Chinese Incense wrappers

One of the offerings at Chinese temples are sticks of incense, or "Joss Sticks" as they are known in the west. There are a huge variety to choose from. The sticks  come in different lengths and thicknesses They can be  as thin as a straw [ the most common] , to as thick and long as a man's arm [only found at large festivals] . They are also sold in bundles of varying size, each containing a few tens, to massive loads containing  hundreds. There are many brands. Each has its own label.

The incense sticks are typically wrapped in yellow cellophane, with a paper label under the cellophane showing brand information. Such an arrangement, albeit without the incense, is shown here. 

AAAA 正檀香-- AAAA Zheng Tanxiang 

AAAA brand Authentic sandalwood incense. 

The paper label, removed from its cellophane.The female figure is Guanyin, the Bodhisattva of mercy. Below is an inscription in [I think] Vietnamese. I will be glad if any reader will tell me what it means. 

佛緣富貴檀香- Fo Yuan Fugui Tanxiang 

" Fo Yuan" prosperity sandalwood incense 

Fo Yuan, 佛缘 is presumably the brand's name. Fo yuan is a Buddhist term of art, signifying [roughly] the relationship between the practitioner and the Buddha. [ Chinese article on the subject]. 

Again, Guanyin is depicted on the label.  The eight objects floating on clouds below her are the symbols of the Eight immortals of Chinese mythology. They form a border round the name of the incense. 

The horizontal text on the bottom says 香細烟少-- Xiang Xi, Yan Shao. "This incense is slender, and produces little smoke" 

 萬和行/ 觀音香王  Wan He Hang/ Guanyin Xiang Wang 

Wan He company/ Guanyin King of Incense. 

The name Wan He means "Myriad Harmony" in Chinese. Its English name, Wan He Joss paper trading is found on the bottom of the label. Again, Guanyin is depicted on the label.

Four Chinese characters are found in the bottom-right corner. They are 環保健康-- Huanbao Jiankang "Environmentally friendly and Healthy"/ 

Floral paper

Two samples from a fairly large sheet of floral paper. This was printed in China, in the 2010s.

What is most curious about the paper, is that the colours seems to have been printed without any regard to the pattern. On closer inspection, it seems that the maker has printed the dark background upside-down with respect to the red roses and blue flowers. The sheet was thus rejected, which would also explain why it was found wrapping a ream of other, higher quality papers. 

Tiger skin paper ( 虎皮纸) -1

Yet another form of Chinese decorated paper is known to the Chinese as 虎皮纸-- Tiger-skin paper. The paper is a form of sprinkled paper, with ist chief feature being white spots sprinkled on a ground colour. Judging from the appearance of the paper, the spots would have been made by sprinkling a caustic substance ( perhaps potash) onto dyed paper. As the potash would cause the dyes to decolourize, a pattern of white spots would form.

The form of the spots on the pattern varies widely, in some cases, they look like little starbursts. in others, like here, the maker appears to have allowed the chemical to flow, creating streaks. 

Chinese decorated paper - 4

Here is yet another example of Chinese decorated paper. Like the last few examples, it is manifestly an imitation of cloth, in this case some form of embroidery, with a pattern of cranes and squiggly lines in white on a dark background.

 

This example would find particular use as an inexpensive substitute of silk for the framing of paintings, or the lining of boxes.

Chinese decoarted paper- 3

Another sheet of Chinese decorated paper. This particular pattern is also an imitation of brocade. Brocade of this pattern , or a very similar one is extremely often used in the covering of boxes, &c, and this appears to be a photographic reproduction of such a cloth 

 

 

 

Chinese decorated paper 2-

Another Chinese decorated paper. It is printed on very similar stock as the previous example, and is indeed, another imitation of brocade. It was produced around 2011

 



see also: http://decoratedpaper.blogspot.sg/2013/08/chinese-decorated-paper.html

Chinese decorated paper -1

It is evident that the pattern we see here is an imitation of brocade or silk. Indeed, it may very well be actually be a photograph of some silk.. Judging from the pattern and the thin paper it is printed on, it is of Chinese manufacture. It is of recent date, around 2011.