Huang Tingjian: Poet, Calligrapher
Huang Tingjian (Northern Song), one of the key figures in the history of Chinese Incense Culture(香学).
Huang Tingjian · Northern Song
Identity:Poet, Calligrapher
Representative Incense Works / Incense Matters:Ten Virtues of Incense, Preface to Incense
Huang Tingjian (1045–1105) is revered as the "Sage of Incense." His "Ten Virtues of Incense" summarizes the virtues of incense as "moving ghosts and gods, purifying mind and body, removing filth, awakening from sleep, becoming a friend in stillness, stealing leisure amid dust, not tiring of much, being sufficient with little, lasting long in storage without decay, and being usable without hindrance" — the most concise programmatic text in Chinese incense culture; together with Su Shi, he is known as one of the "Twin Jades of Incense Matters," promoting incense appreciation as a practice of spiritual cultivation among scholar-officials.
and Chinese Incense Culture(香学)
Seen through Huang Tingjian, Chinese Incense Culture(香学) is not an isolated craft, but a process in which generations of literati and artisans continuously documented, systematized, and spiritualized olfactory experience. Only by understanding these sages can one understand the weight of that wisp of incense in one's hands today.
Representative Incense Formulas · Incense Poems · Incense Discourses
On Incense"Ten Virtues of Incense"
by Huang Tingjian"Ten Virtues of Incense": Moving gods and spirits, purifying heart and body, removing impurities, awakening from sleep, becoming a friend in quiet, stealing leisure amid the dust, not tiring of much, content with little, imperishable after long storage, unobstructed in common use. These ten virtues summarize the benefits of burning incense, and through the ages incense lovers have regarded them as the standard.
Incense Formula·Yihe Incense(Shangu Incense)
A blended incense made by Huang Tingjian (known as Shangu Daoren), with agarwood as the sovereign and sandalwood as the minister, assisted by linglingxiang, gansong and others; named "Yihe Incense" for its harmonious and tranquil character.