Why burn incense and paper in the temple?

Burning incense is an important event in China's folk life, and it has three characteristics that are extremely noticeable. First of all, it is universal. Han people burn incense, so do most ethnic minorities. From south to north, from east to west, it is almost everywhere. Second, it has a long history. The existing documents "The Book of Songs" and "Shangshu" are all recorded, and their origins are definitely earlier than the era of poetry and calligraphy, that is, the Western Zhou Dynasty. Third, it is universal, and almost everything should be burned: to ancestors, to gods of heaven and earth, to animals, to mountains, rivers, trees and stones; Burning in the temple, burning in the toilet; Burn on holidays, usually burn; As a feeling of life, it is called burning incense to the moon, flowers and beauty, which rhymes quietly and beautifully. As a kind of family status, the so-called place where people drown their cigarettes, feast guests and fight for incense to show luxury; Burn incense when you are pious, burn incense to play the piano, burn incense to read; Burn it when it is cold, ward off evil spirits, remove filth and smell; If there is something to burn, there is nothing to burn. Burning itself is a thing, and it is addictive. It is called "incense addiction", just like modern people smoking and drinking tea.

Interestingly, burning incense is not only in China, but also in many nationalities and countries in the world. The English writing of incense and incense can be found in the Concise Encyclopedia of Britain (Volume VIII, page 543), which contains the following contents: The ancient Egyptians introduced spice trees from Arabia and the coastal areas of Somalia, and regarded incense as an important item in religious ceremonies. Babylonians often burned incense during prayer and divination. Incense was introduced before the Israelites were exiled to Babylon (586-538 BC). By the 5th century BC, some altars were used to burn incense. Hinduism, especially Shiva, should burn incense in formal worship and family worship; Buddhism burns incense in festival worship, adult worship and daily worship. Japanese Shintoism also burned. From the 8th century BC, the Greeks burned wood and resin to worship gods and drive away demons. The Romans first burned incense wood, and later introduced incense. Incense burning is becoming more and more important in public and private sacrifices and worship of the emperor.

The history of burning incense in China can be roughly divided into three periods. Taking Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty as the boundary, the first period came first, which can be called the initial period. During this period, the following kinds of incense were burned:

Wood, jade, carcass, Artemisia, millet, etc.

Burning incense has a unique function and is used for sacrifice. Burning incense is controlled by the state and carried out by priests.

People in the Zhou Dynasty held cigarettes to worship heaven, which was called "blessing" or "blessing sacrifice". "Poetry Zhou Song Wei Qing": "Wei Qing captures Xi, which is the classic of Zhao Qi, the king of literature." Note: "King Wen was ordered to start offering sacrifices to heaven." In other words, this ritual system began in Zhou Wenwang.

The specific method of sacrifice is: put sacrifices and jade on firewood, and burn firewood to raise smoke, which means to tell heaven. "Li Zhou Guan Chun Da Bo": "Sacrifice the Heaven Emperor with a coffin, sacrifice the sun, the moon and the stars with real wood, and sacrifice the life of the middle school secretary with a sigh. Teacher Feng and Teacher Yu. " Note: "The words of cigarettes." "The three sacrifices are all piled with firewood, or there are jade, which burns and smokes, and is reported to Yang." Sparse: "incense sacrifice." (The same as the annotations of Thirteen Classics, the same below. )

It can be seen that the so-called sacrificial ceremony, one is to light the smoke, and the other is that the smoke is the aroma. Sacrifice a cigarette to the gods, then this is the so-called "burning incense" in later generations.

This issue of incense has the following characteristics: first, incense is a primitive, unprocessed natural thing, not a "spice" in the formal sense of later generations (processed from resin); Second, the fire rises naturally, and there is no need for later "incense burners" and other utensils; Third, the sacrifice is dedicated, and the sacrifice is controlled by the state, that is, burning incense has not yet become a kind of life and a kind of folk. In the Ming Dynasty, Zhou Jia's "Fragrant City" quoted Ding Wei's "Tianxiang Biography" in the Song Dynasty, saying: "Fragrance has been used for a long time. So worshipping the gods can achieve purity. After three generations of worship, Xin's recommendation was the first to bear the brunt, but the drowning person didn't smell it. It is very heavy and rough. "

The second period, from Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to the Three Kingdoms period, can be called the lead-in period. It is of special significance for Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to develop incense in China.