A cobalt-blue three-foot porcelain censer of Qing Dynasty, the collection of Shanxi Museum. [Photo provided to China Daily]
Burning incense has a long history in China. In olden times, people burnt fragrant plants at rituals by which they hoped the smoke and the good smell would connect with the ancestors and the world of deities. Then gradually, incense became one of the commodities to bridge the Chinese and the world and a product to clean air indoors and to bring people mental comfort.
Also, burning incense in fine apparatuses constituted an essential part of the cultural life of the upper-class scholars, as important as critiquing artworks, enjoying tea, listening guqin music and appreciating the art of bonsai.
A Han Dynasty Boshan incense burner from the collection of Shanxi Museum. [Photo provided to China Daily]
An Inhale of Fragrance, an ongoing exhibition at Shanxi Museum until May 9, navigates the long-standing relationship between ancient Chinese and incense.
It shows major woods and plants of pleasant aroma which have been considered as precious and sacred throughout centuries. Also, it reviews the development of incense burners as examples of the evolutions in economy, lifestyle, religion, arts and crafts, showing famed censers in history such as the Boshan burners of the Han Dynasty (202 BC-AD 220) and Xuande burners of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
A Han Dynasty Boshan incense burner from the collection of The China Three Gorges Museum. [Photo provided to China Daily]
A Song Dynasty Longquan celadon incense burner from the collection of The China Three Gorges Museum. [Photo provided to China Daily]
A Song Dynasty porcelain censer in the collection of Shanxi Museum. [Photo provided to China Daily]
A Tang Dynasty censer in the form of a turtle, in the collection of Shanxi Museum. [Photo provided to China Daily]
A Yuan Dynasty double-handler, three-foot porcelain censer in the collection of Shanxi Museum. [Photo provided to China Daily]
