heritage < at > mindful-breathing . com

EigeneBeitragsseite

the threefold heritage

Perfumery has hardly ever been acknowledged as a valuable heritage – especially the perfumery arts beyond the Western world. However, Asia’s treasury speaks for itself.

(in respect of the UNESCO criteria)

cultural heritage

  • Representing landscapes, growing areas of raw materials, trade entrepôts, as well locations of the fine use of aromatics with their distinctive infrastructure and visible achievements.

natural heritage

  • Mirroring Asia’s diverse and unique climates and natural features that led and supported the development of an abundant, unique and diverse (fragrant) flora.

cultural intangible heritage

  • Representing practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills – as well as instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces associated therewith.
  • Recognized by communities, groups, and in some cases, individuals, as part of their cultural heritage.
  • Transmitted from generation to generation.
  • Constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their environment, their interaction with nature and their history.
  • Providing with a sense of identity and continuity, thus promoting respect for cultural diversity and human creativity.

further information about the heritage

benchmarksits therapeutic valuetoday’s challenges
Keywords desribing the scopes and facets of the huge and diverse field of traditional Asian perfumeryMedical terms hinting at the therapeutic effects of aromatic substances and indicationspointers at recent developments influencing and/or resulting from perfumery practices

visual impressions

A collection of pictures will give you a better idea of the wealth and aesthetics of Asian perfumery practices.

benchmarks

Contents:
01 history
02 resources
03 feedstock
04 producing
05 products
06 using
07 utensils
08 intake
09 appreciating
10 aesthetics
11 meaning
12 profession
13 changes

01 history

HISTORY OF ASIAN PERFUMERY ARTS

  • Appreciation of the fragrant landscape presumably since the beginning of Asian civilization and throughout Asia.
  • Provable origins of a ‚handicraft‘ over 2–3,000 years ago.
  • Specialization of a perfumery art – i.e. skills of conserving and refining the aromatics as well as as appreciating them reverently – over the course of the centuries at exclusive locations.
  • Intracontinental transmission of materials, techniques and meanings via land and sea routes over the course of time – with the effect of exchange and mutual inspiration.
  • Notable entanglement with Western business activities since the 16th century.

02 resources

FAMOUS REPRESENTATIVES OF ASIA’S ENDEMIC AROMATIC RESOURCES

Agarwood – ambergris – basil – benzoin – birch – cajeput – camellia – camphor – cardamom – cassia – cedar – cinnamon – civet – cloves – conifer – coriander – cypress – elemi – eucalyptus – fenugreek – fir – frangipani – frankincense – galbanum – gallnuts – ginger – jasmine – kanuka – lemongrass – lily – litsea – magnolia – maple – musk – myrrh – neroli – nutmeg – osmanthus – palmarosa – patchouli – pepper – pine – rhododendron – rosemary – roses – saffron – sandalwood – shell hinges – spikenard – spruce – star anise – storax – tea tree – tuberose – tulsi – vetiver – yarrow – ylang-ylang.

03 feedstock

PARTS OF PLANTS THAT HOST AROMATIC MOLECULES

Balm – bark – blossom – fruit (peel) – grass – leaves – lichen – needle – resin – root – seeds – wood.

04 producing

EFFORTS TO PRODUCE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF AROMATIC GOODS

(1) RAW MATERIALS

  • growing
  • harvesting

(2) REFINED (PURE) GOODS

  • cleaning
  • washing
  • drying
  • carving
  • grinding
  • distilling
  • extracting

(3) REFINED MIXED PRODUCTS

  • blending
  • cooking
  • saturating

05 products

TYPICAL

  • the natural surrounding as such
  • aromatic wood artefacts
  • fresh (parts of) plants (flowers, herbs, and other)
  • dried (parts of) plants (flowers, herbs and other)
  • powders
  • incense cake (as balls, cookies, soft sticks)
  • incense sticks (including a wood stick)
  • pastes
  • distillates
  • oils
  • cremes

06 using

SKILLS OF MAKING AROMATICS GIVE OFF THEIR FRAGRANCE

  • diffusing
  • boiling
  • censing

07 utensils

SELECT PERFUMERY UTENSILS

(1) PRODUCING

  • cooking pots
  • still
  • productional tools

(2) STORING

  • sstoring boxes

(3) APPRECIATING

  • sprinkler
  • censer
  • incense holder
  • fine boxes
  • fine cutlery
  • rack

08 intake

WAYS OF TAKING IN THE AROMATIC MOLECULES

  • inhalation
  • skin application
  • ingestion

09 appreciating

TRADITIONAL WAYS OF APPRECIATING FRAGRANCES REVERENTLY

  • Sensory appreciation of the natural atmosphere by full awareness.
  • Garden architecture.
  • Fragrant sacrifices to divine entities.
  • Noble gesture of respect and hospitality to the community.
  • Ritual appreciation of select olfactory notes for leisure and spiritual aims.
  • Therapeutic use of aromatics.
  • Flavoring food.

10 aesthetics

EXEMPLARY IDEALS AND CRITERIA (EACH ONE DESCRIBING A SPECIFIC CULTURE).

  • Naturalness (Eastern Asia)
  • Support of ritual purity (Islamic Asia).
  • Representation of Paradise (Central Asia).
  • Supporting harmony and balance of physical energies (South Asia).
  • Accompanied by visible smoke rising to the sky, or to the Gods respectively (Eastern Asia).

11 meaning

TRADITIONAL MEANING OF FRAGRANCES

  • Representing, symbolizing and supporting divine presence and energies.
  • Source of gaining spiritual insight and refining one’s personality.
  • Signifying healthy conditions.
  • Supporting the maintenance of human health (’natural pharmacy‘).
  • Paying respect towards divine entitites as well as the community.

12 profession

PERFORMING THE PROFESSION

  • In the beginning: Everyday habit – overlap of cooking, hygienic care, and reverent devotional service.
  • Over the centuries: Hobby – especially among those populations living in the cultivation area of aromatic plants.
  • By time: Special profession – of herbalists, pharmacologists, therapists, spiritual masters, and perfumers.

13 changes

TODAY’S ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE AND THREATS

  • Integration into global markets of multinational enterprises especially since the 1990s.
  • Object of (international) patents.
  • A sizeable multi-billion dollar business.
  • Overexploitation and loss of natural resources.
  • Loss of local knowledge and traditional (sensory and production) skills.

its therapeutic value

exemplary therapeutic qualities of aromatics

Anti-allergic, antidepressant, antihypertensive, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, antiseptic, antiviral, bactericidal, disinfectant, epithelializing, facilitating concentration, fungicidal, harmonizing, immunomodulating, immunostimulating, mood-enhancing, mucolytic, neurotonic, secretolytic, sedative, spasmolytic, virucidal, vitalizing, and other.

Note: The information describes the use of natural, pure, biologically grown/produced aromatics!

general indications

Breathing, care, concentration, energy, immunity, metabolic processes, mood, psyche, skin, sleep, stress, vitality, and other.

today’s challenges

entanglement in global economic strains

  • Integration into global markets (with a volume of billions of dollar) of multinational enterprises.
  • Object of (international) private patents.
  • International industrial marketing.
  • Growing demands due to population growth and increasing consumption quantities.
  • Shift of roles – concerning Asian countries often towards the role of exporting raw materials and importing ready products.
  • Decline of earlier local professions and possibilities of livelihood.

interdependence with ecological processes

  • Overexploitation and overconsumption of natural resources.
  • Endangerment and loss of biological resources with their unique aromatic notes and character, resulting in a decline of biodiversity.
  • Mass cultivation, often including the use of pesticides and fertilizers and followed by their effects on local ecosystems and human health.
  • Distribution of synthetic substitutes in nature, followed by their specific effects on ecological systems and human health.

expression of profound cultural changes

  • Change of consumption habits (towards mass-consumption and preference of fashionable international products).
  • Loss of traditional skills of recognizing, growing, refining and appreciating aromatics.
  • Loss of (phyto-) therapeutic resources, knowledge and skills.
  • Loss of earlier olfactory knowledge.
  • Neglect of effective methods of preventive und curative healthcare, in favor of (often costly) synthetic remedies.
  • General detachment from nature, followed by the so-called ‘nature deficit disorder’ with its typical mental and physical health symptoms.

further information

Links for taking up further research on this topic

research links

Become involved, and join the research of the natural treasury and the cultural arts of fragrances!

The following links may serve as starting points towards identifying scholarly gaps.

Contents:
I. Perfumery traditions of Asia
II. Nature medicine and therapy
III. Natural resources
IV. Green care
V. Political framework and institutions
VI. Chemical compounds
VII. Global industry
VIII. Research centers
IX. Museums, libraries and platforms
X. Western perfumery education

I. perfumery traditions of asia

Please, note: It is impossible to cite all publications – though limited in number – in this field. Alternatively, the following publications serve as starting points to sketch the Asian landscape of perfumery traditions.

II. nature medicine and therapy

Generally

Nature and forest medicine

Asian Medical Systems

Phytotherapy

Aromatherapy

Ecotherapy

III. natural resources

World Natural Heritage

Trade regulations

IV. green care

Please, note: Green care studies have not thematized perfumery issues yet. The following links may support ideas towards such a goal.

Public discussion

Children’s education

V. political framework and institutions

Health

Environment

Protected areas

Sustainable development

Culture

VI. chemical compounds

Health

Trade regulations

VII. global industry

Industrial information

International meetings

Top ten global leaders

VIII. research centers

Sense of smell research institutions and clusters

IX. museums, libraries, and platforms (primarily highlighting western perfumery history)

Museums

Libraries

Bibliographies

Various

X. western perfumery education

Practical education

diving into scents

It is not necessary to import aromatics from Asia, or to buy and consume industrial products, for getting an idea of Asian perfumery arts. The fragrant nature of our immediate surrounding itself offers us the possibility for such an adventure.

The first step to approach the fragrant world is to sharpen one’s own olfactory sensitivity.

Select aesthetical practices from Asian cultures help with ideas of how to achieve this sensory ‚grounding‘. The following step-by-step instruction is an invitation to become familiar with local aesthetics from Eastern Asia, and to open up for the fragrant world.

Beyond getting an idea of the fragrant world, the following practice – if done regularly – will let you experience beneficial effects on physical and mental health. Expressed poetically, you will experience ‚whiffs from the fragrant Paradise‘ (according to Asian notions), or simply relaxation and joy!

step-by-step

1. Set your intention. Choose which landscape, which surrounding, which nature area, or which plant or part of a plant or refined perfumery good you want to discover in regards to its fragrant character, and on which day.

2. Don’t use any body perfume, and try to avoid as many scent additives as possible on that day, such as scented soap, scented washing powder, scented cremes and lotions, as well as all kinds of smokes and drugs.

3. Leave behind everything that distracts you, such as your mobile phone, music, and work papers.

4. Forget all expectations, open up for the present sensory experience.

5. Take time, slow down.

6. Close your eyes, and breathe in the air. How and where do you feel the fragrant air? Which olfactory character do you notice? Does it change?

7. Deepen your attention. Also feel the tactile quality of the air. Is it humid, warmed up by sunlight or glowing charcoal, swirled up by wind, purified by rain?

8. Take note of the fragrance‘ source. Use all your senses. Listen to the surrounding, welcome its visual appearance, possibly taste it (if you are sure about its safety!!).

9. Observe your feelings. Does the fragrance arouse any special emotional tuning in you?

10. Observe your intuitive thoughts. Which images, ideas and stories does the fragrance evoke in you? Are they related to earlier experiences in your life? Or could you give expression to their kind and quality by the help of poetry or painting?

last but not least: enjoy!

scientific board

The following renowned scholars kindly support this project.

Prof. Dr. Sebastian Günther

  • Professor and Chair of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Göttingen.
  • Visiting professorships at various universities and other institutions in the Middle East.
  • Co-editor of the Islamic History and Civilization series, published by Brill Academic Publishers.

Prof. Dr. Efraim Lev

  • Head, Department of Humanities and Arts, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa.
  • Head, The Interdisciplinary Center for the Broader Application of the Genizah Research, University of Haifa.
  • George Urdang Medal for pharmaco-historical writings (2012). (Award of the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy).
  • Medal and membership of the International Academy of the History of Pharmacy (Warsaw 2017).

Prof. Dr. Qing Li

  • Department of Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo.
  • Founding member and chairman of the Japanese Society of Forest Medicine.
  • Vice president and secretary general of the International Society of Nature and Forest Medicine (INFOM).

Prof. Dr. Jenny So

  • Adjunct Professor, Department of Fine Arts, Chinese University of Hong Kong.
  • (formerly) Senior Curator of Chinese Art at The Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
  • Associate in Research, Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, Harvard University.

Prof. Dr. Christoph Wulf

  • Professor of Anthropology and Philosophy of Education, Free University of Berlin.

contact

Dr. phil. Dinah Jung

anthropologist and licensed clinical naturopath 

Email: post@mindful-breathing.com

We are looking forward to hearing from you!

We are grateful for your suggestions and comments on this project and the Asian perfumery heritage in general. Please, get in touch!

Contact

亚洲香文化遗产 － 咨询入口

亚洲香文化 … 

… 跨世纪的文化遗产 … 涉及到艺术、跨文化的联系、可持续性和生物多样化等问题、以及公共卫生和环球商业 …

目的

本网站的目的是介绍亚洲香文化的存在、特性和价值

提供以下资讯

  • 其多样特征和本地个案研究的视觉例子:

                   资源－技巧－制品－知识－仪式

  • 该艺术在历史和商业方面的简介.

为以下活动服务:

  • 传播资讯
  • 促进研究
  • 建立联系

联系

我们欢迎您对本网页项目提供宝贵的意见.

鸣谢

本项目的建立全靠亚洲无数从事香文化的人士和各文化机构的代表，以及其他来自亚洲和世界各地的大力支持.

تراث صناعة العطور في آسيا بوابة للمعلومات

صناعة العطور في آسيا…

تراث عمره قرون…

مرتبط بالفنون الجميلة, العلاقات بين الثقافات, و مسائل الاستدامة و التنوع الحيوي, الصحة العامة و الأعمال العالمية….

الهدف

هذا الموقع يهدف لإلقاء الضوء على طابع, وجود, و قيمة تراث صناعة العطور في آسيا…

من خلال توفير معلومات حول

صور من ملامحه الحالية و دراسات الحالة المحلية: المصادر – المهارات – المصنوعات اليدوية – المعرفة – الطقوس

لقطات من تاريخ هذا الفن و أبعاده العملية

في خدمة النشاطات التالية

  • نشر المعلومات
  • تشجيع البحث
  • توطيد العلاقات 

الاتصال

من دواعي سرورنا معرفتنا لرأيك في هذا الموقع

شكر و تقدير

لقد اصبح هذا العمل متاحا بفضل الدعم اللا محدود الذي حصلنا عليه من قبل أصحاب هذه المهنة و ممثلي المؤسسات الثقافية في آسيا و العديد 

غيرهم من مختلف أنحاء آسيا و ما حولها.

© 2013–2025, dr. dinah jung. alle rechte vorbehalten. all rights reserved. www.mindful-breathing.com.