Angelica (Baizhi): The Sharp, Clearing Herb in Chinese Incense
There is a smell that most Chinese people recognize immediately, even if they cannot name it. It comes from a plant that grows wild across the mountains of Sichuan, Yunnan,… Read more »
Nardostachys (Gansong): The Himalayan Root That Connects Fragrance
In the high Himalayas, above 3,000 meters, where the air is thin and the winters are long, there grows a small plant with gnarled, dark roots that smell like nothing… Read more »
Osmanthus (Guihua): The Fragrant Flower of Chinese Incense Culture
There is a smell that arrives in Chinese gardens in late autumn. It comes from a small tree with clusters of tiny orange-yellow flowers so fragrant that the scent carries… Read more »
Musk (Shexiang): The Controversial High-Value Ingredient in Chinese Incense
It is one of the most controversial ingredients in the world of fragrance. For thousands of years, it was worth more than its weight in gold. Today it is synthesized… Read more »
Er Su Jiu Ju: The Two Su Brothers Formula That Outlived an Empire
Two brothers. One formula. A scent that outlived an empire. Su Shi and Su Zhe — the two most celebrated scholar-officials of the Song Dynasty — did not just write… Read more »
Hexiang: Traditional Blended Incense — The Complete Guide
You buy a stick of pure sandalwood. It smells nice. Then you buy a blended incense — sandalwood plus agarwood plus benzoin plus a touch of something floral — and… Read more »
7 Day Beginner Plan: The Complete Incense Starter Guide
You have been wanting to try this for months. Every time you walk past an incense shop or see something online, you think: maybe I should actually do this. But… Read more »
E Li Zhang Zhong: The Goose Pear Chamber Incense of Song Dynasty
The story goes like this: the last ruler of the Southern Tang dynasty — Li Yu, the man who wrote poetry about his dead wife and his conquered kingdom —… Read more »
What Is Xiangdao? A Complete Beginner Guide
You sit down. You light a stick. Twenty minutes later, you have been staring at the smoke and thinking about nothing in particular. Your to-do list did not shrink. Your… Read more »
Ambergris (Longxianxiang): The Mysterious Ocean Treasure of Incense
It washes up on a beach somewhere. It has been in the ocean for decades, sometimes centuries. It smells like nothing you have ever encountered — a strange, warm, animalic… Read more »