{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Dataset",
  "@id": "https://data.incenseherbs.com/datasets/techniques.json",
  "name": "LanDeng Incense Technique Database",
  "description": "Machine-readable definitions of Chinese botanical incense techniques — heating, pressing, blending, appreciation, and carrying methods. Extracted from the LanDeng (澜灯) incense encyclopedia; every fact is traceable to a source page, and unverified facts are marked unverified.",
  "url": "https://data.incenseherbs.com/datasets/techniques.json",
  "publisher": {
    "@id": "https://incenseherbs.com/#organization"
  },
  "dateModified": "2026-09-20",
  "inLanguage": [
    "en",
    "zh"
  ],
  "isAccessibleForFree": true,
  "distribution": {
    "@type": "DataDownload",
    "encodingFormat": "application/json",
    "contentUrl": "https://data.incenseherbs.com/datasets/techniques.json"
  },
  "mainEntity": [
    {
      "@type": "DefinedTerm",
      "termCode": "indirect-fire",
      "name": "Indirect-Fire Incense",
      "alternateName": [
        "隔火焚香",
        "gé huǒ fén xiāng"
      ],
      "description": "隔火焚香 (gé huǒ fén xiāng, \"incense across fire\") — the classical method of heating incense without burning it: a hot charcoal buried in ash, with a thin plate (silver leaf or mica) on top carrying the material, which warms but does not combust.",
      "additionalProperty": [
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Type",
          "value": "heating technique (indirect-fire; warm, not burn)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Period",
          "value": "Song dynasty (classical); precursor of Japanese kōdō"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Materials",
          "value": "agarwood/sandalwood chips, resin, powder"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Equipment",
          "value": "censer (香炉), ash (香灰), charcoal (香炭), silver leaf (银叶) / mica (云母) plate, chopsticks (香箸)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Smoke level",
          "value": "minimal / near-zero (lowest-particulate method in the tradition)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Related",
          "value": "kōdō (香道), electric incense heater (modern equivalent)"
        }
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "type": "traditional",
          "title": "隔火焚香 (Indirect-Fire Incense): Scent, No Smoke",
          "url": "https://incenseherbs.com/blog/gehuo-fenxiang-setup/",
          "accessed": "2026-09-20"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "@type": "DefinedTerm",
      "termCode": "seal-incense",
      "name": "Seal Incense",
      "alternateName": [
        "篆香",
        "打香篆",
        "打香印",
        "zhuàn xiāng"
      ],
      "description": "香篆 (xiāng zhuàn, also 打香篆 / 打香印 \"stamping incense\") — the practice of pressing incense powder into a carved pattern with a metal mold and lighting one end so the pattern burns in sequence, serving visual beauty and timekeeping.",
      "additionalProperty": [
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Type",
          "value": "powder-pressing technique; also a timekeeping practice"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Period",
          "value": "classical (the \"incense clock\" before mechanical clocks)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Materials",
          "value": "incense powder"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Equipment",
          "value": "censer with ash, metal mold (香篆模 / 香印)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Smoke level",
          "value": "moderate (powder lit along the pattern)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Related",
          "value": "timekeeping, meditation, visual ritual"
        }
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "type": "traditional",
          "title": "香篆 (Seal Incense): Powder Pressed Into Patterns",
          "url": "https://incenseherbs.com/blog/incense-seal-zhuanxiang/",
          "accessed": "2026-09-20"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "@type": "DefinedTerm",
      "termCode": "hexiang-blending",
      "name": "合香 Blending",
      "alternateName": [
        "合香",
        "hé xiāng"
      ],
      "description": "合香 (hé xiāng, \"compound incense\") — the classical practice of composing a blend of multiple ingredients on the 君臣佐使 (chief–minister–assistant–guide) principle, the same structural logic as a Chinese herbal formula.",
      "additionalProperty": [
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Type",
          "value": "compound-blending technique (formula art, not single-note)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Period",
          "value": "classical (Song–Ming manuals: 香谱, 香乘)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Materials",
          "value": "woods, resins, spices, herbs/roots, florals/fruits, binders (honey, makko, musk)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Equipment",
          "value": "scale (weighing), grinding, steaming, aging vessels"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Smoke level",
          "value": "varies by formed shape (stick, pill, powder)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Related",
          "value": "君臣佐使 (chief–minister–assistant–guide), 香方 recipes"
        }
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "type": "traditional",
          "title": "The 合香 Blending System: Composed Like a Formula",
          "url": "https://incenseherbs.com/blog/hexiang-blending-system/",
          "accessed": "2026-09-20"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "@type": "DefinedTerm",
      "termCode": "incense-appreciation",
      "name": "Incense Appreciation",
      "alternateName": [
        "品香",
        "pǐnxiāng"
      ],
      "description": "品香 (pǐnxiāng) — incense appreciation; attending to a fragrant wood (chiefly agarwood) with the focused, sustained attention given to music, codified in Japanese kōdō as \"listening\" (聞香, monkō) to fragrance.",
      "additionalProperty": [
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Type",
          "value": "appreciation technique (\"listening\" to fragrance)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Period",
          "value": "codified in kōdō (Muromachi, c. 1336–1573); Chinese origin in Song 隔火焚香"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Materials",
          "value": "agarwood (jinkō 沈香) chiefly; sandalwood (白檀) secondary"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Equipment",
          "value": "kōdō tools (香道具): ash, charcoal, mica plate, chopsticks, ash press"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Smoke level",
          "value": "near-zero (near-flameless warming)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Related",
          "value": "kōdō (香道), rikkoku gomi (六国五味), monkō (聞香)"
        }
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "type": "traditional",
          "title": "Japanese Incense & Kōdō (香道): The Art From China",
          "url": "https://incenseherbs.com/blog/japanese-incense-kodo/",
          "accessed": "2026-09-20"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "@type": "DefinedTerm",
      "termCode": "incense-ceremony",
      "name": "Incense Ceremony",
      "alternateName": [
        "香道",
        "xiāngdào"
      ],
      "description": "香道 (xiāngdào, \"the Way of Fragrance\") — the ceremonial appreciation of incense as a cultivated art, counted among the refined pastimes (四般闲事) and formalized in Japan as kōdō alongside the tea ceremony and flower arranging.",
      "additionalProperty": [
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Type",
          "value": "ceremonial art / practice (not a household habit)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Period",
          "value": "codified in kōdō (Muromachi); Chinese origin"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Materials",
          "value": "agarwood (jinkō 沈香)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Equipment",
          "value": "kōdō tools (香道具): ash, charcoal, mica plate, ash press, chopsticks"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Smoke level",
          "value": "near-zero (aesthetic of restraint)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Related",
          "value": "品香 (incense appreciation), kumikō (組香), genjikō (源氏香)"
        }
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "type": "traditional",
          "title": "Japanese Incense & Kōdō (香道): The Art From China",
          "url": "https://incenseherbs.com/blog/japanese-incense-kodo/",
          "accessed": "2026-09-20"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "@type": "DefinedTerm",
      "termCode": "pill-forming",
      "name": "Pill Forming",
      "alternateName": [
        "香丸",
        "xiāngwán"
      ],
      "description": "香丸 (xiāngwán) — the classical 合香 delivery technique of binding a compound blend with honey, rolling it into pellets, and (in some recipes) coating the outside and air-drying before burning.",
      "additionalProperty": [
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Type",
          "value": "forming technique (knead, roll into pellets)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Period",
          "value": "classical (合香 pellet form, e.g. 二苏旧局)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Materials",
          "value": "compound blend bound with honey; optional coat (e.g. jasmine)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Equipment",
          "value": "hand rolling; air-drying (unverified detail: no dedicated tool named)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Smoke level",
          "value": "unverified (burned as a pellet)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Related",
          "value": "合香 (hexiang-blending), 二苏旧局 recipe"
        }
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "type": "traditional",
          "title": "The 合香 Blending System: Composed Like a Formula",
          "url": "https://incenseherbs.com/blog/hexiang-blending-system/",
          "accessed": "2026-09-20"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "@type": "DefinedTerm",
      "termCode": "sachet",
      "name": "Scented Sachet",
      "alternateName": [
        "香囊",
        "xiāngnáng"
      ],
      "description": "香囊 (xiāngnáng) — a small cloth pouch of fragrant herbs worn or hung for their scent; a carrying/wearing tradition rather than a burned one, in which aromatic roots and leaves release fragrance by proximity.",
      "additionalProperty": [
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Type",
          "value": "carrying / wearing scent technique (no burning)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Period",
          "value": "classical (materia-medica / 香囊 tradition)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Materials",
          "value": "aromatic roots and leaves (当归 angelica, 松针 pine needles, 青蒿 sweet wormwood, 细辛 asarum)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Equipment",
          "value": "cloth sachet"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Smoke level",
          "value": "none (not burned)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Related",
          "value": "佩 (wearing), materia medica"
        }
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "type": "botanical",
          "title": "Angelica (当归) — the Sachet Root",
          "url": "https://incenseherbs.com/ingredients/angelica-sinensis/",
          "accessed": "2026-09-20"
        },
        {
          "type": "botanical",
          "title": "Pine Needles (松针) — Green Conifer Note",
          "url": "https://incenseherbs.com/ingredients/pine-needles/",
          "accessed": "2026-09-20"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "@type": "DefinedTerm",
      "termCode": "fumigation",
      "name": "Fumigation",
      "alternateName": [
        "熏香",
        "xūnxiāng"
      ],
      "description": "熏香 (xūnxiāng) — incense that is burned / fumigated, the basic combustion practice of burning aromatic material to scent a space.",
      "additionalProperty": [
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Type",
          "value": "burning / fumigation technique"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Period",
          "value": "classical (widespread)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Materials",
          "value": "incense material (burned)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Equipment",
          "value": "burner / censer (香炉)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Smoke level",
          "value": "present (combustion)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Related",
          "value": "花熏香 (flower-scenting), ritual offering (焚香)"
        }
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "type": "traditional",
          "title": "Daphne (瑞香) — the Winter Flower",
          "url": "https://incenseherbs.com/ingredients/daphne/",
          "accessed": "2026-09-20"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "@type": "DefinedTerm",
      "termCode": "flower-scenting",
      "name": "Flower-Scenting",
      "alternateName": [
        "花熏香",
        "huā xūn xiāng"
      ],
      "description": "花熏香 (huā xūn xiāng) — the flower-steaming / flower-scenting technique recorded in the Ming-dynasty 香乘, by which a blossom (e.g. 瑞香 Daphne) scents a material rather than being burned as incense in its own right.",
      "additionalProperty": [
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Type",
          "value": "flower-steaming / scenting technique"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Period",
          "value": "Ming dynasty (recorded in 香乘 / Xiang Cheng)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Materials",
          "value": "flowers (e.g. 瑞香 Daphne odora)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Equipment",
          "value": "steaming apparatus (unverified detail: process named, not tooled)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Smoke level",
          "value": "n/a (scenting, not burning)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Related",
          "value": "香乘 (Xiang Cheng), 熏香 (fumigation)"
        }
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "type": "traditional",
          "title": "Daphne (瑞香) — the Winter Flower",
          "url": "https://incenseherbs.com/ingredients/daphne/",
          "accessed": "2026-09-20"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "@type": "DefinedTerm",
      "termCode": "no-flame-heating",
      "name": "No-Flame Heating",
      "alternateName": [
        "空熏",
        "kōngxūn"
      ],
      "description": "空熏 (kōngxūn) — no-flame heating: releasing aroma below combustion temperature, achieved today with an electric incense heater, the accessible modern equivalent of 隔火焚香.",
      "additionalProperty": [
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Type",
          "value": "heating technique (no flame)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Period",
          "value": "unverified (modern electric heater; classical principle of 隔火焚香)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Materials",
          "value": "resin, wood chips, powder"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Equipment",
          "value": "electric incense heater (modern equivalent of 隔火焚香)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Smoke level",
          "value": "minimal (below combustion)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Related",
          "value": "隔火焚香 (indirect-fire), electric heater"
        }
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "type": "traditional",
          "title": "隔火焚香 (Indirect-Fire Incense): Scent, No Smoke",
          "url": "https://incenseherbs.com/blog/gehuo-fenxiang-setup/",
          "accessed": "2026-09-20"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "@type": "DefinedTerm",
      "termCode": "single-material",
      "name": "Single-Material Appreciation",
      "alternateName": [
        "单方",
        "dān fāng"
      ],
      "description": "单方 (dān fāng, \"single formula\") — appreciating a single material alone (a piece of agarwood, a stick of pure sandalwood); the art lies in the material's own quality and grading, via heating technique.",
      "additionalProperty": [
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Type",
          "value": "single-material appreciation (vs. compound 复方)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Period",
          "value": "classical"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Materials",
          "value": "a single material (agarwood or sandalwood)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Equipment",
          "value": "heating (隔火焚香) for appreciation and grading"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Smoke level",
          "value": "varies by heating method"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Related",
          "value": "复方 (compound), 隔火焚香 (indirect-fire), grading"
        }
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "type": "traditional",
          "title": "The 合香 Blending System: Composed Like a Formula",
          "url": "https://incenseherbs.com/blog/hexiang-blending-system/",
          "accessed": "2026-09-20"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "@type": "DefinedTerm",
      "termCode": "compound-formula",
      "name": "Compound Formula",
      "alternateName": [
        "复方",
        "fù fāng"
      ],
      "description": "复方 (fù fāng, \"compound formula\") — 合香 proper: multiple materials composed into a structured blend on the 君臣佐使 principle.",
      "additionalProperty": [
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Type",
          "value": "compound-blending approach (vs. single-material 单方)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Period",
          "value": "classical"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Materials",
          "value": "multiple materials (woods, resins, spices, herbs)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Equipment",
          "value": "blending / forming (see 合香)"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Smoke level",
          "value": "varies by formed shape"
        },
        {
          "@type": "PropertyValue",
          "name": "Related",
          "value": "合香 (hexiang-blending), 单方 (single-material), 君臣佐使"
        }
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "type": "traditional",
          "title": "The 合香 Blending System: Composed Like a Formula",
          "url": "https://incenseherbs.com/blog/hexiang-blending-system/",
          "accessed": "2026-09-20"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}