Ineense (香) is material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. Yang Jinqing, an inheritor of Qingyuan traditional incense making, has a burning desire to develop popular fragrances. For decades, Yang has committed (he) to the traditional incense craft in Qingyuan, was named a national intangible cultural heritage by the State Council in June 2021.
The country boasts a profound incense history (date) back to before the Qin Dynasty. The craft and its culture thrived during the Song Dynasty. It found wider (popular) during the Ming and Qing dynasties when it (use) to fend off diseases, insects, mosquitoes and preserve people's health.
Qingyuan saw many incense workshops set up during the Song Dynasty, thanks to its close geographical location to abundant herbal resources (hide) in the Taihang Mountains.
Nowadays, with the (increasing) expanding market, more than 50, 000 people are engaged in the incense business in more than 500 local incense businesses.
Yang Jinqing has helped to establish engineering center for herbal incense in Hubei that specializes in studying ancient recipes and developing new crafts based on the fragrance. "We might think incense culture is very elegant and, therefore, far away us, but it is actually very close to our lives." he says. "When drinking tea, playing chess, reading or writing, lighting an incense stick can help calm the nerves and concentrate the mind."
"I want future generations (appreciate) the charm of China's incense culture and craft." he adds.
