The Tao of Incense emphasizes silence and silence, requiring people to quietly comprehend the principles of life along with the rising smoke.

Chen Qufei’s poems from the Song Dynasty represent, to a certain extent, the attitude of ancient Chinese literati toward incense:

A book in the bright window spreads quietly, sitting in silence to eliminate the dust;

Infinite meaning is about to be contained in this smoke.

At that time, I had precepts, concentration and wisdom, and made wonderful offerings to both humans and heaven;

How could I not understand my friend? Now my mind is clear.

The smoke from the furnace is solitary and green, and thousands of clouds are falling;

Leading into the sky leisurely, the mist returns with the wind.

Things in the world have come and gone, and their nature has not changed;

It should be like the moon in the water, and its waves have returned to their own roundness.

The ancients burned incense to enjoy elegance, and it was also a symbol of status for the court nobles. In modern noisy urban life, this kind of artistic conception of seeking tranquility amid movement is also needed. Place an incense burner in the living room, burn a stick of incense, close your eyes and relax, and quietly appreciate the wonderful feeling brought by the aroma. Incense can also help refresh your mind, eliminate fatigue, and make your impetuous mind feel at ease.

Incense before Xiangdao was based on fragrance as its main purpose.

Luo Yin, a poet of the Five Dynasties, wrote in a poem: "Good materials sink into the water to feed Baizhen, and the furnace in Boshan warms the spring in the jade house. Pity for the king is also unreasonable. He is greedy for the fragrance and forgets himself." From Liu Xiang, From Li Shangyin, Li Yu, Su Shi, Huang Tingjian to Zhu Xi, Wen Zhengming, and Ding Wei, literati in the past dynasties have handed down a large number of poems about incense, from the "Book of Songs" to "A Dream of Red Mansions", from "Famous Doctors" to "Compendium of Materia Medica". There are records about the use of incense in classic works.

For example, Su Shi's "He Lu Zhi" and Zhu Xi's "Xiang Jie":

"He Lu Zhi"

The four lines of burning incense verses are filled with the wind. Southeast;

It is beyond the reach of literary thought, so let’s look through the nose first.

Thousands of small characters on the open window, the eyes are dazzled by only colorful spots;

A stick of incense can dispel the coldness of the fire, and I have been old for half a lifetime and my mind is at ease.

"The Fragrance World"

In the quiet and prosperous years, there are no friends, and I want to wash away the glory;

There are countless people who have truly become a Buddhist country. Huaishan osmanthus bush.

The fragrance of the flowers is boundless and makes you drunk, but the fragrance of the spirit is still clear;

Why do you need to be a guest of Renqiupei, sitting and lying, meditating and walking towards it.

Among them, the Ten Virtues of Incense summarized by Huang Tingjian are still regarded as the standard by the Japanese incense circle.

We see that as a learner of incense culture, Japan has long called incense ceremony, tea ceremony and flower arrangement as Sanya Dao. It is an elegant art with "music and fragrance" as its Taoist art.

Monk Jianzhen of the Tang Dynasty traveled eastward, not only spreading Buddhism to Japan, but also bringing with him the incense-appreciating culture that is closely related to Buddhism. In the early Southern Song Dynasty, members of the Japanese royal family and nobles frequently came to China to carry out diplomatic activities and brought with them complete tea ceremony rituals. Along with the tea ceremony, incense matters were brought eastward.

Later, in the Higashiyama Culture era of Ashikaga Yoshimasa, incense evolved into the custom of "appreciating incense" in a certain way, and gradually formed Japan's "incense way".

Life arts such as flower arrangement, tea drinking, chess playing, and incense all originated in China. They constitute a colorful chapter of the Chinese cultural tradition. After being introduced to Japan, they have already become a part of the upper class and citizen classes. A life philosophy of self-cultivation that everyone is willing to accept.

But today, the appearance of pure and elegant art of life such as incense ceremony, tea ceremony and flower arrangement has a strangeness that hurts the soul for the Chinese people, forcing us to face the reality. The solemn cultural heritage has long since passed away in China.

Incense tasting, this art that tests people’s knowledge and awareness, does not just require participants to identify various types of fragrance through the sense of smell, but also requires participants to achieve a peaceful and elegant heart. Status and lifestyle goals. When many people hear about incense, they think it is a religious incense. In fact, it is only a very small category in incense.

The history of Chinese people using incense can be said to be very early. The civilization of Chinese incense use can be summarized as follows: it began in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States, grew in the Qin and Han dynasties, was completed in the Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties, and flourished in the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Before the Han Dynasty, the incense used was mainly soup-based incense and ceremonial incense. Taoism was popular in the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties, and Boshan-style incense culture became popular.

In the Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties, not only did the use of incense flourish, but also due to the integration of Eastern and Western civilizations, various forms of incense methods were enriched.

In the Song and Yuan Dynasties, incense tasting, tea fighting, flower arranging, and painting hanging were known as the "four kinds of leisurely things" that were pleasant and nourishing in the elegant life of the upper class. Due to the scholar-bureaucrats' pursuit of material and spiritual life, and their efforts to advocate and promote from the spiritual level, the traditional Chinese culture of music, chess, calligraphy and painting, as well as food, wine, tea, etc. have all laid the foundation, showing a broad and powerful trend. Incense has now become an art form. Dignitaries and literati often gathered together to enjoy incense, and the first rituals were formulated. Various incense books and incense manuals also appeared at this time, specializing in the study of the sources, carriers, tools and methods of making incense.

In the Ming Dynasty, the study of incense was combined with Neo-Confucianism and Buddhism into "sitting incense" and "taking incense", and became a subject of jungle meditation and investigation knowledge. It became fashionable for Buddhists and literati to build incense studios, quiet rooms and collect Xuande furnaces.

During the prosperous period of the third dynasty of the Qing Dynasty, the practice of incense became more and more integrated into daily life. A set of three sets of stoves, bottles, and boxes for study desks, incense tables, and incense tables became typical furnishings in the study room.

Afterwards, with the decay of the Manchu dynasty and the Kuomintang government, frequent wars between warlords and the invasion of Western culture, the country gradually declined. The spiritual life of the people has become dull and rough, and the rituals of the incense mat culture have gradually declined, as have pure art forms such as poetry, music, and dance. So far, the incense ritual has gradually faded out of the general public's vision.

Now, more than thirty years have passed since the reform and opening up. The society is prosperous, the national destiny is strong, and people are kind-hearted. It is a good time to sort out and restore traditional culture. As a branch of traditional culture that cannot be ignored, Xiangdao is in urgent need of the majority of people. Knowledgeable people and scholars work together to excavate, organize and revive.