Incense In The Wind

Burner Burner - Carhartt jacket incense burner

Saturday, 8 March 2025

Chinese Incense

 
Incense, Inkstone, and Flowers by Liu Xiling

There are records concerning the burning of incense in China going back as far as the Xia dynasty (2070 - 1600 BC), though incense burning goes back further than that - plant burning is known to have occurred 4000 BC, and there are incense burners surviving from 3000 BC.  Incense burning developed and increased during the Han period with active trading along the Silk Road to Persia.  Incense reached its height during the Song dynasty, with rich people constructing special rooms dedicated just to burning incense. 

Incense is widely used in China today, with thousands of small producers. Incense is popular for ceremonies and temples, and much incense is designed to look attractive. A report on incense production in Yongchun, a part of the city of Quanzhou in the South-east of China, with a population less than 500,000, has "more than 300 incense manufacturers" making approx $1.4 billion worth of incense annually, though very little of that gets exported. 

The Chinese incense I have experienced has been low, everyday quality. Packed to look pretty, and sold in volume. The sticks are very thin, and it's an individual choice to burn just the one for a light fragrance, or several sticks at the same time for a more enveloping experience. The Chinese follow the Asian tradition of using wood powder blended with joss powder and perfumed lightly with fragrance oils. Sandalwood is widely used as the wood powder, though mostly the sandalwood used doesn't contain much oil - either it is not the heartwood, or the oil has already been extracted. In addition to thin dhoops, the Chinese like to make shaped tablets - such as the small auspicious cloud. Videos of making Chinese incense: Han Fang Xiang and  hand made lavender sticks. 


Reviews

*= Review over 5 years old, so may not be reliable









   
Temu Sakura (Cherry Blossom)
incense coils (PW)
Mar 2025 - Score: 30


      
Temu (Fujian Incense)
Old Mountain Sandalwood
Mar 2025 - Score: 25



  
Mar 2025 - Score: 24


Temu White Sage Incense Sticks
Mar 2025 - Score: 24




Yujing Mou Dan (Peony Fragrance) Joss Sticks (P)
 Nov 2024 - Score: 22
   
SHHT GmbH Incense Cones
Oct 2022 - Score: 22 
   

Jin Wan Lai Wealth Offering
Aug 2013 - Score: 22*
   

June 2014  Score: 20*
    

Chan Luen Hing San Po Joss Sticks (D)
Nov 2024 - Score: 20
   


Hebei Gucheng Sandalwood Incense Coils
Feb 2017 - Score: 19*
     
   



Backflow cones from China (P)
Dec 2017 - Score: 02*


Scents burned: 24
Top score: 40
Bottom score:  02
Average: 24

Conclusion: I'm not a fan of wood based incense, especially when the wood is not fragrant. There is a long tradition, and a significant culture of incense in China, so I'm still interested in the country, but I've not yet found an incense that has really impressed me. 

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