Page 188 - A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols BIG Book

A-Z 181
Incense

xiang

The word xiang simply means ‘fragrance’. The sandalwood which is the main source of
incense comes from South-east Asia. In ancient China, incense was burned in special
incense bowls. Nowadays incense sticks are used almost invariably, and these are placed
in an altar vessel before the image of the god to whom the offering is being made.
Often the ashes are gathered up and taken as a kind of medicine. Incense is mentioned in
the very earliest Chinese texts on Buddhism; today it is used in all temples, and also
in the small shrines which many of the faithful maintain in their own homes.
‘Mosquito incense’ (wen-zi-xiang) is usually green and takes the form of little coils
which smoulder under the bed all night and keep the insects away.

Insignia, Imperial

Some authorities attribute nine insignia to the Emperor, others credit him with
twelve. The list of nine runs as follows: dragon, mountains, pheasant,
pond-weed, grains of rice, the Fu pattern (symbolising right and wrong), the axe,
flames, sacrificial bowl. The addition of the Sun-raven, the Lunar Hare and of a
constellation in the shape of a right angle gives a list of twelve, which then corresponds
to the twelve months of the lunar year.
The series of twelve insignia is as follows: the sun (red), the moon (white),
the Seven-star Constellation (often shown as a triangle), mountains,
dragon, pheasant, the Fu pattern, the axe, two sacrificial vessels with representations
of monkeys and tigers, water-plants (representing wood), fire, millet. In

this chain, the 5th and 6th members are animals; the 7th symbolises the Emperor’s power
over life and death, and members 8 to 12 symbolise the five elements.