Incense is not just a scent; it is also a way for the Chinese to cultivate themselves. The following figures have articulated incense on the level of "principle."
Huang Tingjian, courtesy name Luzhi, sobriquet Shangu, was a Northern Song calligrapher and poet and the founder of the Jiangxi Poetry School. He loved incense and discoursed on it; the "Ten Virtues of Incense" is his most concise summary of the functions of incense—ten lines that have influenced incense culture(香学) for nearly a thousand years.
It moves ghosts and spirits, purifies mind and body, it removes filth, it awakens sleep,
In stillness it becomes a friend, in the dust of the world it steals leisure, abundant yet never tiresome, scarce yet sufficient,
Stored long it does not decay, used often it brings no hindrance.
| Virtue | Explanation |
|---|---|
| It moves ghosts and spirits | The fragrance rises upward, reaching sacrifices and moving the gods (following the sacrificial tradition of the Chu Ci) |
| Purifies mind and body | Burning incense calms the mind and relaxes the body |
| It removes filth | The fragrance wards off impurity, purifying the air and the dwelling |
| It awakens sleep | The subtle fragrance aids sleep, calming the spirit and steadying the will |
| In stillness it becomes a friend | In solitude incense is like a good friend, never tiring of loneliness |
| In the dust of the world it steals leisure | In the busy dust of the world, a stick of incense brings a moment of leisure |
| Many yet never tiresome | Innumerable incense varieties, inexhaustible to savor |
| Even a little suffices | Even a single stick brings contentment |
| Long kept, it does not decay | Fine incense can be kept long without spoiling |
| Used often, it brings no hindrance | Burning incense daily, without hindrance or harm |
Note: Extant texts of the "Ten Virtues of Incense" show slight variants in character order and wording (e.g., "清净心身" also written "清净身心"); the common edition is adopted here. For study, consult a reliable edition.
Su Shi, courtesy name Zizhan, sobriquet Dongpo. Huang Tingjian's original poems praised incense, and Dongpo harmonized them, writing incense-burning as Chan meditation—the pinnacle of Song literati delight in incense.
Four lines of incense-burning gatha, spread with the fragrance across the southeast;
Beyond the reach of hearing and thought, let the nose contemplate first.
Ten thousand scrolls by the bright window, tiny characters; eyes blur, seeing only mottled spots;
One stick's smoke fades, the fire grows cold; half a lifetime aged, the heart at ease.
Note: "let the nose contemplate first"—contemplating Chan through the faculty of smell, incense as the gate of awakening; "One stick's smoke fades, the fire grows cold; half a lifetime aged, the heart at ease" gathers half a life's ups and downs into one stick burned out—the mood of Dongpo's later years.
Li Qingzhao, sobriquet Yi'an Jushi, a Song dynasty woman poet. Incense appears extremely often in her ci—ruinao, golden beast, golden lion, jade duck, incense cage—almost becoming the footnote to her solitude and longing.
Yi'an, through the incense of the boudoir, writes out the sense of life's vicissitudes before and after the southward migration—in her hand, incense has shifted from "pure offering" to "matters of the heart."
Wen Zhenheng's Zhangwu Zhi (Treatise on Superfluous Things), in the chapter "Incense and Tea," discusses incense vessels, prioritizing "style": valuing ancient elegance, disdaining vulgar craftsmanship, holding that incense burners should use ancient bronze of the Three Dynasties and Qin-Han, or newly cast elegant vessels,vulgar marketplace ware must not be usedThis reflects the strict "refined/vulgar" distinction that late-Ming literati applied to incense matters, which complements the object aesthetics in Tu Long's Seven Essentials of Incense Burning.
"Incense burners—vessels of the Three Dynasties, Qin, and Han, as well as newly cast ones, may all be used; only those made by recent common artisans must not be used."
Preface to Xiang Cheng (seeIncense Culture(香学) Classics · Xiang Cheng) opens with "The uses of incense are the most extensive of benefits," holding that incense is the most widely applicable—in ritual, health cultivation, refined appreciation, and warding off impurities, it is present everywhere. A monumental work in twenty-eight volumes is precisely the annotation to this word "extensive."
From Huang Tingjian's "Ten Virtues" to Dongpo's "the nose contemplates first," and further to Yi'an's "incense cold in the golden lion"—when Chinese discuss incense, they have long gone beyond the scent itself, making it a way to settle body and mind.
The following Q&A is compiled from content on this site for quick reference; descriptions of incense materials' medicinal properties are traditional understandings and do not constitute medical advice.
It includes representative writings on incense by literati, scholars, and physicians across dynasties—such as Ding Wei, Su Shi, Huang Tingjian, Hong Chu, Zhou Jiazhou, Chen Jing, Gao Lian, and Li Shizhen—covering different perspectives including aesthetics, craftsmanship, and medicine.
Literati tend to emphasize aesthetics and spiritual realms (such as Su Shi and Huang Tingjian), craftsmen emphasize formulas and implements (such as Zhou Jiazhou and Chen Jing), and physicians emphasize medicinal properties and prescriptions (such as Li Shizhen). Reading them in comparison reveals the complete picture of Incense Culture(香学).
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 publicly available ancient texts and research in Chinese Incense Culture(香学); you are welcome to visit our store to appreciate incense and exchange ideas.