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Insisting on Ancient Incense-Making Methods: Adjusting Details in Harmony with Nature
"Persistence" is the vital spirit passed down through Shih Chin Yu Mu Xiang Zhai.
Take, for example, the medium used to adhere incense powder to bamboo sticks. Mu Xiang Zhai insists on following ancient methods, utilizing the natural viscosity produced when Phoebe tree bark powder (Nan-mu powder) meets water. The bamboo sticks are first moistened and then coated with the bark powder to create a "base layer."
However, this "basing" process has undergone changes in production due to the shifting environment of the modern world. In the past, one could proceed to the next step immediately after applying the base. Today, with natural raw materials in high demand and short supply, the age of the trees harvested has begun to decrease annually, which in turn reduces the natural stickiness of the bark powder. What was once an instantaneous process has transformed into one that requires an overnight drying period to achieve the desired level of adhesion.
In the past, the seventh-generation master Shih Chi-hsun conducted an experiment: he asked craftsmen to produce the same type of incense, but split the batches between a "drying room" and exposure to "natural sunlight." The results showed that incense sticks dried under the sun consistently produced a clearer, brighter fragrance than those from the drying room. These experiments and steadfast convictions mean that the process of creating a single stick of incense from scratch has been extended to a full three-day journey.
"Objects are static, but people are adaptive. If everything were done by machines, these subtle issues would never be discovered," says Shih Yeh-chih. This is precisely why Mu Xiang Zhai continues to insist on maintaining its handcrafted production process to this day.
Source: 傳藝Online
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