Han Dynasty Weiyang (9) Golden Incense Burner

The incense burner is a device for burning incense, which appeared no later than the Warring States period and became popular during the Han Dynasty. The materials include pottery, bronze, and porcelain, and the styles can be divided into cover bean shape, Boshan shape, traveling stove shape, tripod shape, and bird shape. The Boshan burner was a popular incense burner style during the Han Dynasty, but it was not called by this name at the time. From the excavated artifacts of the Han Dynasty, it can be seen that its 'self-inscription' only refers to it as an 'incense burner.' The name 'Boshan burner' is said to originate from its shape, with wisps of blue smoke slowly emerging from the intricately carved mountain-shaped lid, swirling around the furnace body adorned with cloud patterns, figures, and birds and beasts, creating an effect of misty mountains and floating beasts. This matched the contemporary imagination of fairy mountains over the sea. Additionally, legends say that Zhao Wuling King and Qin Zhaowang of the Warring States period had extraordinary experiences playing chess with celestial beings on mountains. Later generations associated these mountains with immortality and thus named the incense burner resembling fairy mountains as 'Boshan burner.' Another theory is that the name comes from its place of origin, Boshan District in Zibo City, Shandong Province, west of Penglai, which is full of mountains with almost no flat land. It was an important production area for ancient Chinese ceramics and kilns and the original place of the Boshan burner. The incense used in the burner was mainly mugwort, also known as sweetgrass or fragrant grass. There was also a method of mixing medicinal materials such as galangal and magnolia with mugwort for burning. During the Han Dynasty, various precious spices were gradually introduced into China. During Emperor Wu's reign, camphor from Sumatra was imported via sea routes from the South China Sea. After opening up the Western Regions, storax from Asia Minor and Syria was also introduced to China through the Silk Road. By the Three Kingdoms period, the Central Plains region had begun using various Western spices such as dittany, myrrh, frankincense, white aconite, benzoin, turmeric, and gum resin. The Boshan burner appears in many ancient poems and essays. Xiao Tong, the crown prince of the Southern Liang Dynasty and editor of the 'Selected Works of Zhaoming,' wrote a poem titled 'Ode to the Bronze Boshan Incense Burner': 'With sweetgrass hidden in the rocks, and the rainbow garments ascending to immortality. Depicting the rugged peaks of Mount Song, resembling the lush forests of Denglin. At that time, the blue smoke controlled the cold, and the evening light dimmed the scene. The emerald curtains were already lowered, and the orchid oil was not yet extinguished. The inner brilliance steamed, and the fragrance spread outward. Like auspicious clouds presenting colors, like the bright star spreading light.' Liu Xiang, a Western Han nobleman and renowned Confucian scholar, wrote in his 'Inscription on the Boshan Burner': 'Admire this royal aura, towering like a mountain. It penetrates the Taihua, supported by a bronze plate. Inside, there is orchid brocade, red fire, and blue smoke.' 👁 Figure 1-2: Boshan Burner with Rider and Beast (Western Han) Total height: 32.3 cm Excavated from the tomb of Dou Wan, wife of Liu Sheng, Prince Jing of Zhongshan, in Mancheng in 1968 This Boshan burner has a base with a rider and beast. The lid is divided into two layers; the upper layer casts mountains and clouds, with scenes of tigers and bears roaming, human-beast fights, and people driving ox carts; the lower layer casts dragons, tigers, vermilions, camels, as well as patterns of plants and clouds.