Table of Contents

List of illustrations; Preface; Acknowledgements; Conventions; Part I. Time Measurement and Incense in East Asia: 1. Early East Asian time measurement; 2. Incense and the populace; 3. Incense in religious rites; 4. Incense for time measurement; Part II. The Incense Seal in China: 5. The incense seal of Avalokitésvara; 6. In Chinese Buddhist rites; 7. In Chinese civil life; 8. In Chinese social life; 9. In Chinese and foreign writings; Part III. The Incense Seal in Japan: 10. Japanese kobandokei; 11. In Japanese Buddhist rites; 12. In Japanese civil life; 13. The fire in the smoke; Appendices; Bibliography; Illustrations; Index.

Promotional Information

A scholarly study of the role of the incense timekeeper in early Chinese history.

Reviews

'This handsome volume, the result of a lifetime's study by a noted scholar, will be treasured not only by horologists and other historians of science but also by lovers of East Asian art and poetry.' The Antiquarian Horological Society