A small sachet was played out of "culture" by Datang. Do you know the mystery?

Zhang Xiaobao, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote in his poem "Journey to Youth": "The Chinese army was hunted by Su Ming, and the foreign name was full of sleeves."

In the Tang Dynasty, Xiang culture was an important culture prevailing among the upper class nobles, and it was very popular among the "concubines and nobles".

Coupled with the high degree of openness in the Tang Dynasty, many foreign businessmen came to China to do business and brought many exotic spices. For a time, carrying sachets with you became a symbol of the nobility in Chang 'an.

In the prosperous Tang Dynasty, all the people worshipped.

In fact, the incense culture in the Tang Dynasty was far more popular than that in the aristocratic class.

With the popularization and maturity of incense-making technology, the incense in the Tang Dynasty was gradually industrialized, and it became fashionable for many women in civilian families to wear sachets or put incense burners at home.

In the whole history of China's feudal society, the Tang Dynasty was called "the dynasty that loved beauty the most". During this period, no matter men, women, old and young, rich and poor, they all admired the "fragrant culture".

It can be said that the Tang Dynasty was the peak of the development of incense culture, and it was also an important stage for China's ancient incense-making technology to mature.

Datang hollow gold sachet

What is "making incense"? -those famous Tang Xiang.

In ancient China, there were four famous perfumes: Shen Musk, namely Aquilaria Resinatum, Long Xianxiang, Sandalwood and Musk.

These four kinds of spices are the most precious, and they are also the most common incense prescriptions in the Tang Dynasty. Through the combination of different spices, clever craftsmen in the Tang Dynasty created different combinations of incense, some of which have been passed down through the ages and even preserved to this day.

1, the official fragrance of Yang Guifei

In order to meet the needs of the nobles in the palace, the people in charge of incense in the palace often match some novel incense prescriptions to meet the needs of concubines and emperors, so most of the incense prescriptions in the Tang Dynasty came from the palace.

Among them, the most famous is "Open Yuan Weizhong Elegant Fragrance" included in "Aquilaria Resinatum", which was later renamed "Elegant Fragrance of Yang Guifei" in "Fragrant City". As can be seen from the name, this incense is used on the bed curtain, similar to the famous incense in later generations.

Yang Guifei's love for incense can be seen in the only poem written by herself in the whole Tang Dynasty: "The sleeves are fragrant, and the red waves are lingering in autumn smoke."

Yang Guifei (Demon Cat Stills)

"The fragrance of Yang Guifei is the incense used by the incense burner in the bed when Yang Guifei sleeps. It combines agarwood, stacked incense, chicken tongue incense, sandalwood, musk, agastache, Lingling incense, Jia Xiang and borneol. There are not only four famous fragrances, but also five other accessories. * * * created this blind "beauty fragrance".

Whether to make herself an "atmospheric beauty" or to cover up her body odor, Yang Guifei's love for spices is beyond doubt.

2. Mrs. Hua Rui is fragrant

In addition to "Yang Guifei's fragrance", there is another fragrance-"Mrs. Huarui's fragrance". Although it appeared in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period after the Tang Dynasty, it inherited the fragrance of the Tang Dynasty.

Mrs. Hua Rui is the concubine of Meng Changjun, the former ruler of Shu. As a concubine who lives in the deep palace, she always finds something to amuse herself when the king doesn't come for happiness, and Mrs. Hua Rui's hobby is making incense.

The image of Mrs. Hua Rui's stills

Speaking of Mrs. Hua Rui and Xiang, there is an anecdote. According to legend, when Mrs. Huarui and Meng Chang went upstairs to enjoy the cool, they put borneol on the fan. Borneol is famous for its coolness. When the wind blew, the fan fell off and people outside the imperial city went to pick it up. They were surprised that the fan-out wind was so fragrant and cool that they attracted the Shu people to imitate it. It's a fragrant snow fan.

The smell of "Mrs. Huarui's official fragrance" is her own fragrance in the account, which is composed of sandalwood, agarwood, frankincense, benzoin, Saussurea involucrata, Dalbergia odorifera and cardamom. Because Mrs. Huarui is a Buddhist, the fragrance is not as sweet and greasy as other accounts, but elegant and has a solemn meaning of Buddhism.

3, Tang Kaiyuan Palace incense

In ancient times, there were many incense in the palace named after the title of emperor, such as "Incense in Jianning Palace in Han Dynasty", "Incense in Kaiyuan Palace in Tang Dynasty" and "Incense in Li Houzhu Palace".

"Daming Palace" in the Palace of the Tang Dynasty

Among them, "Tang Kaiyuan Gong Xiang" is a kind of incense with both medicine and fragrance in Tang Dynasty. According to the ancient Chinese incense master "Xiang Cheng", the process of making "Tang Kaiyuan Palace incense" is as follows: agarwood 22 (fine file, hung in silk bag, no bottom, honey soaked in water, simmered for one day), sandalwood 22 (green tea soaked for one night, fried without sandalwood flavor), borneol 22 (another research), musk 22, nail polish.

Among them, borneol is actually a kind of resin extract, and the ancients named it "borneol" enough to reflect its preciousness, which shows the luxury of court life and the expensive incense in the Tang Dynasty.

Fragrance-making Technology in Tang Dynasty

In the Tang Dynasty when incense was so popular, in order to meet the needs of princes, nobles and ordinary people, the incense industry was naturally very developed. Under the research of generation after generation, the technology of making incense in the Tang Dynasty made great progress, and even had a far-reaching impact on the later Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties.

King Xiang, find a fat woman to block Xiang.

The technology of making incense in the Tang Dynasty is highlighted in the following three aspects:

First, it pays attention to the harmony between the right place and the right time, which conforms to the philosophical thought of ancient Taoism in China; Second, in the Tang Dynasty, spices gradually moved from a single fragrance type to a combined fragrance type; Third, the producers should adopt different processing methods for different fragrant prescriptions. 1, the best fragrance can be obtained only when the weather is right and the people are harmonious.

The idea of being in harmony with people at the right time runs through the whole process of making spices. When choosing spices and medicinal materials, we should match them according to the basic principles of prescription compatibility-monarch, minister, assistant and envoy.

Its principle needs to be deduced from China's traditional theory of five movements and six qi and heavenly stems and earthly branches's theory. Different years correspond to different heavenly stems and earthly branches, and their five-element attributes are also different. For example, when "every day comes", the golden days will dry up and the monarch will burn in spring. The monarch's day refers to the first half of the year, and spring refers to the second half. This kind of anger is strong all year round. We should use agarwood as the main ingredient, which can concentrate and calm down. This is the "monarch" in the monarch, minister, assistant and envoy.

Spice collocation

In addition, in the choice of spices, we should not only pay attention to the time, place and people, but also calculate the time of fragrance, and get the best solar terms and time to fragrance. Some incense parties have specific requirements for this.

2. From single fragrance to mixed fragrance

Although the peak of lotus fragrance appeared in the Tang Dynasty, the ancients had already explored lotus fragrance as early as the Han Dynasty, and the formula of lotus fragrance appeared.

The so-called single fragrance refers to a single fragrance, such as Shen Xiang Long Tan and so on. Combination fragrance is a common way to mix spices in a certain proportion to create different fragrances.

Compared with single flavor type, compound flavor type not only has richer taste levels, but also plays the role of1+1> 2. It can make the functions of various spices complement each other and play a better role.

The innovation of the Tang Dynasty is that exotic spices, such as frankincense, incense and benzoin from Persian countries, are added to the incense formula in China.

After these exotic fragrances were introduced into China, they greatly enriched the ancient incense recipes in China. Even Long Xianxiang, one of the four famous fragrances in ancient China, was introduced to China in the late Tang Dynasty and was regarded as the best fragrance by later generations.

3. Different treatment methods

In the traditional aroma-making process, not only the material selection and formula are very strict, but also the processing technology is very particular. Whether the processing method is proper or not directly affects the quality of the produced incense.

The so-called processing is actually the primary processing of natural spices, straightening out their medicinal properties and eliminating their toxicity, which is an essential step in making incense.

For example, sandalwood, which grows in hot and humid areas in the south, is hot and dry. If you add incense directly, it will not only fail to achieve the effect of concentration and calmness, but also cause people who smell it. The purpose of processing it is to remove its dryness and heat. Traditional processing methods of making incense include: repairing, steaming, boiling, frying, moxibustion and so on. According to different needs and different properties of spices, perfumers should choose different processing methods.

The Application of Xiang Culture in Tang Dynasty

The incense culture in the Tang Dynasty is very prosperous, which has penetrated into all aspects of people's lives, crossed with medical culture and religious culture, and formed the unique incense culture and religious incense culture in ancient China and China.

1, incense culture and medicine culture

Some natural spices come from plants and some from animals, all of which have certain medicinal properties, such as musk, which is common in film and television dramas. It is not only a condiment, but also a medicine.

It can be said that from the beginning of the birth of spices, "fragrant medicine" has never been separated. In the process of exploration,

People in the Tang Dynasty gradually discovered more medicinal properties of spices. In the Tang Dynasty, people who loved beauty used spices as medicine, which subverted the traditional application of traditional Chinese medicine. There are 430 prescriptions recorded in "The Secret of Outer Taiwan" in Tang, all of which are used as medicine with spices, which have many effects of beauty beauty and prolonging life.

The book "The Shadow of Secrets Outside Taiwan Province"

Because of the progress of pharmacology, women in the Tang Dynasty like to use balm and bath beans with spices, which can not only emit fragrance, but also maintain the skin.

In addition, people in the Tang Dynasty also used spices in trauma department. Aromatic drugs are widely used as trauma drugs because of their antibacterial effects.

2. Aromatic culture and religious culture

According to legend, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty had to wash his hands and burn incense before reading the memorial.

It can be seen that in the Tang Dynasty, incense has been endowed with the function of avoiding filth and cleaning.

The Tang Dynasty was a country with a prosperous religion. Learning from the West in Tang Sanzang also shows the rulers' admiration for Buddhism, and Buddhists' application of incense is embodied in "burning incense". Today, when we walk into the temple, we can still smell the elegant Brahma fragrance.

A temple burning incense

In the eyes of Buddhists, burning incense is not only a way to show respect for the gods, but also a way to calm yourself down. In this atmosphere, people in the Tang Dynasty also set off a wave of burning incense, such as "Buddha incense" and "Fahua incense", which were used by ordinary people to ward off evil spirits and avoid filth.

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Xiangdao is one of the three traditional cultures in China, which is juxtaposed with Huadao and Tea Ceremony. The Tang Dynasty developed rapidly, and the variety of spices and the technology of making incense made great progress. It is also combined with medical culture and religious culture, thus forming a more diverse culture.

Whether in literary works or in myths and legends, spices are associated with beautiful elements. It can be said that in every China people's subconscious, there is a picture of "beauty with black tea to enhance fragrance". For such a great and romantic dynasty as the Tang Dynasty, spices are even more indispensable in daily life. From the height of the temple to the distance of the rivers and lakes, the aroma comes from the nose, and it makes people feel clear and charming at one breath.