The most beautiful incense in ancient times is Chunxin in the Snow, Huang Taishi’s Four Fragrances and the Soul-Returning Plum Fragrance.
Spring in the Snow is the fragrance combined by Su Shi, and you can smell the artistic conception of blooming flowers in the snow.
Dongpo was a genius, whose poetry, books, and writings were all world-class. His superstar light eclipsed all the literati of his generation.
The only exception is Huang Tingjian, who is called "Su Huang" together with Su Dongpo. In fact, Su Dongpo was Huang Tingjian's teacher.
The four fragrances of Huang Taishi are harmonious in meaning, elegant and leisurely, naturally rich and noble; fragrant in meaning, extraordinary in fragrance, just like the tip of the nose; deep and quiet fragrance, indifferent and lonely, unparalleled in the world; small. The fragrance of Zong is like the richness and depth of the Southern Dynasties, matching the ancients.
These four fragrances established the standards for fragrance evaluation and aesthetics among literati in the Song Dynasty. They may be beautiful and leisurely, or tranquil and lonely, and they use their fragrance as a metaphor for human nature.
The fragrance of plum blossoms that return to the soul is burned like "walking in the tender cold at dawn, between the fences of an isolated mountain". It was originally named Han Wei Gong's strong plum fragrance.
Huang Tingjian believes that the meaning of the name of this fragrance is not obvious, and it is easy to be "returning plum", saying that "smelling this fragrance brings the soul back to life".
These five spices were not created by Huang Tingjian, but they became famous because of Huang Tingjian. Huang Tingjian claims to have a "fragrance addiction". He really understands and loves fragrance.
So the incense masters at that time loved to give him incense as a gift.
Huang Tingjian's "Postscript to the Postscript of the Fragrance Afterward" says: Jia Tianxi announced his intention to create a harmonious fragrance. It is beautiful, leisurely and far away, so it naturally has the aura of wealth and nobility. He feels that the harmonious fragrance in other houses is very poor. Tianxi has given me this fragrance many times, but I only want to write poems.
Because I wrote ten short poems as a gift, "The soldiers guard the forest, paint the halberds, and the swallows sleep in the bed, the fragrance condenses", I still regret that the poems were not completed and the fragrance was not called this. However, I would not give this incense to others because I am extremely precious.
Jia Tianxi was the Marquis of Wu, and a warrior was more straightforward than a scholar. He knew that his work was good, but he couldn't tell how it was good, but Huang Tingjian could.
So Jia Tianxi sent incense to Huang Tingjian in exchange for poems. Huang Tingjian happily reported it with poems.
"Jia Tianxi, Hui Baoxun, and many of his begging poems responded with poems about soldiers guarding the forest, painting halberds, swallows sleeping in the bed, and fragrant crosses."
A dangerous mind travels thousands of miles, and he is eager to give birth to five soldiers. A few incense sticks are hidden, and the sky above the spiritual platform is clear.
The day-eating birds peek at the platform, feasting and sitting on the building as the sun passes. The vulgar atmosphere comes for no reason, and the smoke and rain act as public guards.
Stone honey turns into snail shell, and hawthorn boils into water and sinks. The solitary smoke rises from Boshan, which is a serious concern.
The scent of fragrance is over, and I am writing calligraphy and painting. Who can enter my room and get rid of your worldly weapons?
Jia Houhuai had six Taoists and twelve halberds in his family. I am naturally gifted in literary matters, just like I am addicted to fragrances.
The forest flowers are flying in pieces, and the fragrance returns to the mud swallows. Closure and spring breeze, I also look for the biography of Weizong.
Gongxu went to Caiping Palace and had fun in a small bed. The fragrance and light should be smelled, and the color should not be stained.
The bed curtains are fragrant at night, and the clothes are covered with smoke in the evening. The tile ditch is buzzing with snow, and the sleeping ducks are shining with bright lanterns.
The pheasant's tail reflects the sound of the whip, and the golden stove blows too clear. If you are close to the class, you will smell the fragrance early, and you will learn well when you return.
The clothes are beautiful and dandy, waiting for them to be fragrant. When you think about true wealth and honor, you will infuse yourself with the fragrance of knowledge.
Jia Tianxi and his love and fragrance have always been famous in the world because of Huang Tingjian.
2
If the literati of the Song Dynasty had to choose someone to be a friend, Huang Tingjian was the best. Because he is the cutest and not paranoid.
Huang Tingjian, whose courtesy name was Lu Zhi, also known as Valley Taoist and late as Fu Weng, was born in Fenning, Hongzhou, Jiangxi, in the fifth year of Qingli reign (1045). Forty-eight Jinshi came out of the door.
Huang Tingjian was a child prodigy. He could recite the Five Classics at the age of five and compose poetry at the age of seven. He became a Jinshi at the age of 22 and became a county captain.
Huang Tingjian must not be good at being an official, because he is too talented, too straight-minded, and not compliant with others. His two demotions were just excuses. He also had good relations with Dongpo, and was tortured by party struggles.
Huang Tingjian didn't care about being demoted. He was more obsessed with poetry, books and incense, which had little to do with where he was. In terms of poetry, he founded the Jiangxi Poetry School and became the sect of the Jiangxi Poetry School.
In terms of calligraphy, his running, cursive and regular scripts are all extremely exquisite and have outstanding style. Together with Su Shi, Mi Fu and Cai Xiang, he is known as one of the four calligraphy masters of the Song Dynasty. In terms of achievements, Huang Tingjian's calligraphy is better than poetry, and poetry is better than articles.
As for incense, he is unrivaled in the world.
Huang Tingjian’s life was marked by the death of his wife twice and being homeless. It was actually very difficult, but he always managed to smile. It is unknown since when he became a companion of incense.
But judging from the poetry, no matter what kind of miserable wind and rain, the fragrance still accompanies him.
"Inscription from the back of the scroll": In November of the second year of Chongning, Yu was relegated to Yizhou for half a year. The lawsuit claimed that Yu should not live in Guancheng, so Yue Jiaxu was taken to sleep in the south of the city.
The "Xiaojizhai" that I live in has no shelter despite the rain and wind, and the noise from the market makes people think it is unbearable to worry about. If the cottage in the field is like this, it is unbearable to worry about evil.
Having set up a couch to burn incense and sit in direct contact with the cow slaughtering machine in the west, it is a senior book. This volume can be purchased with a chicken quill pen for three coins.
Sixty-year-old Huang Tingjian was demoted again. He packed his clothes and walked into the noisy market in the south of Yizhou City. Facing the dilapidated thatched hut and the smelly butchered beef shop next door, he gave him his last residence in his later years. He named it "Xuanjizhai", then set up a couch, burned incense leisurely, and wrote the last movement of his life.
Yes, it is music.
The barrier created by the incense separated him from the filthy world. The incense gave him the ability to travel through time and space. He could withdraw from reality at any time and gain perfection in the spiritual world - Lingtai Zhankong bright.
It is the incense that comforts him, and it is also the incense that protects him.
So only he could write "The Ten Virtues of Fragrance":
Be grateful to ghosts and gods, and purify the mind and body.
It can remove impurities and induce sleep.
Make friends in silence and take a break in the world.
Never get tired of more, and be satisfied with less.
It has been stored for a long time and can be used without any trouble.
3
In the Song Dynasty, because there was a person who understood fragrance so well, the literati loved fragrance and loved it.
When Su Dongpo first saw Huang Tingjian's poetry, he knew that he was a great person and praised his poems for their extraordinary excellence.
At that time, Su Dongpo was already famous all over the world, and Huang Tingjian was just beginning to make his mark. Su admired Huang very much. The two often exchanged poems and sang together, and they became close friends throughout their lives.
The two met for the first time in the eighth year of Yuanfeng (1085). Huang Tingjian was called to Beijing as secretary and provincial secretary. Huang Tingjian was forty-one and Su Dongpo was fifty.
In the second year, Huang Tingjian wrote "Two poems for those who benefit from the incense in the tent in Jiangnan" and presented it to Su Shi:
The hundred-refined incense snail sank into the water, and the precious smoke came out of the south of the Yangtze River.
A few yellow clouds circle around, and I think deeply about the same meditation.
The conch shell cuts off Kunlun's ears, and the fragrant wood scraps partridge spots.
When the rain comes, the doves sing forever, and when the curtains fall, the ducks sleep in spring.
Details the materials, utensils and uses of the incense in the tent. The wonderful thing is that it is a gift. In fact, it is deeply metaphorical.
Su Dongpo harmonized it with "Two Poems of Burning Incense with Huang and Lu Zhi":
The four-line verse of burning incense spreads all over the southeast with the wind.
It is not just what you hear and think about, but you should first look at it through your nose.
Thousands of small characters appear in the open window, but the eyes are only dazzled by colorful spots.
A stick of smoke quells the coldness of the fire, and I am still old and at ease.
A gift from a play, a natural and serious answer, "A stick of smoke quenches the coldness of the fire, half a lifetime of old age and peace of mind" expresses Dongpo's understanding of Huang Tingjian's metaphor and his helplessness towards the current officialdom and political situation. It is not as good as "Deep Zen is the same as meditation."
Huang Tingjian responded with two poems from "Fu Da Zizhan":
It is not enough to drink wine, but to be guided when discussing poetry.
The smiles from the sky fill my sleeves with fragrance, and I am happy that my father-in-law is visiting the DPRK.
The warm breeze welcomes the swallows, and the light rain moistens the flowers.
Being proud in a stick of smoke, taking a break in the dust.
These two poems are a comfort to Dongpo, hoping that he can be "satisfied in the smoke" and "take a break in the dust".
In the fourth year of Yuanyou (1089), Su Dongpo left Beijing and went to Hangzhou to take up a post due to political disagreements with Sima Guang. He later became Wen Sixiang. The name Wensi was taken from Huang Tingjian's poem "Reply to Hexiang".
Hong Cu was Huang Tingjian’s nephew, a native of Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, and Huang Tingjian gave him the nickname Jufu.
Diligent and studious, he became a Jinshi at the age of 29 and became a professor in Jinzhou Prefecture. His official career was bumpy, and he was eventually exiled to Salman Island and died.
Hong Cu’s poetry and essays were taught by his uncle Huang Tingjian, and he was a representative of the Jiangxi Poetry School. However, his achievements were not high. It was "Xiangpu" that made him immortal.
Hong Cu's "Xiang Pu" is the earliest and relatively complete fragrant medicine manual of the Northern Song Dynasty.
In it, there is a comprehensive collection of historical materials, methods of using incense, and various incense formulas in the past dynasties; and the first classification model of incense matters is: the product of incense, the difference of incense, and the fragrance. The four major categories of things, methods of incense, etc. were followed by subsequent incense manuals.
Before Hong Cu, there was the "Xiangpu" written by Shen Li (1007-1078) of the Northern Song Dynasty, which was the first to write the incense manual. Unfortunately, it was lost long ago.
Hong Cu's "Xiangpu" ranked first.
Hong Chu did not have any deep involvement with incense in his early life, so why did he write "Incense Book"?
Hong Chu's parents died young, and the upbringing of the four brothers was done by his grandmother, Huang Tingjian's aunt, and Hong Chu's mother was also Huang Tingjian's sister. Huang Tingjian took great care of the four nephews of the Hong family.
Huang Tingjian paid special attention to Hong Cu in particular. Until Huang Tingjian was demoted to Yizhou in his later years, he still guided Hong Cu in writing poems and compositions in his letters.
The person who had the greatest influence and encouragement on Hong Cu was Huang Tingjian.
Without Huang Tingjian, there would be no "Xiang Pu" by Hong Cu.
After Hongcu, Zeng Zhen's "Xiangpu", Chen Jing's "Chenshi Xiangpu", "Xinzhuan Xiangpu", and Zhou Jiaxou's "Xiang Cheng" were launched.
Huang Tingjian’s political career is a history of suppressed career. But he is like a wisp of green fragrance, which has been lingering since the Northern Song Dynasty.
His person, his poems, and his calligraphy all form a perfect blend, capturing the charm of wealth, elegance, tranquility, and loneliness.