Chinese Incense Culture(香学) · Incense and Seasonal Folk Customs
Wearing Incense and Incense Pouches
Incense is not only burned in the censer—it can also be worn on the body: sachets, incense plaques, and incense beads bring fragrance with you.
Wearing incense is the ingenious idea of making incense "part of the self," keeping it close by to ward off evil and delight the senses.
Forms of Wearing Incense
- Incense Sachet: A small fabric pouch filled with incense powder, can be hung or tied (Dragon Boat Festival sachetis its greatest use).
- Incense Plaque: Incense paste pressed into a mold to form a plaque, worn on the body or hung by the bed.
- Incense Beads: Fragrant paste is rolled into beads and strung together, suitable for wearing on the hand or around the neck.
The Meaning of Wearing Incense
Wearing incense is both practical (warding off impurities) and expressive (conveying feelings). The aromatic materials are mostly taken fromAgastache rugosa、spikenard、Lysimachia foenum-graecumand other clear-fragranced items. Its method of preparation is based on the shaping craft ofincense pills and incense cakes.