New concept drawing

Here we go, my new concept of censer.

The additional tasks

There are some other things that has to be included.

1. It must be attractive towards young people.
2. Invite and encourage the young people.
3. Different from the old style.
4. Respectful.

Again, please leave your recommendation here.

Tasks of Incense Burner

As I have discussed with Roger, I will identify the tasks of the incense burner in its religious context.

1. It must be easy to clean and empty the ash.
2. Catch and collect the ash.
3. Fire resistance.
4. Hold the incense stick firmly.

I am really greatful, If anyone can think of it and has any recommendation please do so.

And more..

and more....

More...

Some more.

Concept Drawing

There are some drawings here.

The Manufacturing Process

1. At the incense factory, bundles of punk sticks arrive from a specialized supplier in China. Each bundle consists of 100 sticks. The ends of the sticks are cleaned by pounding the end of each bundle in front of a vacuum cleaner that sucks up the dust. The bundles are selected for a particular fragrance, and the even ends of the sticks, still tightly bundled, are painted with a color unique to that fragrance. The number of bundles designated for a particular fragrance is based on the popularity of the fragrance. For example, the factory may make 1,200 bundles (12,000 sticks of incense) with vanilla fragrance that is very popular; and it may make only 300 bundles (3,000 sticks of incense) in the green apple fragrance, which doesn't sell as well. After the ends are painted, the bundles are left overnight for the paint to dry.
   


2. The next day, fragrance oils are mixed, and the punk-covered ends of the bundles are dipped in the fragrance. They are again left on shelves to dry overnight. A typical incense maker may stock hundreds of fragrances, some of which contain hundreds of elements to make their perfume. Many Indian scents are complex combinations of ingredients.
   


3. The dried bundles are each wrapped in wax paper and sealed in 12 x 3 in (30.5 x 7.6 cm) ziplocking plastic bags. The bags are placed in bins. As orders are received for the incense sticks, they are individually packaged, packed in boxes made of recycled cardboard, and shipped for sale.

The Making Of incense

The traditional method of burning incense is performed by blending aromatic ingredients according to a specific (often secret) formula and grinding them into small pieces or powder and then heating the mixture over a flame or burning it directly on hot coals.Modern stick incense combines these two elements –heat source and fragrant material– into one, the stick itself. To do so, the main components are reduced to powder, blended and mixed with water and natural binding material (which holds the stick together and allows it to burn more slowly & evenly). The resulting soft dough-like mixture is extruded like spaghetti into long sticks. The sticks are laid out on boards where they are cut, air dried, bundled & packaged.Although they did not invent it, it is the Japanese who have elevated this art to its most sophisticated form, known in Japan as Koh-Do, “the way of incense” - blending rare south-east Asian aloeswood and precious Indian sandal-wood with Chinese spices to create some of the most exquisite incense available today.

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Smoke House Incense Burner

A gorgeous solution to burning incense: the minimal solid beech smoke house. The stainless steel base sits underneath the house, and a single cone of incense burns inside. After the incense gets going, it will happily puff through the hole in the roof.

designer: jan harman

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Roles of incense.

Incense use in religious ritual was first widely developed in China, and eventually transmitted to Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Incense holds an invaluable role in East Asian Buddhist ceremonies and rites as well as in those of Chinese Taoist and Japanese Shinto shrines. It is reputed to be a method of purifying the surroundings, bringing forth the Buddhist Alamkaraka (Realm of Adornment).

In Chinese Taoist and Buddhist temples, the inner spaces are scented with thick coiled incense, which are either hung from the ceiling or on special stands. Worshippers at the temples light and burn sticks of incense in large bundles, which they wave while bowing to the statues or plaques of a deity or an ancestor. Individual sticks of incense are then vertically placed into individual censers located in front of the statues or plaques either singularly or in threes, depending on the status of the deity or the feelings of the individual.

In Japanese Shito and Buddhist temples, the sticks of incense are placed horizonally into censers on top of the ash since the sticks used normally lack a supporting core that does not burn.

The formula and scent of the incense sticks used in various temples throughout Asia vary widely.

Uses of incense

Incense, being an article familiar to humanity since the dawn of civilization, has meant different things to the different peoples who have come to use it. Given the wide diversity of such peoples and their practices, it would be impossible to form an all-inclusive list of the ways in which incense has come to be used, since the methods and purposes of employment are as diverse and nuanced as those who have employed it.

• Practical use of incense
  Coil-shaped incense is often used in China, India, and Japan as mosquito-repellent.Incense fragrances can be of such great strength that they obscure other, less desirable odors. This utility led to the use of incense in funerary ceremonies because the incense could smother the scent of decay. Another example of this use, as well as of religious use is the Botafumeiro which, according to tradition, was installed to hide the scent of the many tired, unwashed pilgrims huddled together in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.
  
  The regular burning of direct combustion incense has been used for chronological measurement in incense clocks. These devices can range from a simple trail of incense material calibrated to burn in a specific time period, to elaborate and ornate instruments with bells or gongs, designed to involve and captivate several of the senses.
  
  Incense made from materials such as citronella can repel mosquitoes and other aggravating, distracting or pestilential insects. This use has been deployed in concert with religious uses by Zen Buddhists who claim that the incense that is part of their meditative practice is designed to keep bothersome insects from distracting the practitioner.
  

• Aesthetic use of incense
  Incense can be, like art for the eyes, music for the ears, or fine cuisine for the palate, an indulgence for the sense of smell. Many people burn incense to appreciate its smell, without assigning any other specific significance to it, in the same way that the forgoing items can be produced or consumed solely for the contemplation or enjoyment of the refined sensory experience. This use is perhaps best exemplified in the Japanese incense ceremony (香道 kōdō), where (frequently costly) raw incense materials such as agarwood are appreciated in a formalised setting.

• Religious use of incense
  The religious uses of incense are perhaps the best known to Western audiences. These uses are of great antiquity, and may have their origin in the practical and aesthetic uses considering that many religions with not much else in common all use incense. One common motif is of incense as a form of sacrifical offering to a deity.

Incense Alarm Clock !

Candles and sticks of incense that burn down at approximate predictable speeds were also used as to estimate the passage of time. The image above of an ancient Chinese dragon shaped device was constructed with a sequence of bells tied to a horizontally mounted burning incense. When the burning incense burnt and broke the threads, the bells fell down at preset interval to give an alarm.

Gods and goddesses

There are hundreds of gods and goddeses as well as "saints," immortals and demigods. Historical figures noted for their bravery or virtue are also venerated and honored with their own festivals after they are apotheosized. The following list represents some commonly worshipped deities:

• The Jade Emperor(玉帝, yǜ dì), named Bairen Zhang, king of the gods, who stands in relation to the other gods as the human emperors of old did to China's bureaucracy.
  
• Tu Di Gong (土地公, tǔ dì gōng), the "God of the earth", a genius loci who protects a local place (especially hills), and whose statue may be found in roadside shrines. He is also the god of wealth, by virtue of his connection with the earth, and therefore, minerals and buried treasure.
  
• Cai Shen (財神 "god of wealth"), named Gongming Zhao, who oversees the gaining and distribution of wealth through fortune. He is often the deified manifestation of certain historical personalities.His shape is that of a giant blue whiskered cat.
  
• Guan Yu (關羽), the red-faced, bearded hero of Romance of the Three Kingdoms and symbol of loyalty. He is the patron god of policemen and law, and gangsters, as he shows forgiveness, and often also serves as "Wu Sheng".
  
• Cheng Huang (城隍), a class of protective deities: Each city has a Cheng Huang who looks after the fortunes of the city and judges the dead. Usually these are famous or noble persons from the city who were deified after death. The Cheng Huang Miao (城隍廟) or "Shrine of the Cheng Huang" was often the focal point of a town in ancient times.
  
• Mazu (媽祖), the patron goddess of sailors. Shrines can be found in coastal areas of Eastern and South-Eastern China. Today, belief in Mazu is especially popular in the South and South-East, including Fujian (福建), Guangdong (廣東), Hainan (海南), Taiwan (台灣), Hong Kong (香港), and Vietnam (越南).
  
• Baosheng Dadi (保生大帝), the "Great Emperor Protecting Life." A divine physician, whose powers extend to raising the dead. Worship is especially prevalent in Fujian and Taiwan.
  
• Xi Wangmu (西王母), the "Queen Mother of the West" who reigns over a paradisial mountain and has the power to make others immortal. In some myths, she is the mother of the Jade Emperor (玉帝).
  
• The Eight Immortals (ba xian, 八仙) are important literary and artistic figures who were deified after death, and became objects of worship.
  
• Zao Shen (灶君灶神), the 'Kitchen God' mentioned in the title of Amy Tan's novel, The Kitchen God's Wife. He reports to heaven on the behavior of the family of the house once a year, at Chinese New Year, and is given sticky rice in order to render his speech less comprehensible on that occasion.
  
• Wenchangdi (文昌帝 "Emperor Promoting Culture"), god of students, scholars, and examination. He is worshipped by students who wish to pass their examinations. Inept examiners in ancient times sometimes sought "divine guidance" from him to decide rank between students.
  
• Zhusheng Niangniang (註生娘娘 "Birth-Registry Lady"). Worshipped by people who want children, or who want their child to be a boy.
  
• Yuexia Laoren (月下老人 "Old Man Under the Moon"). The matchmaker who pairs lovers together, worshipped by those seeking their partner.
  
• Hu Ye (虎爺 "Lord Tiger"), a guardian spirit.
  
• Qiye (七爺 "Seventh Lord") and Baye (八爺 "Eighth Lord"), two generals and best friends, often seen as giant puppets in street parades. 7 is black, because he drowned rather than miss his appointment to meet with 8, even though a flood was coming. 8 has his tongue sticking out, because he hanged himself in mourning for 7.
  
• Jiu Wang Ye (九皇爺 "Nine Emperor God")is held over the first 9 days of the 9th lunar month to celebrate the return from heaven to earth of the Nine Emperor spirits.
  
• Sun Wukong ("The Monkey King" or "Great Sage Equaling Heaven") is the stone monkey born from heaven and earth who wreaked havoc in heaven and was punished under the five elements mountain for several years. Released by the Tang Priest, Chen Xuanzang (or Sanzang), he traveled under Xuanzang as his disciple to the Thunder Monastery in the West (presumably India) for the Buddhist scriptures to redeem himself. Depending on which version of the Journey to the West legend, where Sun Wukong supposedly originates, Sun Wukong is only sometimes referred to as an actual God.
  
• Guanyin (Simplified Chinese: 观音; Traditional Chinese: 觀音; Hanyu Pinyin: Guānyīn) is the bodhisattva of compassion as venerated by East Asian Buddhists, usually as a female. She is also known as the Chinese Boddhisattva of Compassion.
  

Chinese folk religion

Chinese folk religion is composed of a combination of religious practices, including Confucianist ceremonies, ancestor veneration, Buddhism and Taoism. Chinese folk religion also retains traces of some of its ancestral neolithic belief systems which include the veneration of (and communication with) the sun, moon, earth, the heaven, and various stars, as well as communication with animals. It has been practiced alongside Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism by Chinese people throughout the world for thousands of years.

Ceremonies, Veneration, legends, festivals and various devotions associated with different folk gods/deities and goddesses form an important part of Chinese culture even today. The veneration of secondary gods does not conflict with an individual's chosen religion, but is accepted as a complementary adjunct to Buddhism, Confucianism or Taoism. Some mythical figures in folk culture have even been integrated into Buddhism as in the case of Miao Shan who is generally thought of having evolved into the Buddhist bodhisattva Kuan Yin. Other folk deities may date back to pre-Buddhist eras of Chinese history. The Chinese dragon is one of the key religious icon in these beliefs.

Censer (Incense Burner)

A typical censer is a small metal or stone dish used for burning incense, often on small legs. In many cultures, burning incense has spiritual and religious connotations, and this influences the design and decoration of the censer. Designs vary from simple, earthenware bowls to intricately carved silver or gold vessels.

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Incense Stick or Joss Stick

Joss sticks are a type of incense, traditionally most often burned before a Chinese religious image, idol, or shrine. But some joss stick burning rituals (and the associated prayers) need not be performed in front of religious images; they can be burned before anything without restriction. In modern days, the burning of joss sticks can be used for any type of purpose, such as to enhance the smell of a room, or to serve as a lighter to light fire crackers.

Joss sticks are religious materials in China, India, Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan, Myanmar, Cambodia, Korea, Japan, the Philippines and others.

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Special Olympics Summer Games 2007

The picture shows the mascot of Special Olympics Summer Games 2007 which is announced today. The character is based on a popular Shanghai cartoon figure, "Sanmao," which means "three locks of hair" in Chinese, created by late painter Zhang Leping (1910-92) 71 years ago. The Special Olympics will be held in Shanghai between October 2 and October 11 this year.


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What do they use?

• Incense stick or joss stick
• Candle
• Candle holder
• Censer or incense burner
• Tea or water
• Flower
• Fruits

Who do they pray and worship for?

• Heaven worship
is a Chinese religious belief that predates Taoism and Confucianism, but was later eventually incorporated into both Taoism and Confucianism.
Ancient Chinese believed in a non-corporeal entity called Shangdi, an omnipotent, just, monotheistic and incorporeal being. Over time Shangdi became synonymous with Tian, or Heaven. Worship of Heaven is highly ritualistic, and the emperor has to hold official sacrifices and worship at an altar of heaven, the most famous of which is the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. There are no idols allowed in Heaven worship.
Heaven worship is closely linked with ancestor veneration, as ancestors are seen as the medium between Heaven and humans. Rulers of China, also known as Sons of Heaven, derived their Mandate of Heaven, and thus legitimacy, from their supposed ability to commune with Heaven on behalf of his nation. (Wikipedia, 2007)




• Ancestor worshiping
(or ancestral worship) is a religious practice based on the belief that deceased family members have a continued existence, take an interest in the affairs of the world, and possess the ability to influence the fortune of the living. All cultures attach ritual significance to the passing of loved ones, but this is not equivalent to ancestor worship. The goal of ancestor worship is to ensure the ancestors' continued well-being and positive disposition towards the living and sometimes to ask for special favors or assistance. The social or nonreligious function of ancestor worship is to cultivate kinship values like filial piety, family loyalty, and continuity of the family lineage. While far from universal, ancestor worship or ancestor veneration occurs in societies with every degree of social, political, and technological complexity, and it remains an important component of various religious practices in modern times. (Wikipedia, 2007)

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Approaches to prayer

• Direct petitions to God
From Biblical times to today, the most common form of prayer is to directly appeal to God to grant one's requests. This in many ways is the simplest form of prayer. Some have termed this the social approach to prayer. In this view, a person directly confronts God in prayer, and asks for their needs to be fulfilled. God listens to the prayer, and may or may not choose to answer in the way one asks of Him. This is the primary approach to prayer found in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, most of the Church writings, and in rabbinic literature such as the Talmud. (Wikipedia, 2007)

• The educational approach
In this view, prayer is not a conversation. Rather, it is meant to inculcate certain attitudes in the one who prays, but not to influence.

• The rationalist approach
In this view, ultimate goal of prayer is to help train a person to focus on divinity through philosophy and intellectual contemplation. This approach was taken by the Jewish scholar and philosopher Maimonides and the other medieval rationalists; it became popular in Jewish, Christian and Islamic intellectual circles, but never became the most popular understanding of prayer among the laity in any of these faiths. In all three of these faiths today, a significant minority of people still hold to this approach. (Wikipedia, 2007)

• The experiential approach
In this approach, the purpose of prayer is to enable the person praying to gain a direct experience of the recipient of the prayer (or as close to direct as a specific theology permits). This approach is very significant in Christianity and widespread in Judaism (although less popular theologically). In Eastern Orthodoxy, this approach is known as hesychasm. It is also widespread in Sufi Islam, and in some forms of mysticism. It has some similarities with the rationalist approach, since it can also involve contemplation, although the contemplation is not generally viewed as being as rational or intellectual. It also has some similarities with the Kabbalistic view, but it lacks the Kabbalistic emphasis on the importance of individual words and letters. (Wikipedia, 2007)

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Worship and believing

Here it is.

My project will focus on what do the Chinese people believe in.