The Millennium-Old Cultural Code in a Wisp of Smoke

In the glass display cabinet of the Tokyo National Museum, an incense stick made of agarwood from the Tang Dynasty, about 20 centimeters long, is quietly on display. This cultural relic, unearthed from the Hejia Village hoard in Xi’an, still retains the star patterns painted with cinnabar by the imperial craftsmen in those days on its surface. When modern researchers observed its cross-section under a microscope, they found that the incense powder particles had been ground to less than 0.1 millimeters. Such precision in craftsmanship is truly a wonder even today.

I. The Temporal and Spatial Code of the Way of Incense

The origin of incense culture can be traced back to the sacrificial fire ceremonies in the Neolithic Age. At the Liangzhu Culture site, archaeologists discovered carbonized Hierochloe odorata and Eupatorium fortunei. These fragrant plants were considered as the medium for the ancestors to communicate with heaven and earth. After Zhang Qian opened up the Western Regions during the Han Dynasty, exotic spices such as frankincense and storax were introduced into the Central Plains through the Silk Road. The record in “Han Guan Yi” that “the Shangshu Lang (an official position) presented affairs with clove in his mouth” marked the transition of incense culture from sacrificial ceremonies to secular life.

The literati in the Song Dynasty pushed the art of incense to its peak. Su Shi wrote in “He Tao Ni Gu” (Imitating Ancient Poems by Tao Yuanming): “Agarwood is used as the court torch, and various fragrant ingredients are mixed together”, which depicts the scene of incense burning during the gatherings of literati. At that time, the incense shops in Hangzhou City had formed a complete industrial chain, and professional guilds managed everything from agarwood in Hainan to the formulas of blended incense. The “Incense and Medicine Bureau” recorded in “Dongjing Menghualu” (Dreams of the Eastern Capital) even became one of the seventy-two departments of the imperial court in the Song Dynasty.

II. The Microcosm of Incense Materials

To make a high-quality incense stick, it needs to go through twenty-eight processes. Take Hainan agarwood as an example. The incense gatherers need to look for “Daojia” (fallen and aged) agarwood in specific seasons. This kind of incense material, which has been aged due to natural falling, shows a unique “partridge spot” in the distribution of its resinous veins. In traditional workshops, the master craftsmen will use the “hand-rubbing method” to judge the fineness of the incense powder. That is, sprinkle the incense powder on the junction between the thumb and the index finger. If it can adhere evenly after a gentle blow, it is a top-quality product.

The art of perfume blending is a discipline that combines chemistry and art. The “Yaxiang Fang” (Official Incense Formula) recorded in “Xiang Cheng” (Compendium of Incense) in the Ming Dynasty contains fourteen medicinal materials such as agarwood, sandalwood, and borneol, and needs to be blended according to the compatibility principle of “Jun Chen Zuo Shi” (sovereign, minister, assistant, and envoy). Modern gas chromatography analysis shows that when a high-quality incense stick burns, it will release hundreds of volatile organic compounds, among which active ingredients such as β-agarofuran have a significant sedative and tranquilizing effect.

III. The Olfactory Memory of Civilization

In the Tang Dynasty murals in Cave 220 of the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, the image of the flying apsaras holding incense burners reveals the important position of incense culture in the spread of Buddhism. The “Ranko-tai” fragrant wood from the Tang Dynasty collected in the Shosoin in Japan still exudes a delicate and refreshing fragrance after thousands of years, witnessing the incense and medicinal culture brought to Japan by Jianzhen when he traveled eastward. In the East Warm Chamber of the Hall of Mental Cultivation in the Forbidden City, the cloisonné incense burner used exclusively by Emperor Qianlong is still preserved. The incense scale on the inner wall has been detected to contain ambergris.

Modern technology is decoding the genetic code of incense culture. Through Raman spectroscopy analysis, the team from Shanghai Jiao Tong University found that the adhesive in the incense sticks of the Ming Dynasty contains ingredients such as glutinous rice starch and bee glue. This natural formula enables the incense body to release negative oxygen ions when burning. During the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, the organizers specially customized electronic incense sticks with the aroma of West Lake Longjing tea, and reproduced the cultural memory of the “Incense Market” with modern technology.

From the sacrificial fires at the Liangzhu Altar to the electronic incense burning in the digital age, incense sticks have always been the olfactory symbol of Chinese civilization. When we light an incense stick made by the ancient method, in the curling blue smoke, there is not only the fragrance of plants but also the code of the millennial civilization interwoven. Every wisp of incense mist is a time-space tunnel, allowing us to touch the temperature of history and feel the breath of culture. This unique way of cultural inheritance is now rejuvenating with new vitality in the wave of digitization and has become a spiritual bond connecting the tradition and the future.