Legend has it that the name duck excrement Xiang comes from a story in folklore. In ancient times, there was an emperor who got well. In order to thank God and people for their prayers, he decided to have a holiday all over the country and give people a unique fragrance. This spice is made of a kind of plant called duck excrement, and its fragrance is sweet, which is praised as "duck excrement fragrance" by the emperor.

However, this plant is extremely rare, and it is difficult to collect enough duck excrement to make this spice. As a result, people began to use other materials to imitate the taste of duck excrement, and gradually passed on this spice. Therefore, the name of duck excrement incense actually does not refer to excrement, but a spice made of plants.

In addition, there is a saying that the name of duck excrement incense comes from the slang "duck excrement cake" in Cantonese, which means a kind of cake, which is dark yellow and flat in shape, similar to the color and shape of duck excrement incense, so it is called "duck excrement incense".