small Sculptures with a Purpose Materials & Craft Chinese Incense Holders: Small Sculptures with a Purpose Explore Chinese incense holders through porcelain lions, an elephant and vase, and the small design details that bring function and sculpture together. 4 min read · Read article Why Did Some Han Dynasty Incense Burners Look Like Mountains? History & Meaning Why Did Some Han Dynasty Incense Burners Look Like Mountains? A Han incense burner could turn fragrance into a miniature mountain landscape. Here is how its pierced lid worked, and what museums say about the image. 4 min read · Read article Chinese Incense vs Japanese Incense vs Indian Incense Foundations Chinese Incense vs Japanese Incense vs Indian Incense Compare Chinese, Japanese, and Indian incense by scent, construction, smoke, and room fit—and choose the right place to begin. 8 min read · Read article Mugwort Incense: A Chinese Herb and the Meaning of Duanwu Materials & Craft Mugwort Incense: A Chinese Herb and the Meaning of Duanwu Herbal fragrance, greenery at the doorway, and a Chinese tradition of seasonal care. 3 min read · Read article Osmanthus Incense: Its Scent and Place in Chinese Autumn Materials & Craft Osmanthus Incense: Its Scent and Place in Chinese Autumn A small flower, an unmistakable fragrance, and a Chinese appreciation of autumn. 3 min read · Read article Agarwood vs Sandalwood Incense: What’s the Difference? Materials & Craft Agarwood vs Sandalwood Incense: What’s the Difference? Compare agarwood and sandalwood incense: what the materials are, how to read scent descriptions, why prices differ, and how to choose your first sample. 4 min read · Read article Bamboo-Core vs Coreless Incense: Which Should You Choose? Materials & Craft Bamboo-Core vs Coreless Incense: Which Should You Choose? Learn how to tell bamboo-cored and coreless incense apart, what each means for scent, and whether the sticks will fit your holder. 3 min read · Read article Why Do People Burn Three Incense Sticks at Chinese Temples? History & Meaning Why Do People Burn Three Incense Sticks at Chinese Temples? What three sticks mean at a Buddhist temple in Suzhou, and why visitors to a temple in Taipei can pray empty-handed. 3 min read · Read article What Is a Joss Stick? The Story Behind the Name Foundations What Is a Joss Stick? The Story Behind the Name A nineteenth-century traveller in Guangzhou, a slender thread of incense and the name on a modern box. 2 min read · Read article What Is Makko Powder? Materials & Craft What Is Makko Powder? What a little powdered bark does for a sandalwood stick, from the first knead to the last ember. 2 min read · Read article How Chinese Incense Sticks Are Made Materials & Craft How Chinese Incense Sticks Are Made From aromatic powder to a finished stick: six stages that reveal the work behind a simple form. 4 min read · Read article Why Is Incense Sometimes Part of a Chinese Tea Setting? Rooms & Rituals Why Is Incense Sometimes Part of a Chinese Tea Setting? A gathering imagined by the Ming painter Wen Zhengming offers a way to understand tea, incense, and the pleasure of company. 3 min read · Read article Why Was Incense Part of the Chinese Scholar’s Study? Rooms & Rituals Why Was Incense Part of the Chinese Scholar’s Study? One burner, a few incense boxes, a change of material with the seasons: a late Ming writer’s precise preferences offer a glimpse of incense’s place in the Chinese study. 4 min read · Read article Incense and Quiet Sitting: A Chinese Perspective Rooms & Rituals Incense and Quiet Sitting: A Chinese Perspective A Tang poem, a Song painting, and the pleasure of making a little time your own. 3 min read · Read article

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