- Gordon Dumoulin
"one tael of agarwood equals to a tael of gold"
"๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ข๐ฆ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข๐จ๐ข๐ณ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ข๐ญ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ข ๐ต๐ข๐ฆ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐จ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฅ"
'tael' ไธค is an old Chinese weight measure with various weights in different regions in ancient times,
standardized to 50 grams in 1959.
๐๐ด๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ is the highly resinous wood of Aquilaria sinensis, Aquilaria agallocha or other related Aquilaria species, grown in China and other Asian countries. Known in China as ๆฒ้ฆ (Chรฉn Xiฤng), agarwood is not simply a timber but naturally forms when the trees are โinfectedโ with a typical parasitic mold called Menanotus flavolives. The tree then produces a resin impregnating inside the heartwood to protect itself from the mold, becoming agarwood. Actually it is 'rotten or fermented wood'.
Agarwood has been used in culture, art, religion and medicine since ancient times in China. As a highly prized value, rich nobles and Buddhists used agarwood as incense, seasoning wine or directly carved it as decorations. Along with sandalwood, ambergris and musk (Chen Tan Long She), it is considered the 4 most precious and rare spices and incenses.

Illustration from Nanjing Caomu Zhuang ใๅๆน่ๆจ็ถใ,
showing the different parts of the Aquilaria plant that agarwood comes from.1
Lesser known is the historical use of agarwood as precious traditional Chinese medicine as powder or herbal tea with the efficacy of promoting qi circulation and relieving pain, controlling nausea and vomiting, stimulating inspiration and relieving asthma.
้ฆๅๅพท โFragrant Ten Virtuesโ is probably the most renowned Chinese poem attributing to agarwood by ้ปๅบญๅ Huang Tingjian (1045โ1105), a famous Chinese poet, calligrapher and painter during the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127).

้ปๅบญๅ Huang Tingjian (1045โ1105)2
The poem expresses the benefits of incense in a straightforward and elegant manner, a poem seemingly later popularized by Japanese Zen Buddhist monk and poet Ikkyu Sojun (1394-1481) in Japan.
1. ๆๆ ผ้ฌผ็ฅ
Incense burning sharpens the senses and opens the mind to divinity.
2. ๆธ ๆทจๅฟ่บซ
Incense burning cleans the mind.
3. ่ฝ้คๆฑ็ฉข
Incense burning divests the mind of worldly impurities.
4. ่ฝ่ฆบ็ก็
Incense burning wakes up the mind.
5. ้ไธญๆๅ
Incense burning brings a sense of peace and tranquility.
6. ๅกต่ฃๅธ้
Incense burning soothes the mind when it is busy.
7. ๅค่ไธๅญ
One cannot burn too much incense.
8. ๅฏก่็บ่ถณ
A little incense is enough.
9. ไน ่ตไธๆฝ
Time has nothing to do with the efficacy of incense.
10. ๅธธ็จ็ก้
Habitual use of incense causes no harm.
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#china #chineseculture #chinesehistory #chinesesociety #traditionalchinesemedicine #tcm
Sources
Short film : chinainsider IG
Picture 1 : http://www.chineseculturalstudiescenter.org/huifuping-interview-1.html
Picture 2 : http://www.silkqin.com/09hist/other/huangtingjian.htm