During the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1279-1368) dynasties in China, the incense ceremony was considered one of the four "leisure hobbies of the elite" in society, along with tea pouring, flower arranging and the hanging of paintings. However, during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) this artistic tradition witnessed a falloff in popularity, while at the same time it became very popular in Japan where it is known as kodo or the "way of incense."

Inner spirit

"Japanese-styled incense ceremonies pay more attention to the ritual and outward forms, while Chinese incense ceremonies attach more importance to the inner spirit in line with Zen ideas about relaxation," Yeo Yang told the Global Times. Hailing from Malaysia, Yang is a Chinese incense ceremony teacher in Shanghai who owns a store in Tianzifang (address below) that sells various incense sticks including agalwood.

And in recent years, this traditional Chinese incense ceremony has been through a revival, in that people now see it has positive benefits for daily living in a busy city.

Step by step

To begin an incense ceremony, the host practitioner burns a small piece of coal and then presses the ashes into a bowl. After opening a small hole through the ashes, he or she buries the burning piece of coal under the ashes and covers it. And then on the surface of these ashes different patterns or "molds" can be made. "You need to keep breathing on it to keep the piece of coal alive," Yang said.

Afterwards, a small piece of agalwood is cut off and placed on the surface of the ashes. The practitioner encircles the bowl with his hands and consumes the smell.

This incense is said to clear the nasal cavities. After smelling the fragrance three times, the host passes the incense to other participants, always turning left. Each person also has three sniffs.

A complete traditional Chinese incense ceremony begins with all the attendees indulging in small talk and drinking green tea to calm their heart rate down. After this the agalwood is set alight. And last, but not the least, it is important that emotions and feelings are expressed by means of writing calligraphy or a poem.

Multiple functions

"When a small piece of agalwood is burnt, it equates to the smelling of history, considering how old the wood is," Yang said.

The agalwood that is used in this incense ceremony is not actually the wood of the same name, but a mixture that is made of half resin and half agalwood.

"The quality of natural agalwood varies a lot, and it's hard to differentiate between them without long experience of knowing this wood in its natural habitat," said Yang, who has spent many years in Southeast Asian countries studying trees.

Apart from its basic function of purifying and sterilizing the air, the incense of natural agalwood is said to be able to open and activate all the sensory organs in the body - everything from the nose to the brain. "Olfaction (the action of smelling) is closely related to memory and emotions, and the incense ceremony helps people who are distracted by city life to learn the ability to slow down and take things easy," Yang said.

Although not as popular as tea ceremonies and flower arranging ceremonies, there are a few places offering incense ceremony courses and products. And the Global Times has picked out a few of them, listed below. 

Heaven scents

Scent Incense

Address: Room 111, No.3, Lane 210, Taikang Road, Huangpu district

黄浦区田子坊泰康路210弄3号111室

Tel: 5213-1909

Wenwan Guqin House

Address: A86, Hongqiao Tea Town, 3088 Yan'an Road West, Changning district 长宁区延安西路3088号虹桥茶城A86

Tel: 6406-7924

Yuhan National Arts House

Address: Bldg 102, No.27, Lane 88 Jinyu Road, Minhang district

闵行区金雨路88弄金斯花园27号102

Tel: 400-6918-611

Wutong National Arts

Address: Room 202, 302 Daxue Road, Yangpu district 杨浦区大学路302号202室

Tel: 3532-2508