Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Smell is not simply a biological and psychological phenomenon, though.Smell is cultural, hence a social and historical phenomenon.' (Classen et al 1994) Dr Xuelei Huang explores the transformations of China's olfactory landscape in her work Scents of China: A Modern History of Smell.Scents is tangible and life-boundfrom the daily incense traditions in Dream of the Red Chamber 红楼梦 (Cao et al. 2000) to the Western perfumes introduced after the olfactory revolution.At the same time, scent is often entangled with abstract conceptsfrom the 'China stink' described by Western travel writers to political metaphors during the revolutionary era.In this volume, Dr Huang unfolds a scroll of this olfactory landscape, drawing on numerous primary sources and conducting insightful analysis to present a complex, multifaceted and multi-layered history of smell in China.All these fragments concerning scent, as she notes in the epilogue, are intangible, irreducible, personal and hidden in the obscure corners of history, like the fleeting glimmer of sunlight on a white feather.The first luminous fragment originates from Dream of the Red Chamber, a chapter illustrating the pivotal role of fragrance in both daily life and artistic imagination in classical China.Scent signified social class, ritual propriety and personal identity.In the opulent households depicted by Cao Xueqin (曹雪芹, 1715-1763), incense permeated every corner of the Jia family's mansions; scents such as bergamot and osmanthus dew infused daily existence.Incense was equally indispensable during significant occasions, such as Jia Yuanchun's homecoming as an imperial concubine and the New Year ancestral worship rituals.Moreover, scent is profoundly personal: the main characters are endowed with distinct fragrances that both mirror their temperaments and foreshadow their fates.Cao Xueqin captured the unique essence of youthful aroma.He embraced the inherent transience of such delicate creations.In this classical Chinese imagery, scent became indelibly intertwined with poetic ethos, aesthetic refinement and the rhythms of natural destiny.Shifting focus from the crystalline olfactory universe of classical China, Chapter Two turns to the 'stinks of China' portrayed by Western travel writers.This section demonstrates how these depictionscharacterised by putrid waterways and Cult.
Source: Culture as Text
Author: Silin Chen
Institution: Nanjing University
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid:
OpenAlex ID: W4416792412