九龍沉香&琉璃博山爐香事情未了

楊艷

Creating Antique Artifact in New Way and Remaining True to Art

“Behold the censer and the agilawood in fire， two wreaths of smoke combine and rise higher and higher.”

In the poem A Love Song， the great Chinese poet Li Bai wrote that censer is a must have for refined scholars in ancient time. The elegant and unique incense burner is placed beside the table， and the aroma spreads， creating a hazy fairyland.

In the exhibition hall of Chongqing Jiulong Agilawood Museum， several glaze Boshan Censers of different colors are clear and transparent. The censer cover is hollowed out and chiseled into overlapping mountain shapes， with chiseled rare birds and lifelike animals， shining with a warm and restrained luster. The colored glaze Boshan Censer has been selected as 2021 “Chongqing Gifts for Foreign Affairs”.

As early as the Han and Jin dynasties in China， the Boshan Censer became a common incense burner in the court and noble life， and its artistic attainments and casting technology represented the peak of that time.

In order to reproduce the craftsmanship and charm of the Boshan Censer， Ling Kun， curator of the Jiulong Agilawood Museum， referred to a large number of ancient books and materials， tested with a lot of materials， and used 3D scanning， printing prototypes and the ancient method of glazed dewaxing and finally replicated the artifacts.

“The colored glaze originates from foreign countries. It is crystal clear and radiant and is more charming when integrating with Chinese culture.” Ling Kun said that each colored glaze Boshan Censer must be cast one by one， and the yield rate is only 70%， which cannot be recycled for remaking. Every bubble and every line in the glaze are unique and cannot be duplicated.

Taste of Time and Incense of Years

The incense burners are created to go with incense.

People living in the ancient time were expert in discovering the taste of nature. With the thriving “Silk Road” trade route， spices gradually became the “protagonist” of international trade. In the middle and late Song Dynasty， the three items， namely incense burner， incense box and the tool bottle， gradually became a set for incense burning. In the Ming Dynasty， Zheng He made seven voyages to the West and spices together with silk， tea and porcelain， became important commodities and medium for cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries. Chinese people love and admire incense， and incense has gradually merged with Chinese traditional culture， creating many wonderful stories.Since the Tang and Song dynasties， burning incense， hanging paintings， making tea and enjoying music are called the “four arts for literati”. Among them， incense embodies the wonderful taste of incense culture. In the smell， there are elements that are connected with the lifeblood of classical culture.

Today， the Jiulong Agilawood Museum uses agilawood as a medium to tell the story of China to the world. “At present， the museum houses more than 500 groups of agilawood collections from incense-producing regions of Vietnam， Indonesia， and Malaysia， as well as hundreds of incense burners from the Han， Tang， Song， Yuan and Ming Dynasties in China.” Ling Kun said that the museum has 9 parts. Systematic introduction and stories behind agilawood will be told through several chapters such as the evolution history of incense burners in the past dynasties， the systematic classification of agilawood， the display of the core production areas of agilawood， the art of agilawood statues， the identification of true and false， the display of ancient methods of blending incense and incense materials， and contemporary agilawood cultural and creative works.

Making Incense with Ingenuity and Promoting Incense Culture

Stepping into the museum， you will find the “preparation room” of incense. It is more like a showroom of “nature”， with a dazzling array of spices like works of art.

Ling Kun is not only a collector of agilawood for many years， but also a well-known incense maker in the industry. He first proposed the classification standard of modern agilawood and the norm of “nine essentials of incense”. With both theoretical knowledge and know-how， he is an expert in incense aesthetics and collection.

The process of making incense may seem simple， but it contains profound knowledge. With the same raw materials， different proportions and grinding processes can bring about different quality of incense. “The unique blending incense in Chinese incense culture is about concocting and blending different spices. According to their own aesthetic ideas， different settings require different blending incense， such as poetry， calligraphy， painting， dancing， music and tea， promoting the progress of Chinese incense culture.” Ling Kun’s reputation in the industry comes from his proficiency in blending incense materials and their proportions. “Making traditional blending incense requires not only natural spices as raw materials， but also formula， strict processing method and production process. The process of making incense must follow the ancient method and integrate the nature of mind into it.”

In June 2019， the traditional incense-making of Chongqing Jiulong Agilawood Museum was included in the 6th Chongqing Municipal Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

This “preparation room” is also often turned into a “recording room”. The Chongqing Jiulong Agilawood Museum shows netizens the history， culture， production techniques， and incensing methods of various spices through the “Xiaohongshu” platform. In less than a year， it has more than 180，000 likes.

Chongqing Jiulong Agilawood Museum has harvested many honors since its establishment 6 years ago， including 2018 China Tourism Cultural Commodities Bronze Award， Chongqing Cultural and Creative Products Exhibition “Best Creativity Award”， 2021 China Tourism Commodity Competition Gold Award， 2021 “Chongqing Gifts” Tourism Commodity Design Competition Gold Award. From the joint launch of the exhibition Lingering Incense and Affection with the China Three Gorges Museum in Chongqing， and the launch of The Silk Road Incense - The Origin of Chinese Incense Culture Exhibition jointly launched with the China Three Gorges Museum in Chongqing， the Yunnan Provincial Museum and the Shanxi Museum， to holding meetings in the museum， giving lectures in colleges and universities， conducting joint exhibitions， etc.， and making frequent appearances in festival events such as “China Tourism Marketing Conference”， “World Leisure Expo” and “Global Travel Agents Conference”， the ancient skills of making incense is walking out of the show window of the Chongqing Jiulong Agilawood Museum against the backdrop of economic globalization and cultural diversification， looking for and interpreting the spiritual pursuit and artistic charm behind the Chinese incense culture with a new attitude. It also reflects the “Belt and Road” spirit of openness and cooperation and making the spirit of mutual learning more long-lasting.

Photos by Chongqing Jiulong Agilawood Museum

古器新作 守造物心

“博山爐中沉香火，雙煙一氣凌紫霞?！?/p>

詩人李白在《楊叛兒》中道出了香爐在古代是文人雅士的標配：典雅別致的香爐擺在案幾桌邊，爐中香氣氤氳蔓延，營造出朦朧的人間仙境……

重慶九龍沉香博物館展廳內(nèi)，幾尊不同顏色的琉璃博山爐清透明澈，爐蓋鏤空雕鑿成重疊的山形，附有珍禽異獸栩栩如生，閃爍著溫潤內(nèi)斂的光澤。琉璃博山爐入選2021“重慶好禮·外事禮品”。

據(jù)了解，博山爐早在中國漢、晉時期就成為宮廷與貴族生活中常見的焚香器具，其藝術造詣與鑄造技術代表著當時的頂峰之作。

為了重現(xiàn)博山爐的工藝與氣韻，九龍沉香博物館館長凌鯤查閱了大量古籍資料，耗費了大量的物料，通過3D掃描、打印原型，以古法琉璃脫蠟的制造工藝，才最終定型而成。

“自外國傳來的琉璃晶瑩剔透，光華流轉，與中國文化融合后，更是迷人?！绷桷H說，每尊琉璃博山爐須獨立鑄模，成品率只有70%，不可回收再造。琉璃中的每一顆氣泡、每一處線條都是獨一無二，無法復制。

時光知味 歲月沉香

所謂香具，依香而生。

古人善于發(fā)掘自然的味道。隨著“絲綢之路”貿(mào)易路線的繁榮，香料逐漸成為國際貿(mào)易的“主角”。宋代中后期，以香爐、香盒、箸瓶為主體的爐瓶三事，漸成定制。明代鄭和七下西洋，香料為大宗貿(mào)易品，與絲綢、茶葉、瓷器共同成為中外文化交流的重要媒介。中國人愛香、敬香，香逐漸與中國傳統(tǒng)文化融在一起，演繹出許多精彩故事。唐宋以來，焚香、掛畫、點茶、聽琴，稱為“文人四藝”。其中，香煙氤氳，凝聚著香文化的意趣美妙。氣味之中，潛藏著與古典文化血脈相連的元素。

而今，九龍沉香博物館就以沉香為媒，向世界講述著中國故事。“目前館內(nèi)收藏了來自越南、印尼、馬來西亞等眾多產(chǎn)香區(qū)的沉香藏品500余組，以及中國漢唐宋元明時期的香具香爐等藏品數(shù)百件。”凌鯤介紹，博物館共分為9部分，通過歷代香具演變史、沉香系統(tǒng)分類、沉香的核心產(chǎn)區(qū)標準展示、沉香造像藝術、真假甄別、古法和香及香材展示、當代沉香文創(chuàng)作品等多個篇章，系統(tǒng)嚴謹?shù)亟馕龀料惚澈蟮墓适屡c奧秘。

匠心制香 傳播文化

步入博物館深處，便是合香的“研制間”，這里更像一間“大自然”的陳列室，香料琳瑯滿目，如藝術品般擺在眼前。

凌鯤不僅是沉香資深藏家，還是業(yè)內(nèi)公認的制香名家，他曾首次提出了現(xiàn)代沉香分類標準，“成香九要”的規(guī)范，是香學審美、收藏、知行為一身的行家。

制香過程看似簡單，但內(nèi)含乾坤。同樣的原材料，不同的比例搭配和研磨工藝，做出來香的品質(zhì)可能天差地別?！爸袊阄幕兴赜械暮舷?，將不同香料按不同的構架炮制、拼配。人們根據(jù)自身的審美主張，為合香設定了不同的意境，如詩詞書畫、舞樂琴茶，從而推動了中國香文化的進程?！绷桷H在業(yè)內(nèi)久負盛名正是因為他對香材配比調(diào)和的精通，“傳統(tǒng)合香的制造，不僅要有天然香料作原料，更要有合理的配方，嚴格的炮制方法和制作工藝。制香的過程要遵古法，將制香人的心性融入其中?！?/p>

2019年6月，重慶九龍沉香博物館“傳統(tǒng)合香制香工藝”正式列入重慶市第六批市級非物質(zhì)文化遺產(chǎn)名錄。

這間“研制間”還時常變成“錄制間”，重慶九龍沉香博物館通過“小紅書”平臺向網(wǎng)友們展示各種香料的歷史文化、制作工藝、用香方法等。不到一年時間，已擁有點贊量超18萬。

2018中國旅游文化商品大獎銅獎、巴山蜀水文創(chuàng)精品展“最佳創(chuàng)意獎”、2021中國旅游商品大賽金獎、2021“重慶好禮”旅游商品設計大賽金獎……重慶九龍沉香博物館成立6年來收獲了眾多榮譽。從與重慶中國三峽博物館聯(lián)合推出展覽《香事情未了》，又與重慶中國三峽博物館、云南省博物館、山西博物院聯(lián)合推出《絲路香事—中國香文化源流展》，到在館內(nèi)開辦雅集、高校開展講座、舉辦聯(lián)展等，以及在“中國旅游營銷大會”“世界休閑博覽會”“全球旅行商大會”等節(jié)會活動頻繁亮相，制香這門古老的技藝在經(jīng)濟全球化和文化多樣化的背景下，從重慶九龍沉香博物館的櫥窗內(nèi)走出來，以新的姿態(tài)尋覓和解讀中國香魂背后的精神情感與藝術魅力，也正在體現(xiàn)“一帶一路”開放合作精神，讓互學互鑒的精神傳承不衰。

圖片/重慶九龍沉香博物館提供

“people at that time pursue spiritual things that go beyond the realities and are elegant. We can reconstruct another perspective of the material and cultural history of ancient China from the ‘dimension of smell’. This is the very significance of classical blending incense.”

“古人的精神遠闊、素雅高格，我們從‘嗅覺維度’能重構古代中國物質(zhì)文化史的另一種面貌，這就是古典合香最大的意義所在?！?/p>

In June 2019， the traditional incense-making of Chongqing Jiulong Agilawood Museum was included in the 6th Chongqing Municipal Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

2019年6月，重慶九龍沉香博物館“傳統(tǒng)合香制香工藝”正式列入重慶市第六批市級非物質(zhì)文化遺產(chǎn)名錄。