Frankincense

Dr. Zhongzhen Zhao

Dr. Li LIANG

Hong Kong Baptist University, 7 Baptist University Road, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong

Keywords: Frankincense, Myrrh, Book of the Later Han, Along the River During the Qingming Festival, Medicinal Plants of China

Sacred Fragrance

There are two categories of aromatic materials. One category is the herbs and spices that are mostly used in cooking; they are appreciated for their flavor and smell.  Herbs, such as peppermint, are the leaves of plants. The spices, such as pepper, cardamom, star anise, and cumin, are seeds or woody parts of plants. The other category is the materials that are used primarily for their smell, as incense or as perfume. Items in this second category include flowers and the secretions of animals, such as musk, or of plants, such as resins. Frankincense is in this second category. 

In the “Along the River During Qingming Festival (Qing Ming Shang He Tu)”, a painting from the Song Dynasty (960-1279), many aromatic and spice stores are depicted. One of the signboards reads “Liu’s store has agarwood, sandalwood, and frankincense”. Although frankincense is not among the four major aromatic materials (i.e., agarwood, ambergris, sandalwood, and musk), it is nevertheless important. 

Throughout history, frankincense has been regarded as something as valuable as gold. It has been used in important religious rituals of Christianity, Islam and Buddhism as sacred incense. According to the Christian Bible, when Jesus was born, three Magi, or wise men, came to worship him, offering gold, frankincense and myrrh. In Arabic, frankincense is called Al-lubán, which means “milk from the frankincense tree”. The ancients believed that praying and burning incense could help people reach a state of supreme wisdom.

A portion of the painting–Along the River During Qingming Festival (Qing Ming Shang He Tu)

Source of Frankincense

Frankincense comes from trees of the Boswellia genus in the Burseraceae family.  There are at least 29 species of Boswellia, mainly distributed in arid tropical regions of Africa, such as Somalia and Ethiopia, and the southern Arabian Peninsula.  Four of these species– B. sacra (synonyms B. carteri and B. bhaw-dajiana), B. frereana, B. papyrifera, and B. serrata, produce true frankincense, and each has a characteristic scent. The part used for medicinal purposes is the oleoresin exuded from its bark.

The English word frankincense comes from the Old French expression ‘franc encens’, where ‘franc’ meant ‘noble, pure’.  

Frankincense has several names in Chinese according to its grade. The Compendium of Materia Medica specifies that frankincense of a general grade is called Xun Lu Xiang. The next highest grade is called Ru Xiang, and the highest grade is called Jian Xiang.

I saw the frankincense tree in Oman, and it is indeed unremarkable. It is low and thorny, with twisted branches and small, wrinkled leaves, giving it an old, gnarly appearance. So, no one cultivates frankincense as an ornamental garden plant, but everyone appreciates it for the precious resin it secretes.

Historically, the best quality frankincense is produced in southern Oman. The method of collecting frankincense is very simple, somewhat similar to harvesting 

rubber. When 8-10 years old, the outer bark of the frankincense tree is scratched; at the point of the incision white resin seeps out, and it is collected, drop by drop. Trade in frankincense used to be the mainstay of Oman’s economy. Today, due to overharvesting and clearing of woodlands for agriculture, the population of frankincense trees is dwindling.

    Leafy tip of a branch of Boswellia carterii

Journey to Oman

Prof. Chongcheng Xue (left) and I (right) visit Oman; Oman’s Minister of Health, Ali Mohammed, is sitting in the middle

A thousand-year-old ship model on the streets of Muscat, the capital of Oman

Going to the place of origin of frankincense is like traveling back in history, to the days of the Silk Road and China’s famous “Journey to the West” saga.

In 1990, at the invitation of the Ministry of Health of Oman, a group of three Chinese medical experts went to Oman for an academic visit. The team leader was Professor Chongcheng Xue, who was 71 years old at the time. Professor Xue was a revered master who had first learned Chinese medicine, then Western medicine. Another member of the team was Mr. Xing Hanping, an Arabic translator from the Ministry of Health. I was the youngest member of the team, and my job was to study the local medicine resources in Oman.

It was my first time to Oman. On the map, Oman is a small country, but its history is not short. In ancient times, in China, Oman was called Ma Gan and, later, Aman in the Book of the Later Han. Oman has a land area of 300,000 square kilometers. When I went there in 1990, the population was about 1.5 million; today it is more than 5 million. In the history of international trade, Oman is a pivotal country.

From the 7th century AD, the Arab Empire rose in West Asia and eventually spanned Asia, Africa and Europe. Oman is located at the throat of the Gulf of Oman, which connects the Arabian Sea with the Strait of Hormuz, which then empties into the Persian Gulf.  Thus, it was an important port for trading between the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf. The Omani people have been good at sailing and shipbuilding since ancient times. In Muscat, the capital of Oman, I saw a model of a huge ancient ship that had sailed to China.

In the Arabian fairy tale The Thousand and One Nights , also called The Arabian Nights, there is a story of Sinbad. This character, Sinbad, is based on an actual, famous Omani navigator, Abu Obeid. According to historical records, he once sailed to China from Muscat, the capital of Oman, in the 11th century, during the Northern Song Dynasty of China.  Most likely he would have been carrying frankincense!

There were three major routes for foreign trade in ancient China: the Silk Road, the Tea Horse Road, and the Maritime Silk Road. Arab culture and Chinese culture have historically influenced each other. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, China imported a large number of spices from the Arabian Peninsula, so the sea route part of the Maritime Silk Road from Arabia to southern China was also called the Spice Road. According to the History of the Ming Dynasty, on Zheng He’s voyages to the West, he once arrived in Oman, and the locals took out frankincense, myrrh, styrax, benzoin and other spices to trade with the Chinese guests. Later, their king sent envoys to China with local specialties as gifts, such as frankincense and ostriches.

The Custom of Wearing Incense

  Traditional Omani attire

Frankincense (stored in Dr. & Mrs. Hung Hin Shiu Museum of Chinese Medicine at Hong Kong Baptist University)

During our visit to Oman, Oman’s Minister of Health, Ali Mohammed, received us in traditional attire. This attire includes a swaying bunch of white tassels that dangled in front of his chest, like streamers. This is not ordinary decoration; the tassels are dipped in frankincense. That’s why, when passing near an Omani man, you may smell a mysterious fragrance.

During that visit, I gave a book to the Minister of Health of Oman. The book was Medicinal Plants in China, written by my supervisor, Professor Xie Zongwan and myself, and published by the World Health Organization. In return we were given Oman’s national gift – frankincense.

From my trip to Oman, I brought back two large boxes of frankincense.  One was placed in the Herbarium of the Institute of Chinese Material Medica at the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. The other was eventually donated to the Dr. & Mrs. Hung Hin Shiu Museum of Chinese Medicine at Hong Kong Baptist University.

Characteristics of Frankincense

The frankincense of Oman is milky white and translucent. For experiments, it is usually ground to a powder in a mortar. If you ignite it with fire, it will produce a fragrance that has been described as similar to rosemary, pine sap, and sweet amber, all of which share some common chemistry. When used as perfume or incense, its smell is subtle but long-lasting.  The taste of frankincense is bitter.

Frankincense as Medicine

There is an important medical text from ancient Egypt called the Ebers Papyrus, which mentions frankincense as a cure for asthma, bleeding, throat infections and vomiting.

In China, frankincense was first recorded in the Ming Yi Bie Lu (c. 184-220 AD). The effect of frankincense is to promote blood circulation and relieve pain, soothe meridians and activate collaterals. In traditional Chinese medicine, frankincense is often used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and bruises. The famous Chinese proprietary medicines Xiaohuoluodan, Dahuoluodan and Xianfang Huomingyin all include frankincense. 

Frankincense is also widely used in Indian Ayurvedic medicine.  And it is a homeopathic remedy, primarily used to relieve anxiety and purify the mind.

Pieces of myrrh.  Note that pieces of bark are still attached, confirming that this is authentic myrrh.

Myrrh

Doorman of a Lebanese hotel lights frankincense as the day begins.

Frankincense and myrrh are a combination of aromatic materials that goes back perhaps as far as the history of frankincense itself.  Myrrh was also one of the three gifts of the Magi in the Bible, and it is an inseparable partner of frankincense in traditional Chinese medicine. 

Myrrh, like frankincense, is a resin and, also like frankincense, it comes from trees the Burseraceae family.  In this case, however, the genus is of the Commiphora and the two most important species are C. myrrha Engl. and C. molmol Engl. Myrrh is the oily, gummy resin that seeps from the trunk bark of these trees.

The name ‘myrrh’ comes from the Arabic word ‘Mur’, which means ‘bitter’. The ancient Chinese believed that myrrh had antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, pain-relieving and skin-repairing properties. When ancient soldiers went to the battlefield, they usually carried some myrrh for temporary treatment of wounds.

The three proprietary medicines mentioned above–Xiaohuoluodan, Dahuoluodan and Xianfang Huomingyin—all contain myrrh as well as frankincense. Another commonly used formula, known as either Hai Fu San or Sheng Ji San, consists of these two medicinal ingredients, frankincense and myrrh. This formula is used to treat sores, dispel rot and regenerate muscles.

The myrrh used in China is imported, and much of it is adulterated. I have seen myrrh in a spice market in Mexico; there, the apothecary sold it with a piece of bark to prove its authenticity.

In conclusion

Once, I was on a business trip to Lebanon and stayed in a fancy hotel. I got up early and went for a walk. As soon as the day dawned, I saw the waiters in the hotel were busy. They squatted in an inconspicuous corner of the hall to light frankincense, and as the sun rose, the hall gradually filled with the aroma. 

Frankincense has been, and still is, a valuable aromatic material.