Chen's Incense Manual
Chen Jing's Chen's Incense Manual in four volumes surveys incense matters from the Tang dynasty onward and is an important source for Song and Ming incense manuals.
Author: Chen Jing (late Song to early Yuan; biographical details unknown).
Structure: Four volumes, divided into incense grades, incense marvels, incense matters, incense methods, and incense formulas, gathering an exceptionally rich collection of incense lore from earlier eras.
Value: It preserves a large number of incense formulas since the Tang dynasty (such as various molded incenses and incense pills) and anecdotes, and is one of the most systematic compilations of incense culture(香学) before Xiang Cheng, exerting a profound influence on later generations.
and Xiang Cheng
Zhou Jiazhou's Xiang Cheng draws heavily on Chen Jing's book. For a comparative reading, seeIncense Culture(香学) Classics · Incense ManualsandEssential Incense Manuals of Successive Dynasties。