Ambergris

Dr. Zhongzhen Zhao

Hong Kong Baptist University

Dr. Li LIANG

Hong Kong Baptist University  

Key words:  Ambergris, Perfume fixative, Sperm whale, Tai Ping Hui Min He Ji Ju Fang, Egret’s Cough Pill, Cuttlefish

You Cannot Judge Gold by its Glitter

Of the four aromatic materials used in ancient China–ambergris, sandalwood, agarwood, and musk–ambergris ranks first as the most exotic and precious. A news story about ambergris a few years ago demonstrates some of the mystery and intrigue that surrounds this most unusual substance. On June 1, 2014, a Mr. Chen and his family went to the Guanyin Mountain waterfront in Xiamen. He saw a “stone” the size of a fist on the beach. When he picked it up, it was soft and not heavy at all, and it looked a bit like a tree stump soaked in sea water, but it smelled fishy. He put it down and went away, but didn’t go far before he turned back to pick it up again. He smelled it, and threw it on the beach. For the third time, he had already walked a long way, but an idea suddenly popped into his mind, could this be the legendary ambergris? He hurried back. This time, he took the “stinky stone” with him, wondering if he could be so lucky. He took the object to an expert who concluded that it really was ambergris. Chemical analysis determined that the content of ambrein, a major chemical component in ambergris, was as high as 25%. This “stone” was actually top grade ambergris. 

Some private ambergris collections of Mr. Chun-hung Lee; Ambergris varies in color from black to almost white

After the news was released, many people began a treasure hunt on the beach, examining every dark stone they could find. However, finding ambergris is as hard as winning the lottery, and none of them succeeded.

The Mystery of Ambergris

Ambergris is an exotic source of fragrance that was first discovered in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Africa. It was usually found washed up on the shore. Like what Mr. Chen found, raw ambergris is a soft, dark grey mass. In ancient times, no one could figure out where it came from.  

The name of this substance in Arabic is “Ambar,” In ancient China, the word for fragrant, “xiang” was added, and the name of it was then “Ibaerxiang” or “Ahmadxiang”. “Amber” means “jewel” in Arabic; “gris” is an old and modern European word for “grey”.  Thus, ambergris means “amber grey” in English.

Since ambergris came from the sea, the ancients hooked it up with dragons, adding a connotation of dignity to the mystery of ambergris.

Ambergris was recorded in the forty-third volume of the Compendium of Materia Medica. This volume was dedicated to animals with scales (e.g., snakes, lizards, butterflies). It was recorded that ambergris came out of the southwest ocean. Li Shizhen wrote that it might be the saliva of the dragon or that it might come from the belly of a big fish. Which was true? Li Shizhen was not able to draw a conclusion. It was still speculation at that time.

By 1667, throughout the world, eighteen different theories existed on the origin of ambergris, and various animals were considered producers of this substance—including seals, crocodiles, and birds. In modern times, scientists have finally figured out its origin.

Ambergris is an abnormal secretion in the digestive tract of the giant sperm whale. The sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus, is the largest toothed whale in the world. I once saw a sperm whale skeleton specimen in a museum in Indonesia; the skeleton was nearly 20 meters long. Sperm whales are giant creatures in the sea, with big heads, big mouths and big appetites. They especially like to eat cuttlefish and squid, such as octopus and even the huge king squid in the deep sea.

Sperm whale preying on giant squid (Drawn by Duan Xu)

Although cuttlefish and squid have soft bodies, they have a hard plate inside their bodies, like an internal shell. The sperm whale swallows them whole. These hard organs enter the sperm whale’s stomach where they cannot be digested, but easily stimulate the sperm whale’s digestive secretions.

As time goes on, a dense oily or waxy secretion envelops the indigestible material, eventually forming a “block stone” that remains in the sperm whale’s body for a long time.

After the sperm whale dies, as the carcass decomposes, these “block stones” are discharged into the sea. Whale meat can rot, but lumpy stones cannot. Because of the rich wax, the “block stones” will drift with the current, floating on the sea for a long time. After years of continuous oxidation and transformation of nature, it finally becomes the precious ambergris. The longer it floats at sea, the better the quality, the fewer the impurities, and the lighter the color— old ambergris is almost white in color.

The First Time I Saw—and Touched– Ambergris

After working in Chinese medicine for more than 30 years, I finally saw authentic ambergris with my own eyes. Mr. Li Zhenxiong, an elderly specialist in precious Chinese medicinal materials, had ambergris as one of the treasures in his store.

Mr. Chun-hung Lee and I stand in his shop, holding one valuable piece of ambergris

There was a special smell when Mr. Li opened the cabinet storing ambergris. There are many adjectives for the aroma, such as delicate, strong, light, clear, and sweet. It is recorded in the literature that ambergris has a distinct fragrance. After smelling it myself, I finally knew that the distinct smell of ambergris is actually a fishy smell. Other people describe the fragrance as musky with hints of tobacco and the ocean. Indeed, ambergris is similar to musk. There is a principle in Taoist philosophy that says, “Yin at its extreme becomes Yang.” Or we may say, when things develop to their extreme, they become their opposite. So it is with ambergris. In large quantities, the smell is strong and unpleasant; only in very small quantities, as in perfume, does it seem fragrant and exotic.

Mr. Li put a large piece of ambergris in front of me. The shape of this piece of ambergris was irregular, grayish-white on the surface with dark brown appearing in the cross-section. It felt soft and light. If you looked closely, you could also see small, white traces of the indigestible cuttlefish bones, or broken bone residue, left inside. I put a small amount in my mouth; it tasted a bit sour and stuck to my teeth. Such a piece of ambergris, the size of two fists, is worth more than one million Hong Kong dollars.

Ambergris can be tested with fire, and the aroma emitted after being ignited is particularly charming. When ambergris is lit, it emits white smoke and is fragrant; if it is contaminated with amber, when ignited, it emits black smoke and has a resinous aroma.

Medical Functions of Ambergris

The major medicinal uses of ambergris are to resolve phlegm and relieve breathlessness, promote Qi and dissipate stagnation. Like other fragrant materials, it is mostly used in combination with other herbs in formulas, rather than alone. 

Many ancient and modern medical books record ambergris; however, only a few formulas have been produced as proprietary medicines. In the National Prescription Collection of Traditional Chinese Medicine published in the 1950s, Lu Si Ke Wan were mentioned. This is a gold foil-coated honey pill that includes ambergris in the formula. It was mainly used for diseases such as whooping cough in children.

In ancient times, as with medicines, incense and perfumes were produced according to formulas, and these formulas typically had multiple ingredients. Very few were made of only one aromatic material.

Li Shizhen mentioned that using only ambergris as incense is not good, but using a little in combination with other ingredients can preserve their fragrance in incense. Li Shizhen wrote: “Ambergris can preserve the smell of borneol and musk for decades.” In other words, ambergris is a fixative, and nowadays, it is primarily used for that purpose.

One of the requirements for evaluating the grade of perfume is the longevity of the fragrance. Among the aromatic materials used in high-end perfumes on the market, the most precious fixative is still ambergris. 

Nature’s Time-honored Gift

Like bezoar, ambergris is a pathological product. Sperm whales must suffer and die, and the massive stones from their intestines need to float at sea for dozens of years. Only then, do we get the rare, exotic, and precious ambergris.