What are the traditional aroma-making techniques in China?

Now it seems that "incense culture" is slowly recovering. Since I don't know your specific idea, let's start with what is incense.

1. What is incense?

Fragrance in a broad sense refers to aroma and fragrance. According to etymology, all plants and trees are fragrant, such as rue and sandalwood.

In a narrow sense, incense refers to all kinds of fragrant products made of natural aromatic medicinal materials and plant adhesives as raw materials, prepared according to monarch, minister, assistant and assistant, and processed and compatible with medicinal materials according to technological requirements. Among them, the traditional incense must be cellared according to the demand, in order to become a real incense.

The so-called fragrance, first, refers to spices, such as musk is a kind of precious fragrance; Second, it refers to articles made of spices, similar to the usage of tea and food; Third, it refers to the quality of aroma.

2. What is the incense culture in China?

China incense culture is a series of articles, technologies, methods, habits, systems and concepts that can reflect the Chinese nation's spiritual temperament, national traditions, aesthetic concepts, values, thinking patterns and unique world outlook in the long historical process, focusing on the functions and personal needs of different kinds of incense and the production, processing, compatibility and use of various incense products.

Xiang culture permeates many aspects of social life, such as the history of Xiang culture; Production, processing and compatibility of spices; Develop aromatic products; Production and use of incense utensils (utensils for making incense) and incense utensils (tools for using incense); Incense and religion; Incense and various cultural and artistic works and so on.

3. According to the characteristics of fragrance, what are the varieties of fragrance?

According to the aroma characteristics of incense, it can be divided into agarwood type, sandalwood type, cypress type, osmanthus fragrance and compound fragrance type. All kinds of fragrances can be blended and simulated with natural herbs and chemical synthetic spices. For example, natural sandalwood or agarwood should not be used in incense products named "sandalwood type" and "agarwood type".

4. What are the current aroma-making technologies?

From the perspective of aroma-making technology, there are mainly traditional aroma-making methods, which are mainly based on the compatibility of orthodox aroma-making formula and natural spices. And modern incense made by scientifically preparing some natural spices and using modern chemical technology.

5. What is agarwood?

Aquilaria sinensis, also known as "submerged fragrance" and "water agarwood", is written as "Aquilaria sinensis" in the old saying, and the "Shen" of "Shentan Longxiang" in ancient times refers to Aquilaria sinensis. The formation of agarwood generally takes decades, and the high resin content takes hundreds of years. Aquilaria sinensis is elegant and very rare, and has been listed as the first fragrance since ancient times. Different from sandalwood, agarwood is not a kind of wood, but a special fragrant tree, which is a solid condensate of oil (resin) and wood components. But the wood of this fragrant tree itself has no special fragrance, and the wood is soft. According to the current research, several trees of Aquilaria of Daphne family, such as Aquilaria malayi, Aquilaria Vientiane and Aquilaria India, can form Aquilaria. Aquilaria sinensis is an evergreen tree with smooth and light gray trunk, oval leaves and veins, and small yellow-green flowers. In summer, you can see green fruits hanging on trees.

Aquilaria sinensis has a wide range of uses, its resin can be made into spices or medicines, wood can be made into thread incense, and bark can be made into paper. As the distribution area is reduced, only sporadic distribution is left, which has been listed as a national second-class protected wild plant to be protected. The most important criterion for determining the grade of agarwood is its resin content. Agarwood resin is particularly heavy. Although the specific gravity of logs is only 0.4, when the resin content exceeds 25%, any form of agarwood (pieces, blocks and powder) will sink into the water. The name agarwood comes from the characteristics of submerged water.

Aquilaria sinensis also has a nice name called "Daughter Xiang". According to historical records, Aquilaria sinensis was introduced to Guangdong in the Tang Dynasty and was widely planted in the Song Dynasty. Because it is mainly concentrated in Dongguan, it is also called Wanxiang. There is a beautiful story about Wanxiang among the local people: girls are responsible for washing and baking Wanxiang, and they often hide the best incense blocks on their chests to change powder, hence the name "Daughter Xiang", the best incense.

6. What is sandalwood?

It is an evergreen parasitic tree, and its roots are attached to other roots, usually sold in the form of thin slices. And you must be at least 30 years old to meet the standards of collection and trafficking. Sandalwood has been very popular since ancient times. On the trade routes from India to Egypt, Greece and Rome, trucks filled with sandalwood are often found. Sandalwood has the function of preventing ants. Many ancient temples or furniture were made of sandalwood.

Sandalwood is widely used in religious ceremonies, especially in India and China, because it has unique fragrance, soothing effect and is helpful for meditation. The demand for sandalwood has never decreased. Sandalwood is also a commonly used raw material in perfume. Sandalwood, also known as sandalwood, white sandalwood and red sandalwood, all have fragrance, and sandalwood wins. You can make small boxes and folding fans, that is, sandalwood boxes and sandalwood fans, decorated with bronzing and carving, which are exquisite handicrafts. The famous Hangzhou sandalwood fan is made of sandalwood. Shake it gently, the fragrance is overflowing, and it has the characteristics of "leaving fragrance in the fan", and it will still be fragrant after ten years and eight years of preservation; Put it in the closet to prevent insects and ants.

Sandalwood is an evergreen tree of Santalaceae, native to India, Australia and Africa, and also introduced and cultivated in Taiwan Province Province and Guangdong Province. Its flowers are yellow at first, and then blood red. Wood is very fragrant and is often used as high-grade utensils, inlays, carvings and other materials. The Dalbergia statue in Yonghe Palace in Beijing, the Giant Buddha, is 26 meters high and 3 meters in diameter. It is carved from a whole piece of sandalwood and is an unparalleled artistic treasure. Sliced sandalwood can be used as an aromatic stomach tonic; Sandalwood oil can be obtained by distillation of trunk and rhizome, which contains 90% sandalwood alcohol and is a valuable natural perfume.

Buddhism worships sandalwood, and temples are often called "Lin Tan". Incense, arousing the spirituality of the soul in euphoria, can adjust the breath, dredge the nasal cavity, enlighten the mind, and reconcile the body and mind between the tangible and the intangible, which has endless magical uses. The fragrance made of natural materials is not only fragrant, fresh, refreshing and mellow, but also won't feel dizzy after long-term use. Deep breathing will not make people feel happy and happy, but can achieve a calm, ethereal and agile state, and can be positive in a relaxed and happy way, which proves that it is self-sufficient.