Pin down the concepts first, so you don't get misled by TV dramas.
Musk is the dried secretion from the musk gland sac of male musk deer, and together with civet musk, castoreum and ambergris it is known as one of the four great animal perfumes. What must be made clear today is: all musk deer species are listed in the CITES appendices, and China's six musk deer species, including the forest musk deer, alpine musk deer and Siberian musk deer, are Class I nationally protected wild animals; natural musk is not an incense material that can be bought, sold and used freely.Whether reading ancient formulas or blending incense yourself, the correct approach isto substitute artificial musk (or synthetic muscone), or simply omit it—this is also the practical recommendation given in this article.
Key Points
- The Chinese Pharmacopoeia stipulates that the animal source of musk is the dried secretion from the scent sacs of mature males of three species: the forest musk deer, alpine musk deer and Siberian musk deer.
- All species of the genus Moschus are listed in the CITES appendices; in China, the Anhui musk deer, Siberian musk deer, forest musk deer, alpine musk deer, black musk deer and Himalayan musk deer are allClass I nationally protected wild animals。
- On the IUCN Red List, of the 7 species in the genus Moschus: 6 are Endangered (EN) and 1 is Vulnerable (VU).
- The ancient practice of "killing musk deer to obtain musk" is no longer advocated; China began captive breeding of musk deer in the late 1950s, and nowlive extraction of muskis possible, with a single musk deer able to provide musk continuously for over a decade.
- Artificial muskAs a Class I new drug, its research and development project won the First Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award in 2015, and it is the compliant substitute for current incense blending and pharmaceutical use.
- The position of this site: popular science and research are fine, but for actual use please choose artificial musk or simply omit it;buying and using natural musk products is not recommended。
- Records involving medicinal properties and effects are descriptions of traditional understanding,not medical advice, for reference only。
The musk deer is not a deer. It belongs to the family Moschidae and resembles a small deer, with a body length of 65–95 cm and a weight of less than 20 kg; neither sex has antlers, and males have a pair of tusks used for fighting during the rut. The male has an oval scent sac at the umbilicus on its abdomen, and the musk grains it secretes are granular or powdery;the finest grade is called "dangmenzi"It is purple-black, glossy and oily, with a strong, distinctive fragrance.
The Chinese Pharmacopoeia legally defines three source species:Forest musk deer（Moschus berezovskii）、Alpine musk deer（M. sifanicus）、Siberian musk deer（M. moschiferus). Males begin secreting at age two, with the peak season at the turn of spring and summer—using this scent to attract mates and to mark territory.
There is a counterintuitive point about scent:smelled up close, musk is both fishy and foul-smelling. Professor Zhao Zhongzhen recorded exactly this in his field notes at a forest musk deer breeding base in Sichuan—not a trace of fragrance can be smelled at the farm, because it is so intensely concentrated that it goes beyond the category of "fragrance." Only when highly diluted does it turn into a warm animalic note with a powdery feel and extremely strong tenacity;a tiny amount can lift the whole composition. This is precisely why it is used as a "fixative/lead-in" in incense blending.
This is the most important section of the entire article.
At the international level.All species of the genus Moschus are listed in the appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Under the 2023 CITES appendices, the populations of Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan are listed inAppendix I(commercial international trade prohibited), and all other populations are listed inAppendix II(trade requires a permit). In other words,cross-border buying and selling of natural musk products is regulated by international convention。
At the domestic level.Under the List of National Key Protected Wild Animals,Six species of musk deer—Anhui musk deer, Siberian musk deer, forest musk deer, alpine musk deer, black musk deer, and Himalayan musk deer—are all listed as national first-class protected animals.. The three species of musk deer listed in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (forest musk deer, alpine musk deer, and Siberian musk deer) are all included.
Endangerment level.The IUCN Red List includes 7 species of musk deer, of which6 are Endangered (EN) and 1 is Vulnerable (VU). The main threats are historical overhunting and habitat destruction—since ancient times, humans have obtained musk by "killing musk deer to take musk," hunting male musk deer from winter to the following spring, cutting off the musk pod and drying it in the shade, called "maoke musk." The Qing Dynasty woodblock print "Musk Deer Hunt" depicts exactly this scene. As a result, resources are nearly exhausted.
Therefore, the stance of this website is clear: natural musk is a strictly protected endangered animal product, and this websitedoes not advocate, recommend, or encourageanyone to purchase or use natural musk. When encountering "musk" in ancient formulas, the correct approach is to substitute or omit it, which will be detailed in the next section.
The good news is that alternatives have matured and are officially encouraged.
The first path: artificial breeding of musk deer + live musk extraction.China began artificial breeding of musk deer in 1958, and research on domestication and artificial feeding was restarted in the 1960s. In fact, as early as the Tang Dynasty, there are records of artificially domesticated musk deer for musk extraction—using a needle to extract musk from the musk pod and then disinfecting the wound with realgar. Unfortunately, limited by historical conditions, it was not promoted. Today's practice is: every October, staff directly extract the reddish-brown paste from the fleshy musk pod of adult male musk deer, which locals vividly compare to "using an ear pick to extract musk."A single musk deer can continuously produce musk for over ten years, which is a huge improvement over killing the deer to take musk.
However, to be honest: musk deer are extremely timid and highly sensitive to the environment, making breeding much more difficult than raising sika deer, and large-scale breeding has not yet been achieved. This is also the fundamental reason why natural musk supply is extremely limited and expensive.
The second path: artificial musk.This is currently the mainstream alternative in incense blending and pharmaceutical manufacturing. As a new class of drugs, the research and development project of artificial muskwon the First Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award in 2015, with core components such asmusconeand others. It alleviates the crisis of traditional Chinese medicine resources and provides a compliant modern successor for "musk in ancient formulas."
By the way, the clinical dosage of musk in traditional Chinese medicine is very small, mostly in pills and powders, 0.03–0.1 grams each time, andabsolutely contraindicated for pregnant women(it can cause miscarriage whether taken internally or applied externally). These are serious usage-level warnings, not something to casually try at an incense gathering.
Reading Xiang Cheng, one frequently runs into musk. Two examples:
Xiang Cheng, Volume 21of "Sihe Xiang"—agarwood, sandalwood, borneol, and musk in four equal parts, blended into a paste with refined white honey, and stored sealed for seven days. Here musk is the "envoy," responsible for releasing the fragrance.
Xiang Cheng, Volume 16records Su Shi's "Spring Message in the Snow," which also says "made with agarwood, sandalwood, borneol, and musk."
Faced with these formulas, the shopkeeper offers three practical principles:
Musk's role in incense blending isfixing and lifting the fragrance—making the fragrance longer-lasting and more three-dimensional. Without it, there are alternative paths:
An old incense friend who often comes to the shop insisted on "must add musk" when reconstructing an ancient formula. The shopkeeper advised him for half a year, and finally he tried making two batches for comparison: one with artificial musk, one with pure agarwood, sandalwood, and borneol. He blind-tested three rounds himself and could recognize both batches, but could not say which batch was "more right"—The wonder of ancient formulas lies in structure, not in whether a certain ingredient is original. He later wrote this sentence into his own incense-tasting notes.
To summarize the three points that must be remembered:
The inheritance of incense culture(香学) should not come at the cost of depleting endangered species. The ancients used musk because there were no substitutes then; now that there are, we should use them.This is not compromise; it is progress.
If you have old incense products left by elders that are labeled as containing musk and are unsure how to handle them, you can call400-809-1913to ask; you are also welcome to come to the shop to talk about substitute ideas for reconstructing ancient formulas. The shopkeeper does not sell natural musk, but can help you revise the formula to be compliant.
It is not recommended, nor should it be. All species of Moschus are listed in the CITES appendices, and China's six musk deer species, including forest musk deer, alpine musk deer, and Siberian musk deer, are all national first-class protected wild animals; hunting, killing, buying, or selling natural musk products is suspected of being illegal. The vast majority of "natural musk" claimed on the market is not genuine. When studying ancient formulas or practicing incense blending, please use artificial musk (synthetic muscone) as a substitute, or simply omit that ingredient—in ancient formulas, musk was mostly a "guide," used in extremely small amounts, and omitting it has limited impact on the overall fragrance profile.
Artificial musk uses muscone and similar substances as core components and is a class of new drug developed to alleviate the resource crisis of natural musk. Its R&D project won the First Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award in 2015, and in incense blending it is fully capable of playing the role of "lifting and fixing fragrance." The difference lies mainly in the richness of layers, but for most incense gatherings it is not obvious. It should be noted that "musk fragrance" is not equivalent to artificial musk; the former is mostly chemically synthesized fragrance, so check the ingredients and usage labeling when purchasing.
Not necessarily. In ancient formulas, musk was usually a "assistant" or "guide," used in extremely small amounts, with the function of releasing fragrance and lifting it. For home reconstruction there are three approaches: omit it entirely (the simplest, zero risk); use artificial musk or synthetic muscone as a substitute (compliant and close); use plant/resin incense materials such as borneol, benzoin, and storax to supplement penetrating power and staying power. The value of ancient formulas lies in the structural thinking of "sovereign, minister, assistant, and guide," not in whether a certain ingredient must be original.
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