The Tang Dynasty poet Zhang Xiaobiao's poem "Youth Journey" goes: "In the plain Ming Dynasty, a small hunter went out of the army, and his sleeves were filled with the fragrance of foreign countries."

In the Tang Dynasty, incense culture was popular It is an important culture among the upper-class nobles and is very popular among "concubines and nobles".

In addition, the Tang Dynasty was highly open, and many foreign businessmen came to China for business, bringing with them many unique foreign spices. For a time, carrying sachets with you became a symbol of the nobles in Chang'an City.

During the prosperous Tang Dynasty, all nations worshiped it

In fact, the incense culture in the Tang Dynasty was not only popular among the aristocracy.

With the popularization and maturity of incense-making technology, incense in the Tang Dynasty gradually became industrialized, and many women from ordinary families also considered it fashionable to wear sachets or place incense burners at home.

In the entire history of the development of China's feudal society, the Tang Dynasty can be called the "most beautiful" dynasty. During this period, both young and old, men and women, rich and poor, all highly respected "fragrance." culture".

. It can be said that the Tang Dynasty was the peak of the development of incense culture and an important stage in the maturity of ancient Chinese incense making technology.

Hollow Gold Sachet of the Tang Dynasty

What kind of incense is made by "making incense"? ——Those famous incense of the Tang Dynasty

The four famous incense recognized in ancient Chinese incense are: "Agarwood, Ambergris, Sandalwood, and Musk".

These four spices are the most precious and are also the most common in Tang Dynasty fragrant recipes. Through the combination of different spices, the wise craftsmen of the Tang Dynasty created different incense. Some incense recipes have been passed down through the ages and are even preserved today.

1. Yang Guifei Yaxiang

In order to meet the needs of the nobles in the palace, the people in the palace who are responsible for making incense often prepare some novel incense recipes to satisfy the concubines and the emperor. Therefore, most of the fragrant recipes in the Tang Dynasty were spread from the palace.

Among them, the most famous is the "Kaiyuan Curtain Zhong Yaxiang" included in "Chen's Fragrance Book", which was later renamed "Yang Guifei Yaxiang" in "Xiang Cheng". It can be seen from the name that this incense recipe was used in bed tents, similar to the famous incense "Eli Tent Zhongxiang" in later generations.

Concerning Concubine Yang’s love for incense, we can get a glimpse of it in the only poem written by her in "The Complete Poems of the Tang Dynasty": "The fragrant fragrance is endless when the sleeves are moved, and the red curls are in the autumn smoke."

Yang Guifei (stills of The Legend of the Demon Cat)

"Yang Guifei's Yamen Incense" was used in the incense burner in Yang Guifei's bed tent when she went to bed, which was mixed with agarwood and stack incense. , chicken tongue incense, sandalwood, musk, patchouli, tonka incense, armor incense, dipterocarp incense, not only the four famous incense, but also the other five auxiliary ingredients, jointly create this "beauty fragrance".

Whether it is to make herself an "atmosphere beauty" or to cover up body odor, Yang Guifei's love for spices is unquestionable.

2. Mrs. Huarui Yaxiang

In addition to "Yang Guifei's Yaxiang", there is another "Yaxiang" fragrance recipe that is also very famous - "Huarui Madam Yaxiang". Although it appeared in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period after the Tang Dynasty, it inherited the fragrant recipes of the Tang Dynasty.

Mrs. Huarui is the concubine of Meng Chang, the empress of Shu. As a concubine who lives in the deep palace for a long time, she will always find something to do to entertain herself when the king does not come to favor her. Mrs. Huarui Xu's hobby is making incense and incense.

Still image of Mrs. Huarui

Speaking of Mrs. Huarui and incense, there is an anecdote. It is said that Mrs. Huarui and Meng Chang once applied dipterocarp on the fan when they went upstairs to enjoy the cool air. Dipterocarpa is famous for its coolness. When the wind blew, the fan fell off and was picked up by people outside the imperial city. They were surprised that the wind blown out was so refreshing and cool, so it attracted Shu people to imitate it and called it the "Fragrant Snow Fan".

This flavor "Mrs. Hua Rui's Yamen Incense" is her own incense, which is composed of sandalwood, agarwood, frankincense, benzoin, snow lotus, agarwood, and cardamom. Because Mrs. Hua Rui practices Buddhism, this fragrance is It is not as sweet and greasy as other incense in the tent, but is elegant and elegant, with a Buddhist solemn meaning.

3. Incense in the Kaiyuan Palace of the Tang Dynasty

In ancient times, there were many palace incense (incense used exclusively in the palace) named after the emperor's reign, such as "Han Jianning" "Incense in the Palace", "Incense in the Palace of Kaiyuan of Tang Dynasty", "Incense in the Palace of Empress Li", etc.

The Imperial Palace of the Tang Dynasty "Daming Palace"

The "Tang Kaiyuan Palace Incense" is an incense that has both medicinal and fragrant properties in the Tang Dynasty. According to "Xiang Cheng", the master of ancient Chinese incense prescriptions, the process of making "Incense in Kaiyuan Palace of Tang Dynasty" is as follows: Two liang of agarwood (file finely, put it in a silk bag and hang it in the middle, do not let it touch the bottom or soak in honey water, Simmer over slow fire for one day), 2 liang of sandalwood (soak in clear tea overnight, stir-fry without the smell of sandalwood), 2 liang of borneol (grind separately), 2 liang of musk, 1 qian of armor incense, 1 qian of horse tooth salt.

Among them, dipterocarp is actually a kind of resin extract. The ancient people named it "borneol" to reflect its preciousness. It can be seen that the palace life in the Tang Dynasty was extravagant and the cost of incense was high.

The incense making technology of the Tang Dynasty

In the Tang Dynasty where incense was so popular, in order to meet the needs of princes, nobles and ordinary people, the incense making industry was naturally very developed. Under his study, the incense making technology of the Tang Dynasty made great progress, and even had a profound influence on the later Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties.

When princes smoke incense, they look for obese women to block the fragrance

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

First, pay attention to the weather. The geographical location and people are favorable, which is consistent with the philosophical thought of ancient Chinese Taoism; secondly, during the Tang Dynasty, spices gradually shifted from single-flavor fragrance to combined fragrance; thirdly, for different fragrance recipes, producers had to use different processing techniques. 1. The right time, right place, and right people can lead to good fragrance

The idea of ??right time, right place, right people, and right people runs through the entire process of making spices. When selecting spices and medicinal materials, the basic principles of prescription compatibility should be followed - Jun, Ministers, assistants, and envoys are paired.

The principle needs to be deduced using the traditional Chinese theories of Five Movements and Six Qi, Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches. Different years correspond to different Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, and their five-element attributes are also different. For example, in "Everything meets You" "Zuojin Sitian, Junhuo Zaiquan, Sitian refers to the first half of the year, Zaiquan refers to the second half of the year, the fire is strong throughout the year, and agarwood, which can calm the mind, should be used as the main ingredient, which is the "Jun" in "Junchen Zuoshi" ".

Spice Matching

In addition, in addition to choosing the right time, place, right people, and the right people in the selection of spices, the timing of the fragrance of the spices must also be calculated to arrive at the best solar term, Only when the time is right can the incense be produced, and some incense recipes have specific requirements for this.

2. From single incense to combined incense

Although the peak of combined incense appeared in the Tang Dynasty, the ancients had already explored the incense as early as the Han Dynasty, and appeared Fragrance recipe of Hexiang.

The so-called single-product fragrance refers to a single spice, such as agarwood, agarwood, and sandalwood. Synthetic fragrance is a commonly popular method in making spices today. Mixing spices according to a certain proportion to create different fragrance recipes.

Compared with individual incense, combined incense not only has richer flavor levels, but also exerts the power of 1 1gt; 2, which can make the effects of various spices complement each other and exert better effects.

The innovation of the Tang Dynasty was to add foreign spices, that is, exotic fragrances, to our country's fragrance recipes, such as frankincense, incense, and benzoin from Persia.

After these exotic fragrances were brought to China, our country’s ancient fragrance recipes were greatly enriched. Even ambergris, one of the four famous fragrances in ancient times, was introduced to our country in the late Tang Dynasty and was adopted by later generations. Considered the best incense.

3. Different processing methods

In the traditional incense making process, not only the selection of materials and formulas are very strict, but also the processing techniques are also very particular. Whether the processing method is appropriate directly affects the quality of the incense produced.

The so-called processing is actually the primary processing of natural spices to straighten out their medicinal properties and eliminate their toxicity, which is an essential step in making fragrance.

For example, sandalwood, which grows in hot and humid areas in the south, has a hot and dry nature. Not only does it not achieve the effect of calming the mind and calming the air when incense is added directly, it will also make the person who smells it impatient and concocted. The purpose is to remove its hot and dry nature.

Traditional incense processing methods include: brewing, steaming, boiling, stir-frying, moxibustion, etc. According to different needs and different properties of spices, incense makers have to choose different processing methods.

The application of incense culture in the Tang Dynasty

The incense culture in the Tang Dynasty was very prosperous and had penetrated into all aspects of people's lives. It intersected with medicinal culture and religious culture to form the unique incense culture in ancient China. Medicine culture, religious fragrance culture.

1. Fragrance culture and medicinal culture

Some natural spices are derived from plants and some are derived from animals. They all have some medicinal properties, such as those commonly seen in movies and TV series. Musk is both a spice and a medicinal herb.

It can be said that from the beginning of the birth of spices, there has been no separation of "fragrance and medicine". In the process of exploration,

Tang Dynasty people gradually discovered more medicinal properties of spices. The beauty-loving Tang Dynasty people used spices as medicine, subverting the traditional application of traditional Chinese medicine. In "Secrets of Waitai", Wang Tao of the Tang Dynasty recorded 430 prescriptions, all of which were based on spices, many of which had the effects of beautifying the skin and prolonging life.

Books and Photos of "Secrets of Waitai"

Also because of the advancement of pharmacology, women in the Tang Dynasty liked to use perfumed ointments, bath beans, etc., which not only emitted fragrance but also Can maintain skin.

In addition, people in the Tang Dynasty also used spices in trauma departments. Since most aromatic medicines have antibacterial effects, they are also widely used as trauma medicines.

2. Incense culture and religious culture

It is recorded that before Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty read the memorial from his ministers, he must wash his hands and burn incense before reading it.

It can be seen that during the Tang Dynasty, incense had been given the function of avoiding filth and purifying.

The Tang Dynasty was a country with prosperous religions. Tang Sanzang’s visit to the West to obtain scriptures also shows the ruler’s respect for Buddhism. The Buddhist application of incense is reflected in “burning incense”. To this day, when we walk into the temple, we can still smell the elegant Sanskrit incense.

Burning incense in temples

In the eyes of Buddhists, burning incense is not only an expression of respect for the gods, but also a way to calm down. In such an atmosphere, the people of the Tang Dynasty also started a trend of burning incense, such as "Folan Incense" and "Fahua Incense", which were used by ordinary people to ward off evil spirits and avoid filth.

Summary

Incense ceremony is one of the three traditional Chinese cultures along with flower arrangement and tea ceremony. It developed rapidly in the Tang Dynasty and made great progress in spice varieties and incense making technology. It is also coupled with medicinal culture and religious culture, resulting in a more diverse culture.

Whether it is in literary works or myths and legends, spices are associated with beautiful elements. It can be said that in the subconscious of every Chinese, there is a picture of "beauty with red sleeves adding fragrance" . For a great and romantic dynasty like the Tang Dynasty, spices were indispensable in daily life. From the height of the temple to the distance of the rivers and lakes, every time you breathe in and out, the fragrance comes to your nostrils, making your spiritual platform clear and bright, with endless charm.