Any line containing "香" may be included here. Below, famous lines containing 香 from successive dynasties are compiled by dynasty, with aMini-dictionary of the imagery of the character 香—only by understanding these objects and aromatics can one truly read through poems containing the character 香.
Draped in jiangli and bi zhi, I stitched香(autumn orchid) to wear as a pendant.
In the morning I plucked magnolia on the slope; at dusk I gathered sedges from the isle.
The original reads "stitched autumn orchid to wear as a pendant"—autumn orchid is a fragrant herb; in Chu Ci the word "香" is mostly expressed as "芳," and 芳 means fragrant.
Hui-herb dishes steamed, laid on orchid mats; I pour the cassia wine and the pepper broth.
Offering to the gods the fragrance of hui, cassia, and pepper—"芳" means fragrant; the incense of sacrificial rites begins here.
In the boudoir the wind is warm, grass on the pathxun。
"Xun" means the fragrance of grass; it shares the same origin as "xiang" (fragrance) yet is more ancient and elegant; the later term "xunlong" (incense cage) derives from this meaning.
Faint like the fragrance of hidden orchids, she paces hesitantly at the mountain's corner.
The famous flower and the beauty of a nation delight each other; always the sovereign looks on with a smile.
Explaining the spring wind's boundless regret, agarwoodagarwoodnorth of the pavilion, leaning on the railing.
Agarwood Pavilion — the Xingqing Palace of Tang built a pavilion of agarwood; the two characters "agarwood" entered poetry as a place name for the first time.
In the boshan censer, agarwoodagarwoodfire, twin smokes as one breath rise beyond the purple clouds.
Boshan censer, a mountain-shaped incense burner since the Han dynasty; agarwood fire, the smoke of burning agarwood.
The late-day sun, rivers and mountains are lovely, spring wind, flowers and grassfragrance。
Mud thaws, swallows fly; sand is warm, mandarin ducks sleep.
The most expansive line of fragrance — not written of the censer, but of the whole spring.
The lilac's body is soft and frail, its tangled knots still pad the branch.
Fine leaves with floating hairs, sparse flowers draped in pure elegance.
Clove, also known as chicken-tongue incense, was held in the mouth by Tang people to ward off bad breath, and later became an image of 'sorrowful knot'.
Knowing from afar where my brothers climb the heights, they insert dogwood everywhere, but one person is missing.
Dogwood is worn in an incense pouch to ward off evil—incense pouches entering poetry began with the Double Ninth Festival.
Tears wet the silk kerchief, dreams do not come; deep in the night, the front hall plays music.
The rosy face has not aged, but favor is cut off first; she leans obliquely against theincensecage and sits until dawn.
Incense cage: a bamboo cage placed over charcoal fire to scent clothing and bedding; with fragrance swirling and a person sitting alone, it is the most solitary incense in Tang poetry.
The golden toad bites the lock and burnsincenseinside; the jade tiger pulls the silk rope to draw water from the well and returns.
Golden toad: a toad-shaped incense burner; burning incense enters, burning incense within it.
The dancing phoenix mirror box puts away the remaining kohl; the sleeping duckincenseburner is changed to eveningincense。
Sleeping duck is a duck-shaped incense burner; evening incense is the incense changed at dusk.
Small hills overlap and golden light flickers; temple clouds are about to pass overincenseCheek snow.
Using the "fragrant cheek" to depict the fragrance of a woman's skin and bone is a customary technique of huajian ci poetry.
In a golden box is held red snow, newly tiedfragrantsachet with flowers emerging on four sides.
Fragrant sachet: a pouch holding spices and aromatics, worn by both men and women in the Tang dynasty.
The gold-crumpled little flower sachet of the consort, worn away at the breast, ties up the oldfragrance。
Taking the fragrant sachet left behind by Yang Guifei as its theme, the two words "old fragrance" write out completely how human affairs have changed.
Morning makeup just finished, a light touch of chen（chen）tan applied just a little.
Chen tan: rouge/lip color made from agarwood and sandalwood, a true record of the use of incense in Southern Tang palace makeup.
Sparse shadows slant across the clear shallow water,hidden fragrancefloats in the dusk of the moon.
A peerless, eternal masterpiece describing the fragrance of plum blossoms; Jiang Kui later created the two ci tune patterns "Hidden Fragrance" and "Sparse Shadows," which took their names from this line.
There is nothing to be done about the falling flowers; the swallows that seem to have known each other return.
In the small gardenfragrantpath I pace alone.
Incense Path: fallen flowers pave the path; treading on them, one still smells the fragrance.
The plum blossoms at the post station have faded, the willows by the stream bridge are slender, the grassfragrancein the warm wind sways the traveler's reins.
"Grass fragrance" directly inherits from Jiang Yan, using the scent of spring grass to express the sorrow of parting.
golden censerincenseashes, the sound of the water clock fades; a keen, light wind brings gusts of cold.
Incense ashes: the incense has burned out; using the exhaustion of incense to convey the depth of the night.
burning agarwoodincense, dispelling the damp heat. Birds call for clear weather, peeking under the eaves and chattering at dawn.
The three characters "burning agarwood" are the most straightforward record of burning agarwood in Song dynasty colloquial speech—burning agarwood in summer to dispel damp heat.
four lines on burningincensegatha, following theincensethat fills all the southeast; it is not something hearing and thinking can reach—let the nose contemplate it first.
Ten thousand scrolls by a bright window, small characters; eyes blur, seeing only mottled spots; one stick of incense smoke fades, the fire grows cold; half a lifetime, the body ages, the heart at leisure.
Thin mist and thick clouds, sorrow through the endless day; the sparrow-spirit incense melts away in the golden beast censer.
After dusk with wine by the eastern hedge, there isa subtle fragrancethat fills the sleeves.
incenseCold is the golden lion incense burner, the quilt turns like red waves, I rise too lazy to comb my hair.
jade duckincenseburner idle with瑞脑, the vermilion cherry canopy drapes its tassels.
fine horses and carved carriagesfragrancefills the road. Phoenix flutes sound, the jade vessel's light turns, all night the fish and dragons dance.
rice flowers'fragrancespeaks of a bumper year, and a chorus of frogs is heard.
The most human line about fragrance—not a famous incense in a burner, but the fragrance of rice flowers in the fields.
Scattered and fallen, ground into mud and dust, only itsfragranceremains as before.
Cold soaks the rush cushion, the iron inkstone is warm,IncenseThe remnant golden duck censer, the night about to part.
Wasps often strike the swing rope—there was, in those days, a slender handIncenseCongealed.
Incense congealed: the fragrance left by a slender hand of former days seems congealed upon the rope—using incense to write memory, the utmost of Song ci.
No one need praise its fine color; it only leaves pure fragrance filling heaven and earth.
"Pure fragrance" is an elegant name for incense, using plum fragrance to describe one's own character.
Do not startle the heavy spring sleep after wine; betting on books, we spilled teaIncense, and at the time we only said it was ordinary.
Sudden snow sharply turnsIncensepavilion catkins, a light breeze blows to the vase of plum,Heart-shapedhas already become ash.
Heart-shaped: heart-shaped incense (seal incense molded in the shape of the character for heart); "the heart-shaped incense has become ash" is a pun on a heart turned to ashes.
| Source | Original line | Meaning of Fragrance |
|---|---|---|
| Liu Yuxi's "Inscription on a Humble Room" | This is a humble room, but my virtuefragrance | Fragrance refers to aroma; comparing virtue to fragrance directly inherits from the Chu Ci. |
| Zhou Dunyi's "On the Love of the Lotus" | fragrancefar and more pure, standing upright and clean | Using lotus fragrance as a metaphor for a gentleman's virtue spreading far. |
| Jiang Yan's "Fu on Parting" | In the boudoir the wind is warm, on the path the grassfragrance | grass fragrance |
| Huang Tingjian's "Ten Virtues of Incense" | Purifying body and mind, eliminating impurities, becoming a friend in stillness. | The ten virtues and uses of incense (see details inVarious Scholars' Discussions on Incense） |
When reading poems containing the character 'xiang', first recognize these objects and spices:
| Imagery | Interpretation | Representative line |
|---|---|---|
| Chenxiang Pavilion | A pavilion built of agarwood in the Tang palace | Li Bai: 'Leaning on the railing north of Chenxiang Pavilion' |
| Boshan incense burner | Mountain-shaped incense burner since the Han Dynasty | Li Bai: 'agarwood fire in the Boshan burner' |
| Golden beast / golden lion (jinni) | Beast-shaped (lion-shaped) metal incense burner | Li Qingzhao: 'ruinao consumed in the golden beast', 'incense cold in the golden lion' |
| Golden duck / sleeping duck / jade duck | Duck-shaped incense burner | Lu You: 'incense dying in the golden duck'; Li Shangyin: 'sleeping-duck incense burner' |
| Ruinao | That is borneol (bingpian), white as auspicious snow | 'ruinao consumed in the golden beast', 'idle ruinao' |
| Incense cage | Bamboo cage placed over charcoal fire to scent clothes and bedding | Bai Juyi: 'leaning against the incense cage until dawn' |
| Sachet | A pouch holding spices, wearable | Wang Jian: 'the sachet retied, flowers on all four sides' |
| Fragrant path | A path strewn with fallen flowers | Yan Shu: 'alone I linger on the fragrant path of the small garden' |
| Hidden fragrance | A subtle, unassuming scent | Lin Bu: 'hidden fragrance drifts in the dusky moonlight' |
| Heart-shaped incense | Incense seal formed in the shape of the character 心 (heart) | Nalan: "The heart-shaped incense has already turned to ash" |
| Agarwood and sandalwood | Agarwood and sandalwood (also refers to aromatic resins) | Li Yu: "A light touch of agarwood and sandalwood" |
| Grass fragrance | The fragrance of spring grass; 薰 is interchangeable with 香 (fragrance) | Ouyang Xiu: "Grass fragrance, warm breeze, shaking the traveling reins" |
From "spring breeze, flowers and grass are fragrant" to "the heart-shaped incense has already turned to ash"—a single word "fragrance" can hold a whole spring, and a whole lifetime.
Note: This page is acurated compilation(not exhaustive—poems containing the character 香 number in the thousands); all entries using interchangeable characters such as 薰, 芳, and 馨 are included with notes. For study, please refer to the original texts in individual collected works, Complete Tang Poems, and Complete Song Ci.
The following Q&A is compiled from content on this site for quick reference; descriptions of aromatic materials' medicinal properties are based on traditional understanding and do not constitute medical advice.
The collection categorizes poems containing the character 香 by dynasty, poet, and theme. You can search by poet or browse by imagery themes (such as incense burners, incense ash, and sachets), making it suitable for citation in writing or systematic reading by theme.
Common ones include: fragrant herbs symbolizing virtue, incense burners depicting leisurely dwelling, incense ash depicting the passage of time, sachets depicting romantic longing, and fragrance depicting nostalgia for one's homeland. The same character 香 carries very different meanings in different contexts and should be understood in light of the whole poem.
This article is compiled by Wubaiyi Agarwood. Copyright of text and images belongs to Wubaiyi Agarwood; reproduction, excerpting, or mirroring without written authorization is prohibited. Content is compiled based on public ancient texts and research from "Chinese Incense Culture(香学)"; you are welcome to visit our store to appreciate incense and exchange ideas.