Chenxiang, Pound for Pound, Costs More than Gold

About this episode

This episode explores the expensive natural substance Chénxiāng and its cultural significance in Chinese literature.

Here's something a little different from the usual CHP fare. It concerns a natural substance that's not too well-known outside of Asia, mainly because it's so dang expensive! Chénxiāng 沉香 or Agarwood as it's also known, grows inside the heartwood of certain Aquilaria trees. Chenxiang has a few interesting things about it and is often mentioned in Chinese literature. This episode includes a bunch of poems and a couple of chengyu's that all contain references to chénxiāng. While I was on the subject, I'm also mentioning five other trees that, while nowhere nearly as expensoive as chenxiang, were rare and precious enough to be driven to the brink of extinction. These four are Xiǎoyè Zǐtán 小叶紫檀, Hǎinán Huánghuālí 海南黄花梨, Lǎowō Dàhóng Suānzhī 老挝大红酸枝, Jīchìmù 鸡翅木, and Jīnsī Nánmù 金丝楠木. You could have heard this episode three months earlier if you subscribed to the Official CHP Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheChinaHistoryPodcast CHP Premium: https://teacupmedia.supercast.com/ The Teacup Media Website: https://teacup.media/ Thanks to all of you for listening. Reach out to me anytime at [email protected] .

People in this episode

Host: Laszlo Montgomery

Topics covered

• Agarwood
• Chinese literature
• rare trees
• cultural references
• natural substances

Keywords

• Chénxiāng
• Agarwood
• rare trees
• Chinese literature
• cultural references

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Chénxiāng, Agarwood, Xiǎoyè Zǐtán, Hǎinán Huánghuālí, Lǎowō Dàhóng Suānzhī, Jīchìmù, Jīnsī Nánmù

Books & works: Chinese literature

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