Scents, Community, and Incense in Traditional Chinese Religion

Abstract

In a religious context incense is used for a variety of reasons in various cultures, usually for the purposes of healing or purification. In traditional Chinese religion, incense and incense objects are essential for making a connection with spiritual beings as well as establishing and maintaining religious communities. For Chinese religious practitioners, burning incense opens up communication with deities, and incense ash is required to found new temples. Through pilgrimage, incense is used to demarcate the territory of a deity and maintain relationships between temple communities. Chinese communities have also had a long history of forming voluntary associations, religious and otherwise, that have been organized around the use of incense objects. This article examines the use of incense in traditional Chinese religion, how incense objects are used to build and maintain communities, and how incense acts as a tangible bridge between the spiritual and material.