The Censer

Text by Guo Dan Translation by Shirley Wang Picture by Dongfang IC

The Censer

Text by Guo Dan Translation by Shirley Wang Picture by Dongfang IC

Pottery censer made in the Western Han Dynasty, unearthed from Guangzhou in 1956.西漢陶熏爐，1956年廣州橫枝崗出土，廣州博物館收藏。

At the beginning of the year, I bought a censer to warm my feet.

When it comes to the censer, people immediately think of hand-warmers used by concubines in costume drama. The hand-warmers are small charcoal stoves. Like a refrigerator or air-conditioner, a censer is a necessity in rich families' households where underfloor heating is not installed. A censing basket, equipped to cover a censer, has been used since the Han dynasty. At first, censers were usually made of porcelain. The halls, studies and residences of the Forbidden City were all equipped with big censers of three to four Chi (three Chi equals to one metre) in height. The censers are made of cloisonné and bronze, exquisitely gilded and carved, representing the nobleness and luxuriousness of the imperial family.

Kallen Guo

Senior filmmaker, socialite and bestselling author, authored Don't Fall in Love with Zurich, the winner of The Best Foreign Language Novel.

郭丹

資深影視人、名媛、暢銷書作家。代表作包括最佳外語小說獎獲得作品《別愛蘇黎世》等。

For warming oneself or one's clothes, a censing basket is sparsely weaved by bamboo strips and decorated with patterns in order to have good heat radiation. They are different from a bamboo basket and bamboo box which are very solid. The style of the censing basket varies from square to round due to different uses. In hotels where there are lots of quilts needed to be warmed, the basket is as big as a table, covering a big pot with charcoal. At home, a smaller one is preferred, particularly in winter when the whole family can sit around and warm their hands under a thin quilt which covers the censer. I think this is the origin of kotatsu (foot-warmer) in Japan.

In The Golden Lotus, a censer for incense burning is often more elaborate. In The Story of the Stone, Chapter 51:

The two girls removed their hair ornaments and changed into their night-clothes. Skybright showed no disposition, after changing, to remove herself from the clothes-warmer over which she was crouched.

The aforementioned censing basket that can be crouched over is often square and made of wood or thick bamboo sticks. It is also called a firebox in ancient classics. Due to her delicate body, Skybright is easy to get cold in winter, therefore, she sleeps next to the censer which is closest to Bao-yu. The love of boy and girl is as warm as the incense in the censer. Bai Juyi, a poet of the Tang dynasty, wrote in his Palace Poem: The beauty hasn't got old but won't be favoured any more. She leans on the censer until dawn. Cao Tingdong of the Qing dynasty thought that censing baskets could be used only to burn incense but not quilts. If so, it would cause too much internal heat. His opinion is acceptable. In the early spring, with a censer beside me, I can warm myself comfortably. Wouldn't that be wonderful? Unluckily, my cat hasn't been used to it. Otherwise, to lie in quilt with a censer inside and a cat beside would be a big pleasure.

熏籠暖

年初買了個烤腳的爐子，這會兒才用。

一說起熏爐，大家就想到古裝劇里小主和娘娘們拿的手爐。其實那是小型的炭爐，在地龍不普及的建筑里，熏籠是大戶人家必備，如同冰箱和空調。

熏籠是與熏爐配套使用的籠子，自兩漢以來一直流行。較早的熏籠均為陶瓷燒制，明清時代進入了一個非常繁榮的時期。故宮內大殿書房內寢皆置高達三四尺的巨大熏爐，多為掐絲琺瑯等景泰藍的精品，也有鑄銅鎏金，鏨刻精美的極品，彰顯豪華高貴的皇室氣派。

因為是用于取暖和烘烤衣服，所以竹篾條在編織時，當然不像竹簍竹箱那么板實，而是稀疏有孔洞，多以花紋飾之，這樣便于熱力的發散。熏籠的式樣或方或圓或大或小，皆因其用途不同來決定。在大旅店要烘烤的被子多，往往熏籠大如方桌，罩在一個大炭盆上；而家庭所用，形制就要小一些，特別在冬天，一家人圍著熏籠而坐，熏籠上罩上一床薄被子，把雙手放在被子下取暖，也許，這正是日本的被爐的靈感來源。

《金瓶梅》中專用于熏香的熏籠，在制作上往往更為精致一些。《紅樓夢》第51回：“晴雯麝月皆卸罷殘妝，脫換過裙襖，晴雯只在熏籠上圍坐”—— 這個可以坐人的熏籠，一般用較粗的竹竿或木料做成，形制多為方形，一些典籍上稱之為火箱。晴雯因為身體纖弱格外怕冷，一到冬天她就睡在薰籠處，離寶玉最近，少男少女的愛慕之情如熏爐里的更香一樣，溫暖而曖昧。

唐代的白居易在《宮詞》一詩中寫道：紅顏未老恩先斷，斜倚熏籠坐到明。清人曹庭棟認為，熏籠只可熏香，若以暖被火氣太甚，亦有一定的道理。

冬末春早的日子里，不用暖氣又冷，有這么個熏籠在床邊，覺得很暖，睡衣扔上去，烤得香香松松暖暖，半夜批衣亦不覺濕冷之氣，豈不快哉？

可惜小貓還沒適應，否則躺臥在里面，錦罽暖親貓，才是人間樂事。