The burning of incense has continued in China for three thousand years. Here, classic texts on incense culture(香学), poems praising incense through the dynasties, various scholars' discussions of incense, and the fragrant herbs in the Chu Ci and Shi Jing are presented by category in their original texts—both culture and the grounding one should have before purchasing agarwood.
From China's "books" to "poems," from "Buddhism" to "herbs," to "novels" and "famous formulas," then to "former worthies," "agarwood," "blended incense," "incense vessels," "global," "Xiang Cheng," "Silk Road," "qinan(kyara)," "translated annotations," "illustrated catalogs," and "medical formulas," and further to incense appreciation, incense making, spices, the three teachings, festivals, allusions, literati, and catalogs—more than thirty categories, the world of incense in one volume.
Xiang Pu, Chen's Xiang Pu, Xiang Cheng, Seven Essentials of Incense Burning, Zun Sheng Ba Jian, Zhang Wu Zhi, Qing Yi Lu—described in detail by date of composition, chapters, and selected excerpts, to understand how Chinese people discuss, make, and use incense.
From the Chu Ci to Nalan, lines about incense in poetry through the ages. The Agarwood Pavilion, Boshan censer, golden lion censer, ruinao, and incense cage—within a wisp of fragrance lie Chinese people's nights and emotions.
Huang Tingjian's Ten Virtues of Incense, Su Shi's Harmonizing with Huang Luzhi on Burning Incense, the incense in Li Qingzhao's ci, Wen Zhenheng's discussion of incense burners—literati cultivated the mind with incense, leaving behind the most concise philosophy of incense.
Lan, hui, chai, zhi, pepper, jiangli, magnolia, jun cassia, xinyi... examining each one's source, meaning, and its origins in incense culture.
Any line containing "xiang" may be included: famous lines containing xiang from the Chu Ci, Han and Wei, through Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing, compiled with a "Mini Dictionary of Xiang Imagery." (Also included in the next volumeVolumes by Category: Censer Incense · Flower Incense · Clothing Incense · Chan Incense · Banquet and Outing Incense）
The boy Xiangyan attained enlightenment upon smelling sinking grade agarwood; the Vimalakirti Sutra's Land of Many Fragrances; the Lotus Sutra's incense offering; the Vinaya Pitaka's precepts on applying incense; the Abhidharmakosha's classification of incense.
Japanese incense culture(香学) "Six Countries and Five Flavors", Indian Ayurveda, the Arabic Ibn Sina's Canon of Medicine, Roman Pliny the Elder, the Bible's frankincense and myrrh, ancient Egypt's kyphi. (Japanese incense culture(香学) also hasdedicated page）
The "Group Fragrance Essence", Dream-Sweet Incense, and Cold Fragrance Pills in Dream of the Red Chamber; agarwood, ambergris, and incense tea in The Plum in the Golden Vase; and the burning of incense in Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin, and Journey to the West—novels use incense to portray the full range of worldly affairs.
Compiled from Xiang Cheng and Chen's Incense Compendium: Huang Taishi's Pure-True Incense, Han Weigong's Intense Plum Incense, Jiangnan Lord Li's Bedchamber Incense, Xuanhe Imperial Incense, and Spring Message in Snow—see how the ancients blended a perfect burner of incense.
Ding Wei's Tale of Heavenly Fragrance, Su Shi's Spring Message in Snow, Huang Tingjian's Ten Virtues of Incense, Hong Chu's Incense Compendium, and Zhou Jiazhou's Xiang Cheng—linking together the lineage of the "Twenty-Four Sages" of Chinese incense culture(香学).
Resin forms from injury and naturally matures; the mystery of qinan(kyara)'s 76.25% starch utilization rate; the Hainan, Hui'an, and Xingzhou production regions and the appraisal of "clear and refined as lotus and plum blossom."
The compatibility of sovereign, minister, assistant, and envoy; the medical principle that incense and medicine share the same origin; the philosophy of time and space in the Five Elements and incense—why a fine formula of incense does not "become chaotic."
The immortal mountains of the Han Boshan censer, the bronze resonance of the Ming Xuande censer, the timing ingenuity of incense seal impressions, and the incense ritual of the "three implements of censer, vase, and box" and indirect fire heating.
Zhou Jiazhou's grand compendium, interpreted volume by volume across twenty-eight volumes: incense grades, incense affairs, incense formulas, incense writings—one Xiang Cheng is half of incense history.
From the import of foreign aromatics along the Maritime Silk Road, to the nutmeg rivalry of the Maluku Spice Islands, to the monopolies of the Portuguese and Dutch East India Companies—half of the history of global trade.
Nha Trang, Phu Quoc (Phu Sen), Pusa, Kalimantan, Brunei—a graded study of the aromatic profiles of qinan(kyara) by region, with CITES compliance notes.
The twenty-eight juan of Xiang Cheng, with the original text recorded juan by juan (collated and compiled), accompanied by vernacular translations and annotations, divided into four sections—Incense Goods, Incense Matters, Incense Writings, and Incense Formulas: agarwood, sandalwood, musk, and ambergris; Xun Ling and Han Shou; incense rhapsodies and incense discourses; Sihe and Xuanhe, Wensi—a ladder to reading the entire work.
Boshan censer, Xuande censer, incense seal, hand censer, incense box, incense vase, incense tray, incense chopsticks, incense shovel, reclining censer, incense ball, incense dressing case, incense stand—examining the name, form, dynasty, and use of each piece.
Aromatics and medicine share a common origin: agarwood, musk, and borneol are both incense materials and medicinal substances. Compiled here are famous formulas from successive dynasties, including Suhexiang Pill, Zhibao Pill, Zixue Pill, Angong Niuhuang Pill, Chenxiang Jiangqi Decoction, Huoxiang Zhengqi Powder, and Shexiang Baoxin Pill.
Huang Tingjian's Ten Virtues of Incense, indirect charcoal heating, seal incense, the etiquette of the incense seat, and the four essentials and six matters of incense appreciation—a systematic explanation of how to appreciate a good brazier of incense.
Refining honey and blending incense, incense pills and cakes, scenting and aging, making incense sticks, and processing incense powder—revealing the steps of blended incense from powder to incense.
Agarwood, sandalwood, ambergris, musk, frankincense, myrrh, benzoin, storax, clove, patchouli, costus, and linglingxiang: a profile of each.
Buddhism through nose contemplation, Daoism through fasting rituals, Confucianism through ritual respect: Daoist incense use, Confucian incense burning, sacrificial incense, and the similarities and differences in incense burning across the Three Teachings.
Wearing incense sachets at Duanwu, zhuyu at Chongyang, burning incense on New Year's morning, scenting clothes, and carrying personal incense — the role of incense in daily life throughout the seasons.
Xun Ling's lingering fragrance, Han Shou's stolen incense, the Boshan censer, the Qingping Melody at the Agarwood Pavilion, Ding Wei's "Biography of Heavenly Fragrance" — threading together the collective memory of incense among the Chinese people.
Burning incense while playing the qin, incense to aid tea, incense and painting and calligraphy, incense in gardens — incense is the spiritual undercurrent of the literati's four arts and daily life.
The Chen Family Incense Treatise, the Hong Family Incense Treatise, Seven Essentials of Incense Burning, Zhangsheng Bajian on incense, and a comparison of the origins and lineages of major incense treatises through the ages.
Transmitted eastward from Tang China, it became a "Way" in Japan: schools such as the Oie-ryū and Shino-ryū, the game of kumikō, and the appreciation of agarwood by "six countries, five flavors" — another branch blossoming from Chinese incense culture(香学).
Aromatherapy in traditional Chinese medicine, incense fragrances and modern life, calming the spirit and aiding sleep, traditional epidemic-prevention incense formulas, and clearing the heart and relieving depression — nurturing body and mind with incense (traditional understanding, not medical advice).
Identifying agarwood, identifying qinan(kyara), advanced incense appreciation methods, the agarwood market and collecting, authenticity of incense materials and purchasing — the practical questions buyers and users of incense care about most.
From the fragrant herbs of the Chu Ci and the Han dynasty boshanlu incense burners, to the Four Arts of the Song literati and the Ming dynasty Xiang Cheng compendium that gathered it all, and on to the contemporary revival—a history of the evolution of Chinese incense culture(香学).
From authenticity identification, sinking grade, regional characteristics, to care methods—explaining the basics of "buying agarwood" clearly, so you understand before you buy.
4 steps to tell real from fake + sinking grade buying guide + list of fakes; add WeChat to get the full version.
The incense practices and lineages of Su Shi, Huang Tingjian, Ding Wei, Zhou Jiazhou, and others.
Burners from Han and Tang to Ming and Qing, and the aesthetics of Zhang Wu Zhi.
Approaches to reconstructing ancient formulas such as Xuezhong Chunxin and Zhangzhong Xiang.
Interpretation of incense imagery in Tang poetry, opera, and Nalan's ci.
A compilation of incense matters in Honglou Meng, Jin Ping Mei, and Liaozhai.
The Ten Virtues of Incense and famous lines on incense by literati through the ages, with sources.
Start with these few pieces to build an overall impression of Chinese incense culture(香学).
Moving the spirits, purifying heart and body, removing impurities, warding off sleep, becoming a companion in stillness, stealing leisure amid the dust, never tiresome in abundance, sufficient in scarcity, imperishable in long keeping, unobstructed in constant use—ten lines that capture the literati's way of being with incense.
Read the full text →Zhou Jiazhou of the Ming Dynasty devoted his life to compiling the largest comprehensive book on incense culture (香学) in ancient China. It contains incense products, incense lore, hundreds of incense formulas, and appendices—an indispensable classic for later discussions of incense.
View the Volumes →'Thin mist and dense clouds, sorrow through the endless day; the auspicious brain dissolves in the golden beast.' Ruinao is borneol, and the golden beast is a beast-shaped incense burner. In the ci poem 'Zui Hua Yin,' the loneliness of the Double Ninth Festival is written into the blue smoke of burning incense.
Read the Full Poem →'I wear Jiangli and Bizhi; I twine autumn orchids as my garland.' Qu Yuan likened fragrant herbs to noble gentlemen, initiating the millennia-old Chinese literary tradition of 'fragrant herbs and beautiful women,' which is also the spiritual source of incense culture.
Study the Fragrant Herbs →Classics and poetry are the 'text'; actual agarwood is the 'proof.' Come to the store and smell real agarwood, qinan (kyara), and incense sticks—only then does incense culture (香学) stand on solid ground.
Book an In-Store Incense TastingThe following Q&A is compiled from content on this site for quick reference; descriptions of the medicinal properties of incense materials are based on traditional understanding and do not constitute medical advice.
Chinese incense culture (香学) is the study of China's incense-using culture, covering incense classics, poetry about incense, incense sages, agarwood research, blended incense formulas, incense vessels and tools, incense medicinal formulas, and seasonal customs. It includes both the collation of historical documents and the practical systems of tasting, making, and appraising incense. This site organizes it into a free online incense culture (香学) museum.
There are currently more than thirty categories: incense classics, poetry about incense, various scholars' discussions on incense, fragrant herbs in the Chu Ci and Shi Jing, incense in Buddhist sutras, incense in fiction, famous incense formulas through the ages, incense sages (individual pages for the Twenty-Four Sages), agarwood research, research on qinan (kyara) origins, the way of blended incense, incense vessel catalog, incense medicinal formulas, volume-by-volume Xiang Cheng with annotations and translations, as well as special categories such as Japanese kōdō, incense and health, appraisal and authentication, and a general history of incense culture (香学).
Yes. All pages are open for free reading, with no registration or payment required. Our original intention in doing this is to give you cultural confidence before purchasing agarwood.
Suggested route: first read 'Agarwood Research' to build an understanding of the raw material, then read 'Incense Appraisal and Authentication' to avoid common traps, and then enter 'Famous Incense Formulas Through the Ages,' 'Incense Vessel Catalog,' or 'The Way of Incense Tasting' according to your interests.