Traditional Incense making

Incense (Joss Sticks) connects an individual in Taiwan to our spiritual gods and bonds the daily living. Incense not only has the worship meaning, but also is a person’s access to the spiritual sustenance and comfort. If you travel to Asian countries, you must see the incense burning inside and being sold outside the temples. However, how the incense is made became our curiosity and a purpose of this trip. Lugang Township (鹿港鎮), Changhua County is one of the few places in Taiwan still maintain a few traditional handmade joss sticks factories.

We did not know the exact location in Lugang which still hand makes the joss sticks. We were strolling around the small alleys near Xinan Temple (興安宮) and asked an elderly lady if she would know an incense factory nearby and she replied “no”. We were very disappointed! However, after we turned to a larger street asked a young man in front of his house, he replied “We are the one, let me show you and take you through the process!” At that time, we felt like we had won a lottery ticket!

The friendly young man (the one with the red shirt) is the son of Mr. Huang, Han Rong (photo above) who owns the “RongFang Tang Incense Shop” (榮芳堂香鋪) for 56 years. This is another family in Lugang that we found who has persisted to keep the traditional spirit. The most impressive thing to me is that the son who could have made much higher income related to his education field, chose instead to learn this hardworking, gradually disappearing skill. We also found out that the Asia Discovery Channel had visited this place and interviewed both of them!

The best sticks to make incense is the Makino Bamboo that came from Nantou County, Taiwan originally; however, they have been replaced by the ones in China.

The First step in making joss stick is to insert the sticks into the water and leave 10-12cm without touching water and this is the handheld part of the stick, named “Xiangjiao 香腳”(Incense Feet)

The second step is to mix the sticks evenly with the Nan Bark Powders (Cortex of Phoebe Zhennan). These 2 steps are the “Rendering “打底 Process.

The Third step is to insert the sticks into the water again after the Rendering process. The Nan Bark Powders will become sticky in the water which can make the spice powder adhesive in the next few steps.

The next 3 steps are “Zhan Xiang” 展香 (spreading out the joss sticks), “Lun Xiang” 掄香 (whirling and selecting the joss sticks), and “Gun Xiang” 滾香 (Turning around the joss sticks). These are the hardest part based on the skills and experience. The spice powders are sprinkled and stick on each stick. Spreading out the sticks in a fan shape, the flaw sticks can be seen and picked. Whirl and shake out the extra powder to ensure the surface smooth and firm.

The aromatic powder can be made in a variety spices. The one Mr. Huang used was made of Sandalwood, Aquilaria, and Nan Bark Powder. The whole process needs to be repeated three times to ensure a good quality. He also said that all these powders were natural herbs and they became sticky by touching the water; therefore, he hardly wears a mask.

The incense machine can speed up the process; however, it also affects the quality of the incense since the machine made needs more Nan Bark Powder and less spice powders and can’t produce them evenly. Mr. Huang said that all the best joss sticks are still the handmade ones.

The next step is to dry up the sticks in a room temperature or under the sun for 4 hours until they are 70% dry.

Then insert the incense feet into red boiled dyes. Dry them under the sun for half an hour. The whole process is complete!

Mr. Huang’s son was also gladly showing us how the “Ring Incense” 環香 was made. It looks like mosquito repellent incense, but it is not. The Ring Incense is the regular incense but can burn at least 24 hours and the joss stick only an hour. The ring Incense has become very popular because of that. The making process is less complicated than that of the joss stick since it is mainly done by a machine.

Here is the machine to make powder dough with the same spices of the joss sticks.

The dough is extruded in strips.

Next, the strip can be circulated into a ring on the plate by hand (picture on the left) or by an automatic rolling machine (the picture on the right). It is not that easy. I tried and made an uneven surface which definitely needed to be redone by a professional.

Doesn’t it look like a D.J hand on a record player?

The drying process under the sun is about 6-8 hours for the Ring Incense. After they are dried, separate the ring and the product is made!

The incense are made in a small dark room without air conditioning in a prolong process, and ring incense is done repeatedly but with less work. I asked them the sources of the buyers and if they have exported their incenses to other Asian countries. He said that the buyers are mainly local people. The export market has been taken over by lower cost machine made factories from other countries. More buyers came in to the store and interrupted our conversation with Mr. Huang’s son. I sincerely wish this traditional skill will persist and the hard workers behind the scene can be recognized. We truly thank them for their hospitality and sharing! They are the ones to carry on our spiritual lights!

Below is the video clip showing the process of “Zhan Xiang”, “Lun Xiang”, and “Gun Xiang”.

Below is the video clip showing how to dye the "Incense Feet".

Below is the video clip showing how the "Ring Incense" is made.

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