Why do you need to burn incense at the door?

Why burn incense at the door? ——The collision between traditional customs and modern hot discussions

In recent years, with the revival of traditional culture, the custom of "burning incense at the door" has once again become a hot topic. Especially around traditional festivals such as the Spring Festival and the Zhongyuan Festival, related discussions have frequently appeared on the social media hot search list. This article will combine the hot contents of the entire network for the past 10 days to analyze this folk phenomenon that has lasted for thousands of years from the perspectives of historical origins, cultural significance, scientific disputes, etc.

1. Overview of hotly discussed data across the entire network

2. Three historical origins of burning incense at the door

1.Theory of exorcising evil spirits and avoiding disasters: The "Book of Zhou" in the pre-Qin period recorded "burning firewood to sacrifice to the sky", which developed into a gateway sacrifice in the Han Dynasty, and believed that smoke could form a barrier to block evil spirits. Archaeological discoveries show that incense burners are common in the doors of houses in the Han Dynasty.

2.Welcome God and receive blessings: Under the influence of Taoist culture, the custom of "three incense sticks in the morning and evening" formed during the Tang and Song dynasties, believing that the door is the channel for the gods of the house. The "Dream of Tokyo" records that "every door is constantly cigarettes" in Bianjing.

3.Information transmission: In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the incense form became the secret code of the industry. Research by Fujian Business Gang shows that different incense sticks represent different transaction information, and this custom still remains in southern Fujian.

3. Investigation of contemporary practice forms

4. Controversy Focus and Scientific Interpretation

1.PM2.5 Controversy: Inspection by the environmental protection department shows that the concentration of PM2.5 produced by burning a single incense can reach 500-800μg/m³. However, folk scholars point out that traditional sacrifices are mostly carried out in open spaces, and the actual impact is limited.

2.Psychological mechanism research: The 2023 Sun Yat-sen University psychological experiments show that the sense of incense burning ritual can increase the sense of belonging by 41%, which is particularly significant among the immigrant groups.

3.Cultural symbol transformation: The popular "electronic aromatherapy" among young groups not only preserves cultural memory but also avoids environmental pollution. According to data from an e-commerce platform, the annual growth of Chinese style aromatherapy machines reached 217%.

5. Suggestions from folklore experts

1. Follow the "principle of moderation" and avoid burning incense in confined spaces

2. Choose environmentally friendly fragrance products made from natural raw materials

3. Understanding cultural connotation is more important than form

4. Innovate inheritance methods, such as combining calligraphy, tea ceremony and other elegant cultures

Conclusion:The custom of burning incense at the door travels through thousands of years of time and space, triggering new cultural dialogues in contemporary society. Whether choosing to continuate tradition or transform innovatively, understanding the cultural logic behind it is the correct attitude towards intangible cultural heritage. The latest survey shows that the rational awareness of traditional customs among the 18-35-year-olds has increased to 67%, indicating that traditional culture is gaining new vitality.

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