Liu Chuyun: 'Incensed' with her own art

As a woman who paints, sculpts, plays guqin (古琴) and studies ancient Chinese culture, artist Liu Chuyun (刘楚筠) lives the life of an ancient Chinese intellectual amid Shanghai's frantic modern activities. She is also now one of the few people who makes herbal incenses based on TCM principals, and then burns them, gracefully using the smoke as an inspiration for her art. 

CNNGo: When was your very first encounter with incense?

The process of burning can calm you down, and gives your mind peace and space to think and cultivate.— Liu Chuyun, incense artist

It was in 1998. A really nice aroma got my attention while I was walking down the street. It was completely different from the fragrances released by the incenses we could find in the market. It was pure, solid and clean. Later I discovered it was from incenses made by some meditators.

CNNGo: What made you want to make your own incense?

As my study of Chinese culture got more in depth, I learned that incense burning was an important component of the Chinese intellectual and literary lifestyle during the dynasties, especially Song Dynasty (宋朝) when concepts of art, literature and aesthetics were in full blossom. The incenses are like the ancient literati: simple on the outside, but rich inside.

Incenses made of herbs can also be used as a TCM therapy. Incenses should be burned according to time, space, one's mood and health condition in order to achieve proper effects. So I decided to tailor them for myself, my family and friends.

CNNGo: What sort of ingredients do you use in your incenses and what sort of effects do they have?

I use mainly Chinese herbs. For example, sandalwood cures coughs, stops vomiting and adjusts chi. Angelica Dahurica releases cold and disinfects; agastache, which has a warming nature, can be used to treat stomach flu, stomachache, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

CNNGo: What's the process of incense making like? 

First step is to choose materials to combine. I need to decide what materials will dominate the aroma, what materials will help spread the fragrance and what materials will be decorative. Then the materials need to be ground. They might require traditional ways of grinding in order to preserve the essence. If the incense is to be shaped into a cone, I will mix it with honey, fruit juice and Su Ho oil. Some incenses need fermentation, so the combined materials will need a certain temperature and humidity to ferment. 

CNNGo: What kind of tools do you use in the burning ceremony?

It depends on the type of incense. Coils are simplest, and they only require a censer. However, non-combustible burning takes a lot more tools, including a burner, charcoal, and incense spoons.

CNNGo: What's your incense-burning ritual like?

Comparing Japanese kodo (香道), which strictly requires precise processing and ceremonial skills, I prefer the way of the Chinese literati of Wei Dynasty (魏代); I embrace my inner feelings instead of focusing on any guidelines. This concept is also popular in the Chinese art world right now; artists are increasingly depicting the world to express human ideas and emotions. The process of burning can calm you down and gives your mind peace and space to think and cultivate.

CNNGo: How do you use incenses in your paintings?

After I first made he xiang [合香, combined incense], I surprisingly discovered the smoke came up in air the way it is described in classic Chinese literature: with five different colors resembling clouds. I decided to use the smoke from burning incenses to create clouds in my paintings, so that my art is not only a visual experience but also an experience of one's other senses.