In ancient times, spices were widely used and circulated. Why did the ancients like spices so much? The unique fragrance and scarcity of spices highlight their preciousness and are sought after by people. Among many spices, agarwood is recognized as the "first". Aquilaria sinensis is a special substance of Daphne family. After trees were damaged by wind and thunder and bitten by rodents, fungi invaded, and a series of chemical reactions took place between parenchyma cells and stored starch in Daphne odora in Phnom Penh, forming the structure of rotten skin balsam.
After being made into incense, it has a dense texture over the years and sinks when it enters the water, hence the name of Aquilaria sinensis. Aquilaria sinensis has the effects of promoting qi circulation, relieving pain, warming vomiting and relieving asthma, and is favored and valued by dignitaries. The main producing areas of agarwood are Hainan, Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan-Guizhou. The specialty of Dongguan, Guangdong Province is "Wanxiang", which is a treasure in agarwood and has been listed as a tribute of the court since the Tang Dynasty.
Zhongshan is called "Xiangshan" because it produces agarwood. Hainan agarwood, known as "agar", ranks first in the world. After being demoted to Hainan, Ding Weisong, the prime minister of the Northern Song Dynasty, wrote Tianxiang Biography, in which "incense is as expensive as gold" showed that agar was precious and scarce at that time. This yellow opaque wax is composed of the digestive tract secretions of sperm whales.
After sperm whales prey on octopus and squid, undigested beak bones and intestinal secretions are wrapped into solids and spit out. Long Xianxiang just spit it out, dark and soft. Under the action of sunlight and seawater, it fades and hardens, giving off fragrance. Zhang Shifu, a scholar in the Song Dynasty, recorded a story about selling Long Xianxiang in Shunk.
One day, the servant saw a foreign trader selling two Long Xianxiang dollars for 300,000 ounces. This is equivalent to the sky-high price of 300 million yuan. Liu sent a counteroffer of 200,000 yuan, but the cabinet was absolutely amazing. At that time, the price of 60 kg of rice was only in 600 yuan, and two yuan of Long Xianxiang could be exchanged for 30,000 tons of rice to cure all kinds of dissatisfaction.
The main reason why ancient spices are so important-spices have been integrated into the normal life of the ancients in all aspects. Spices are used in a wide range, from emperors to princes to ordinary people. The use of spices has become the norm in life. In ancient times, the ancients collected all kinds of spices to worship the gods and ancestors in order to purify the body and mind and enlighten all beings.