Hill censer

The hill censer or boshanlu (博山爐 "universal mountain censer" or boshan xianglu 博山香爐) is a type of censer, a vessel used for burning incense. It was commonly used during the Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD).[1] The censers are shaped like mountains and were used for religious rituals. The shape of the hill censer acts as a visual aid for envisioning the sacred mountains that were said to have been inhabited by Taoist immortals.[2] Hill censers were originally designed for Daoist rituals, but were later used by Chinese Buddhists.[3] The famed master craftsman, Ding Huan, is credited with creating a "nine-storied" hill censer carved with fantastic creatures that could move automatically. [4]

A Western Han inlaid bronze hill censer

Hill censers often include carvings of wilds animals and birds. Some censers depict waves at the foundation of the vessel, said to be the waves of the East China Sea.[5] A hole at the top of the censer releases the smoke of the incense.[5]

References
  1. boshan xianglu at the Encyclopædia Britannica
  2. Kristofer Schipper (2000). Stephen Little; Shawn Eichman (eds.). Taoism and the Arts of China. University of California Press. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-520-22785-9.
  3. Colin A. Ronan (20 June 1985). The Shorter Science and Civilisation in China. Cambridge University Press. p. 281. ISBN 978-0-521-31536-4.
  4. Silvio A. Bedini (1994). The Trail of Time. Cambridge University Press. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-521-37482-8.
  5. Michael Sullivan (1984). The Arts of China. University of California Press. p. 73. ISBN 978-0-520-04918-5.
  • Boshanlu- Detailed monograph with several examples
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.