Sensual Religion - Religion and the Five Senses - Graham Harvey
2. Wafting Incense and Heavenly Foods: The Importance of Smell in Chinese Religion
Sensual Religion - Religion and the Five Senses - Graham Harvey
Shawn Arthur [+]
Wake Forest University
Shawn Arthur is an Assistant Professor in the Department of for the Study of Religions at Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC. His first book, Early Daoist Dietary Practices: Examining Ways to Health and Longevity (Lexington Books 2013), focuses on a fifth century Daoist text that contains recipes for achieving immortality. His current research focuses on contemporary popular religion in China and how lay practices and ideas can contribute to our understandings of ‘religion’ from non-official perspectives.
Description
Burning incense and cooking foods often create the special atmosphere of Chinese religious sites and festivals. Indeed, the Chinese word for “worship” includes the order to light incense to the gods. This chapter analyzes how scents can heighten and shape people’s memories and emotions, as well fostering the “hot and lively” social aspects of China’s temples and religious festivals.