Temu Yongchun County Small Auspicious Clouds Goose Pear

 

Cheap as chips, but not good value. I have struggled with Asian incense, Chinese incense in particular, because of the use of wood powder as the combustible. Even though it is sandalwood that is used, for these cheap pieces it appears they use the white, unfragranced part of the wood, so when burned what is experienced is the off-smell of smouldering wood or cardboard. Added to that is the local tradition of modest fragrance. Each to their own on that, and I can see the attraction; however, combining a low fragrance with a cheap wood combustible means that inevitability the scent when burning is going to be as much (or more) smouldering wood as it is the intended fragrance.  

I have had for some years a very low opinion of Chinese incense, and I don't think it was a good idea for me to buy cheap incense off Temu in attempt to explore further and change my mind. That said, some of the incense I have enjoyed, and I have seen the potential. I may one day splash out and buy some proper Chinese incense and see what happens. I am open to recommendations. But, clearly, very cheap unbranded incense from anywhere is unlikely to be representative of what a culture is capable of.  

The five tubes of Small Auspicious Clouds

One of the things I have learned when burning Asian incense, Japanese and Chinese, is that the incense should be placed some distance away to reduce the possibility of the smell of the smouldering wood mingling with the scent of the fragrance. I don't know why this works, but it does. I have also learned to be patient to allow time for the fragrance to reach me. I tend to do this for all incenses now. Distance and good ventilation not only aids the fragrance appreciation, it also lowers the health risk from breathing in smoke particles. 

This is now the third Goose Pear (or Goose Pear In The Tent) fragrance I have burned. I love the history of this fragrance which is seen as a royal incense, and is romantically linked to the love affair between poet and emperor Li Yu and his consort Zhou Ehuang of the Southern Tang state around 970 BC. Li Yu made the incense for his lover, and then they "met in a secluded garden and followed the fragrance under the moon". But try as I might, I can't get into these Temu renditions of the style. The fragrance is dry, simple, and closer to cardboard than anything else. When I first burned it (Temu Small Auspicious Clouds Goose Pear) I worked hard at getting at the scent, and for a while thought I had found it, and scored it high. But I suspect that was more in my mind than in reality, because in the review I mostly report the same sort of experience I get now and with the other Goose Pear (Xiang Lian Eli Zhang Zhong Xiang (Goose Pear) ). I am curious as to what score I will give that Temu Small Auspicious Clouds Goose Pear when I revisit it later this year, or early next.  In the meantime I am giving this Yongchun County Goose Pear a low score, as I'm getting little pleasure from it. Which doesn't bode well for the other four Small Clouds in the set. 

Available on Temu for around £5 for a pack of five different fragrances. 

Date: Sept 2025   Score: 17

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Good & bad Chinese incense