Characterization of the incense sacrificed to the sarira of Sakyamuni from Famen Royal Temple during the ninth century in China

Incense has played a critical role in daily life, medication, rituals, and religions since antiquity. With the opening up of the Silk Road, incense became one of precious trade products between China and other civilizations. Although many historical literatures record the introduction and use of exotic incense in China, archaeological evidence has been rarely found, and little is known about their composition, origin, and function. Famen Royal Temple, renowned for storing the sacred finger bone sarira of Sakyamuni Buddha, was venerated by some emperors during the Tang dynasty (618 to 907 CE), and a lot of incense had been sacrificed during the luxurious royal greeting ceremonies for Buddha’s sarira according to historic records. In this study, we present the results of chemical analyses on three types of incense discovered in the underground palace of Famen Temple. Elemi resin and highly scented agarwood were identified in two sarira containers. In particular, elemi was first reported in Buddhist activities and in ancient China. The fragrant powder kept in a small silver container was a mixture of agarwood and frankincense, providing the earliest direct evidence of making Hexiang (blending of aromatics) in ancient China, also reflecting the contemporary knowledge of exotic incense. Our findings offer a glimpse into incense offerings in royal rituals associated with sarira worship during the ninth century and reflect the impact of the incense trade along the Silk Road in historical China.