Orchidgrass
兰草 · lán cǎo
Entry text pending verification.
Placeholder · 待核验
The Living Archive
Chinese incense, kept as a living archive
An open, growing reference on materials, classical formulas, objects and history. Every entry is labelled by source status — what is historical record, what is modern revival, and what is still pending.
Published alongside the QINGYUN B2B showroom · visit the wholesale site →
Archive Index
Five content types, kept apart
Materials, formulas, objects, history and brand motifs each carry their own numbering and source rules — a plant is not a brand graphic.
PL. · 香材百科
Ingredients
Botanical materials, documented one entry at a time.
5 entries · growingNo. · 传统香方Formulas
Classical recipes, transcribed and source-checked.
5 entries · source-labelledOBJ. · 香器与器物Objects
Incenseware and objects of the ritual.
4 entries · contemporaryHIS. · 香文化史History
A reading path through five chapters.
5 chaptersBM. · 品牌视觉母题Brand Motifs
Visual grammar — clearly not materials or artefacts.
1 motifIngredients · 香材百科
The herbarium of scent
Botanical materials only. Illustrations are line-art placeholders until the vector plates are established; entry text is pending verification.
Bamboo Leaf
竹叶 · zhú yè
Entry text pending verification.
Placeholder · 待核验
Osmanthus
桂花 · guì huā
Entry text pending verification.
Placeholder · 待核验
Pear Blossom
梨花 · lí huā
Entry text pending verification.
Placeholder · 待核验
Mugwort
艾草 · ài cǎo
Entry text pending verification.
Placeholder · 待核验
Awaiting next material
The herbarium grows as materials are verified — no placeholder is dressed up as research.
Traditional Formulas · 传统香方
The formula ledger
Each entry carries a source status: Source where a historical attribution is confirmed, Pending where it is still being verified.
Lady Rui's Court Incense
花蕊夫人衙香
Source · 史料 Recorded in Song manuals
Read →Song Clarity Incense
宋韵清神香
Pending · 待核验 Transcription pending
In editorial developmentOsmanthus Wellbeing Incense
馥桂安养香
Pending · 待核验 Transcription pending
In editorial developmentQuiet Joy & Rest Incense
清欢安梦香
Pending · 待核验 Transcription pending
In editorial developmentChan Ease Incense
禅悦安和香
Pending · 待核验 Transcription pending
In editorial developmentFormula attributions cite sources as each entry is completed. Only RRC is currently labelled as a sourced entry.
Craftsmanship · 制香工艺
Four plates on making
Described as the general tradition of Chinese incense-making — specific production parameters of QINGYUN products are confirmed separately. To see how these techniques are practised in the QINGYUN workshop today, visit the brand craft & process page →
Woods, resins and botanicals — selected, weighed and ground.
Modern · 通则
Formulas are compounded and bound into a workable dough.
Modern · 通则
Molding, hand carving and inlay give each piece its relief.
Modern · 通则
Slow curing fixes scent; the object is finished and recorded.
Modern · 通则
Objects & Incenseware · 香器与器物
Objects of the ritual
Contemporary objects — photographed products of the QINGYUN range, not historical artefacts.
OBJ. 037
Lotus-leaf holder
Ceramic · contemporary make
Verified · 真实产品
OBJ. IP-002
Peony fan pendant
Blended incense · carved relief
Verified · 真实产品
OBJ. 063
Seal-script burner set
Ceramic set · packaging shown
Verified · 真实产品
OBJ. AJ-055
Butterfly dream necklace
Blended incense & beads · long strand
Verified · 真实产品
History & Culture · 香文化史
Five chapters of a scent culture
A concise reading path — each chapter will expand into a fully referenced article with source citations.
Han
汉
Incense enters court ritual and scholarship; early burners take form.
Source · 史料
Tang
唐
A flourishing court culture of fragrance, connecting overland trade routes.
Source · 史料
Song
宋
Incense joins the scholar's arts — tasting, comparing, recording.
Source · 史料
Ming & Qing
明清
Formulas are codified; incenseware matures into refined genres.
Source · 史料
Today
当代
The archive's task: keep the knowledge legible for contemporary life.
Modern · 当代
Brand Motifs · 品牌视觉母题
Visual grammar, not materials
Incense Cloud
香烟云纹 · xiāng yān yún wén
A study of smoke — the visual grammar of the house. It is a brand motif, kept separate from botanical ingredients and historical artefacts so that none of them are confused with the others.
Brand motif · 品牌母题
Featured Exhibition
One story, told across both sites
The cross-site narrative sample — culture, craft, product and present-day use, each step source-labelled.
Featured Exhibition
花蕊夫人衙香 — From Court Formula to Contemporary Bead
A classical Song-dynasty “ya-xiang” formula, followed from its historical record through the craft of compounding to a real QINGYUN product worn today — without claiming the bead is a museum relic.
Source · 史料Modern · 复原Verified · 真实产品
Enter the Exhibition →Interactive Discovery · 互动探索
Three ways into the archive
Trail 01 · 待核验
Follow a scent note
From blossom to formula — trace a material into the ledger.
Trail 02 · 史料
Trace a formula
From ledger to material — follow one sourced recipe.
Trail 03 · 真实产品
Match an object
From ware to ritual — see an object in use.
Exhibition
Enter the exhibition
The full cross-site story of a court formula, told at length.