Fragrance not only needs to nourish the nose with fragrance, but also needs to nourish the mind, nourish the body, and enlighten the mind. This is a central principle of traditional fragrance making skills. It is precisely because of following this concept that traditional fragrant products have not only become aromatic substances, but also become medicines that promote wisdom and health. Throughout the long historical period from the Qin and Han dynasties to the Ming and Qing dynasties, they have won widespread expectations from all walks of life in society.

Comparatively speaking, modern fragrance making skills based on chemical engineering mainly rely on the aroma of the scent, rather than the health benefits of the fragrance. This concept affects various aspects of fragrance making. For example, in order to increase production power, reduce material costs, and beautify the appearance of fragrances, many chemical preparations including chemically synthesized fragrances are used, and many purely industrialized production methods that are considered harmful to fragrances in traditional techniques are employed.

Regarding the production of incense, China has already formed a complete set of theories in ancient times that are in line with traditional Chinese medicine and Taoist external pill theory. It has a very sophisticated and complete skill system, and is also an inseparable part of China's traditional civilization. There is a strict and effective set of methods and standards in the establishment of fragrance formulas, the use of spices, compatibility and counterfeiting, and the production process.

It can be said that traditional fragrance making techniques seek to nourish the mind with fragrance, while modern fragrance making techniques seek to nourish the nose with fragrance. The difference between the two types of fragrances is very obvious.

To make traditional incense, the first step is to comprehensively consider the use, aroma type, grade and other elements of the incense, and then select spices or medicinal materials according to the requirements of these foundations, and mix them according to the ruler, minister, assistant and helper. As long as the ruler, minister, assistant, and helper are in their respective positions, they can fully display the nature of different spices. For example, yamen incense, incense of faith, incense of tribute, incense of curtains, and incense of healing each have their own reasons and methods, but the foundation is determined based on the deduction of the Five Elements, Six Qi, Five Elements, and Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches to determine the ingredients for the ruler, minister, assistant, and support.

For example, regarding the incense used in daily life during the years of Jiazi and Jiawu, according to the principle of the Five Elements and Six Qi, it is calculated that the year was the year when the earth was transported and burned, with Shaoyin Jun's fire in the sky and Yangming's dry gold in the spring; From the perspective of promoting the physical and mental health of the human body, it is advisable to use agarwood as the main ingredient, that is, agarwood should be used as the ruler, and sandalwood with high dryness should be used less; Combined with herbs such as sliced brain, rhubarb, cloves, and calamus to harmonize the nature of spices, and then achieve harmony and benefit people.

Some special fragrances not only have strict requirements for ingredients, counterfeits, and compatibility, but also require the ingredients, blending, and fragrance production to be carried out according to the solar term, date, and hour in order to achieve specific effects. For example, in the production of 'Lingxu Fragrance', it is requested to use ingredients from Jiazi Day, grind them from Bingzi Day, mix them from Wuzi Day, make incense from Gengzi Day, and pack them in a cellar from Renzi Day. Cold water stones should be used as companions during cellar storage, and so on.

Nowadays, it is common to see single item incense such as sandalwood on the market, so many people mistakenly believe that this type of single item incense is the main body of traditional incense, which is a big misunderstanding. Just as a single Chinese medicinal herb, even if precious, is not necessarily a good medicine, a good spice is not necessarily a good fragrance. For example, regarding sandalwood, ancient people have clearly said: "When sandalwood is burned alone, it is easy to float and be made, which can make the gods uneasy for a long time

As early as the Han Dynasty, ancient people had already realized the limitations of individual fragrances and developed the concept of spice combinations. They began to use a combination of multiple spices to create blended fragrances. From the "Four point Incense Burner" in the early Western Han Dynasty, it can be seen that Hexiang was already about to emerge at that time. After the Han Dynasty, the level of spice compatibility continued to improve, and the variety of fragrance formulas became increasingly abundant. Until the Ming and Qing Dynasties, blended fragrances remained the mainstream of traditional fragrances. Only in modern times, the decline of fragrant civilization has led to the current situation of regression.

Traditional fragrances are not only very particular about the compatibility of spices, but also have very strict requirements for the counterfeiting of spices. "If it is not enough, the effect will be difficult to achieve, and if it is too much, the flavor will be lost." Whether the counterfeiting is appropriate or not directly affects the quality of the fragrance. The counterfeiting of spices has similarities with the counterfeiting of traditional Chinese medicine, but there are also many differences. The same spice used in different fragrances often has different methods of counterfeiting. Overall, the purpose of counterfeiting fragrant materials is twofold: firstly, to remove impurities and facilitate their use; secondly, to guide the flow and treat the flow, and to regulate their medicinal properties. Proper counterfeiting can enhance the medicinal properties of fragrant materials, allowing them to fully exert their effects and eliminate potential toxic side effects; In addition, specific counterfeiting methods can be used to alter the medicinal properties of fragrant materials based on compatibility requirements.

Article source: Jiangmen bamboo stick fragrance manufacturerhttp://www.dongfangxl.com/