Burning Incense and Worshiping Spirits
Chinese people have a two-sided attitude toward spirits. On the one hand, they hold them in awe and respect, and fear offending them; on the other hand, their motivation is strongly utilitarian, and they pray to spirits chiefly for their own protection. Hence, communication between men and spirits is rich in human feelings and reciprocity. This characteristic is expressed in the common peoples' worship of spirits. Below are a few examples:
Burning Incense is usually called Worship in Hong Kong and Taiwan. It is the commonest way of worshiping spirits. Lighting incense and candles, people worship spirits by bowing down on their knees several times; the more pious kneel down and kowtow and pray silently at the same time.
Burning incense is a custom passed down from ancient worshiping rituals. When the ancient Chinese rendered cults to God and ancestors, they usually burned their sacrifices or simply certain plants to make heavy smoke, thinking that they could communicate with spirits through the smoke. Having evolved gradually and been popularized later, such a practice has become a way of showing respect for spirits by burning incense. But the incense of later ages was improved, and some fine incense produced specially for venerating spirits appeared, including some types of incense spread in from India and Iran, etc. The most common types at present include single incense and winded incense
Incense is also commonly used in Daoist rituals. The earliest known record of Daoists' using incense is mentioned in the History of Wu in the Annals of the Three Kingdoms , which states that the Daoist Yu Ji taught people to burn incense and read Daoist books in the eastern reaches of the Yangtze River. Incense Burners were set up in the Daoist temples of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, showing that it was quite popular to use incense at the time.
However, Daoism has strict prescriptions as to how to use incense. The procedure of offering incense is clearly instituted. Furthermore, Daoism has its own interpretations of the religious functions of incense. But burning incense among the people is not so strictly prescribed. It is mainly a way to show piety. Common people's burning incense always goes along with giving offerings. This is called Offering. The offerings include fruits and even pig heads, whole cocks, and the like. In fact, it is forbidden in Daoism to give things such as pig heads as offerings. But as the people have long been doing so, Daoism has to let things take their own course.
There are many customs concerning the folk practice of burning incense. One of them is the so-called Burning the First Incense Stick The First Incense Stick refers to the first stick burnt in the incense burner, especially in the New Year. Common folk think the first incense stick has the greatest merits and that they can receive the most good fortune from it, so they often try to burn the first incense stick.
Though the first incense stick is burnt before dawn, believers begin to wait until midnight. If it is on New Year's Day (the first day of the first lunar month), pilgrims usually start waiting early before midnight of the New Year's Eve.