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"/ 

Joss paper 1- "Cloth"

According to Chinese tradition, one may send gifts to one's ancestors ( clothes, money and even whole houses) if paper representations of these things are burnt as offerings to them. Such paper articles are commonly known as "joss paper" .
  Many of these papers are most curious , if in their own gaudy way, and I shall be presenting more of such things in the future.

The present article of joss paper is a square sheet of thin Chinese , or "Rice" paper. It is printed with a elegant pattern of flowers and scrollwork. It is intended to represent a piece of patterned cloth-- presumably for ancestors who prefer making their own clothes.

 

This paper is printed off a woodblock, as seen from the black gouge marks in the upper left corner. This is somewhat surprising, considering that this paper was bought around 2011.This sheet was once part of a stack of sheets. All bore the same pattern ( as here) but were printed on different colour of paper -- green , yellow  and white in addition to this pink colour.