The four most famous incense in history are: agarwood, sandalwood, ambergris, and musk. These four incense materials can be said to be the best in natural incense materials, and they are also very expensive. Agarwood and sandalwood are plant spices, while ambergris and musk are animal spices.
Agarwood is neither directly taken from a tree nor directly from a resin. It is "knotted" by agarwood after thousands of years under special circumstances. It is a mixture of resin, gum, Various ingredients such as volatile oil and wood. Usually, agarwood needs to be ten or several decades old before it will have relatively developed resin glands. After forming incense knots, it will take a long time before it can become agarwood.
Sandalwood is derived from the oil of the Sandalwood species. Sandalwood is popular in both the East and the West and is one of the primary spices. Because of its tranquil, holy and restrained scent, sandalwood is particularly highly respected in Buddhism. It is not only used to make incense, but is also commonly used to carve Buddha statues, rosary beads, etc. It is said that great virtues in Buddhism can emit a sandalwood-like aroma from acupuncture points such as Laogong.
Ambergris is also known as borneol and Rui Nao. In ancient times, it was called borneol to show its preciousness. Ambergris is the dried intestinal secretions of sperm whales floating on the sea. In ancient times, people thought it was the saliva of a "dragon", so it was named "ambergris". Ambergris is distributed near the Pacific and South Pacific Islands and is very rare.
The musk deer is a small, thick-legged deer-like animal native to the mountains of Central Asia. It looks like a deer, but is not a deer. Males have musk sacs that secrete musk. Two-year-old male musk deer begin to secrete musk, and the best secretion period is around 10 years old. Each musk deer can secrete about 50g. In addition, other scented animals such as muskrats also have musk-like secretions.