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.西汉陶熏炉，1956年广州横枝岗出土，广州博物馆收藏。

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

资深影视人、名媛、畅销书作家。代表作包括最佳外语小说奖获得作品《别爱苏黎世》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.

熏笼暖

年初买了个烤脚的炉子，这会儿才用。

一说起熏炉，大家就想到古装剧里小主和娘娘们拿的手炉。其实那是小型的炭炉，在地龙不普及的建筑里，熏笼是大户人家必备，如同冰箱和空调。

熏笼是与熏炉配套使用的笼子，自两汉以来一直流行。较早的熏笼均为陶瓷烧制，明清时代进入了一个非常繁荣的时期。故宫内大殿书房内寝皆置高达三四尺的巨大熏炉，多为掐丝珐琅等景泰蓝的精品，也有铸铜鎏金，錾刻精美的极品，彰显豪华高贵的皇室气派。

因为是用于取暖和烘烤衣服，所以竹篾条在编织时，当然不像竹篓竹箱那么板实，而是稀疏有孔洞，多以花纹饰之，这样便于热力的发散。熏笼的式样或方或圆或大或小，皆因其用途不同来决定。在大旅店要烘烤的被子多，往往熏笼大如方桌，罩在一个大炭盆上；而家庭所用，形制就要小一些，特别在冬天，一家人围着熏笼而坐，熏笼上罩上一床薄被子，把双手放在被子下取暖，也许，这正是日本的被炉的灵感来源。

《金瓶梅》中专用于熏香的熏笼，在制作上往往更为精致一些。《红楼梦》第51回：“晴雯麝月皆卸罢残妆，脱换过裙袄，晴雯只在熏笼上围坐”—— 这个可以坐人的熏笼，一般用较粗的竹竿或木料做成，形制多为方形，一些典籍上称之为火箱。晴雯因为身体纤弱格外怕冷，一到冬天她就睡在薰笼处，离宝玉最近，少男少女的爱慕之情如熏炉里的更香一样，温暖而暧昧。

唐代的白居易在《宫词》一诗中写道：红颜未老恩先断，斜倚熏笼坐到明。清人曹庭栋认为，熏笼只可熏香，若以暖被火气太甚，亦有一定的道理。

冬末春早的日子里，不用暖气又冷，有这么个熏笼在床边，觉得很暖，睡衣扔上去，烤得香香松松暖暖，半夜批衣亦不觉湿冷之气，岂不快哉？

可惜小猫还没适应，否则躺卧在里面，锦罽暖亲猫，才是人间乐事。