Brown glazed incense burners
Cizao ware

The Ladies’ Book of Filial Piety of Song dynasty depicting the scene of burning incense at home
Collection of the Palace Museum

Incense burners are commonly seen in temples today, used by worshippers to offer incense as a sacrifice to gods. However, during Song dynasty, burning incense was not necessarily for religious rituals. Appreciating the aroma of incense, whisking tea, hanging paintings, and arranging flowers were all popular lifestyle activities at that time, collectively known as “the four pastimes”. Incense burners were considered a “must-have utensil” for daily life, banquets and parties. Some literati even made their own incenses and engaged in discussions over, “the art of incense”. Similar to their participation in tea competitions, the Song people were enthusiastic about incense competitions, sharing their collections with fellow enthusiasts, exchanging appraisals on each other’s incenses, and even recording their appraisals of various incenses in books known as “Incense Manuals”.

The popularity of incense also reflects the thriving maritime trade during Song dynasty. Many fragrant materials such as frankincense and agarwood were imported into China by sea from the present-day Arabian region, India and Southeast Asia.

 (English)