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The Perfume Culture of China and Taiwan: A Personal Report.1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 April 2013

CHEN YUNJUN
CHEN YUNJUN*
Affiliation:
Zhonghua Wenhua Xueyuan (China Cultural Institute), Tianjinwocyj666@163.com
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Extract

Chinese perfumery arts have a history of two or three thousand years. Theart however, was never specifically separated from medicine, personalgrooming or food culture; many aromatic materials were used for all of thesepurposes. In comparison to western traditions it is notable that Chineseperfumery was local in character. The aromatic raw materials employed wereoften native to Chinese lands, or imported from nearby. Moreover, Chineseperfumery differs from the western tradition in regard to the way in which afew outstanding aromatics have been employed.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society , Volume 23 , Issue 1 , January 2013 , pp. 127 - 130
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Asiatic Society 2013

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Footnotes

Translation by Li Ma and Mu Gan, edited by Dinah Jung.

1

The author grew up in a lively perfumery surrounding in Chinesesociety during his childhood, observed the developments during theCultural Revolution, and also experienced the revival of Chineseperfumery in recent years. He has published on Chinese perfumery.

References

2 Qi 〔 氣 / 气 〕 .

3 Kōdō (Japanese term, ‘The Way of Incense’) refers to ritual practices of appreciating incense.

4 〔 香 文 化 〕, ‘incense culture’.

5 〔 香 道 〕, ‘The Way of Incense’, mirroring the Japanese expression of 〔 香 道 〕, kōdō, ‘The Way of Incense’.

6 The incense material is traditionally not put directly on the burning charcoal, but with the help of a small plate, it is instead placed into the rising warm air. The development of smoke is thus avoided, and merely the essential oil vaporises.