Characterization of the incense sacrificed to the sarira of Sakyamuni from Famen Royal Temple during the ninth century in China.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 35576464.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1073/pnas.2112724119 and PMC identifier 9173757.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC-ND.
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Abstract
SignificanceIncense has been linked to ceremonies, religions, medicines, and cosmetics worldwide for thousands of years. While Chinese texts in the Tang dynasty (618 to 907 CE) indicate that numerous exotic aromatic substances were already being introduced into China through the land and maritime Silk Road, this has been rarely demonstrated archaeologically. This study identifies three types of incense associated with the sacred sarira of Sakyamuni Budda from the underground palace of Famen Royal Temple in central China, providing direct evidence of aromatics including elemi, agarwood, and frankincense as well as their composite product, namely <i>Hexiang</i> (blending of aromatics), in Buddhist activities, which may have promoted the spread of incense and the development of aromatic knowledge systems in medieval China.