Editing Incense (section)

===Chinese===
[[File:Wierook branden in de Lama Tempel Beijing China augustus 2007.JPG|thumb|Incense at [[Yonghe Temple]] in [[Beijing, China]]]]
{{Main|Incense in China}}

For over two thousand years, the Chinese have used incense in religious ceremonies, [[ancestor veneration in China|ancestor veneration]], [[traditional Chinese medicine]], and daily life. [[Agarwood]] ({{lang-zh |c=沉香 |p=chénxiāng |labels=no }}) and [[sandalwood]] ({{lang-zh |c=檀香 |p=tánxiāng |labels=no}}) are the two most important ingredients in Chinese incense.

Along with the introduction of [[Buddhism in China]] came calibrated incense sticks and [[incense clock]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Bedini |first=Silvio A. |year=1963 |title=The Scent of Time. A Study of the Use of Fire and Incense for Time Measurement in Oriental Countries |journal=Transactions of the American Philosophical Society |volume=53 |issue=5 |doi=10.2307/1005923 |pages=1–51 |jstor=1005923 |hdl=2027/mdp.39076006361401 |hdl-access=free}}</ref> The first known record is by poet Yu Jianwu (487–551): "By burning incense we know the o'clock of the night, With graduated candles we confirm the tally of the watches."<ref>Schafer, Edward H. (1963). [https://books.google.com/books?id=QerLX9x8pIkC ''The Golden Peaches of Samarkand, a Study of T'ang Exotics'']. [[University of California Press]]. p. 155.</ref> The use of these incense timekeeping devices spread from Buddhist monasteries into Chinese secular society.

[[Image:JossSticks003.jpg|thumb|Big Dragon incense sticks]]

Incense-stick burning is an everyday practice in traditional [[Chinese folk religion|Chinese religion]]. There are many different types of sticks used for different purposes or on different festive days. Many of them are long and thin. Sticks are mostly coloured yellow, red, or more rarely, black.<ref>{{Cite web |title=INCENSE AND INCENSE STICKS: TYPES, COMPONENTS, ORIGIN AND THEIR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND IMPORTANCE AMONG DIFFERENT RELIGIONS |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/345055234|access-date=2021-05-28 |website=ResearchGate |language=en}}</ref> Thick sticks are used for special ceremonies, such as funerals.{{citation needed|date=August 2017}} Spiral incense, with exceedingly long burn times, is often hung from temple ceilings. In some states, such as Taiwan, Singapore, or Malaysia, where they celebrate the [[Ghost Festival]], large, pillar-like dragon incense sticks are sometimes used. These generate so much smoke and heat that they are only burned outside.

Chinese incense sticks used in popular religion are generally odorless or only use the slightest trace of jasmine or rose, since it is the smoke, not the scent, which is important in conveying the prayers of the faithful to heaven.{{citation needed|date=August 2017}} They are composed of the dried powdered bark of a non-scented species of [[cinnamon]] native to Cambodia, ''[[Cinnamomum cambodianum]]''.{{citation needed|date=November 2016}} Inexpensive packs of 300 are often found for sale in Chinese supermarkets. Though they contain no sandalwood, they often include the Chinese character for sandalwood on the label, as a generic term for incense.{{citation needed|date=August 2017}}

Highly scented Chinese incense sticks are used by some Buddhists.{{citation needed|date=August 2017}} These are often quite expensive due to the use of large amounts of sandalwood, [[agarwood]], or floral scents. The [[sandalwood]] used in Chinese incenses does not come from India, its native home, but rather from groves planted within Chinese territory. Sites belonging to [[Tzu Chi]], [[Chung Tai Shan]], [[Dharma Drum Mountain]],<ref>{{cite web |author=TOP |url=http://www.cna.com.tw/news/aedu/201408240278-1.aspx |title=不燒香 法鼓山行之有年 &#124; 生活 &#124; 中央社即時新聞 CNA NEWS |website=Cna.com.tw |access-date=2016-07-20}}</ref> [[Xingtian Temple]], or [[City of Ten Thousand Buddhas]] do not use incense.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.appledaily.com.tw/realtimenews/article/new/20140901/461840/ |title=我們都誤會行天宮了 &#124; 即時新聞 &#124; 20140901 &#124; 蘋果日報 |website=Appledaily.com.tw |access-date=2016-07-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=作者：廣興 |url=http://hk.plm.org.cn/dispKw.asp?id=1024 |title=香港宝莲禅寺佛教文化传播网 |website=Hk.plm.org.cn |access-date=2016-07-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408125236/http://hk.plm.org.cn/dispKw.asp?id=1024 |archive-date=2016-04-08 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://ycwb.com/gb/content/2005-11/14/content_1018915.htm |title=全球买家•缅甸 缅甸：谈生意莫选星期二 |website=Ycwb.com |date=2005-11-14 |access-date=2016-07-20 |archive-date=2016-04-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408125311/http://www.ycwb.com/gb/content/2005-11/14/content_1018915.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>