Incense burners hold a special place in Chinese culture since the incense smoke wafting from these items, regardless of their make, are representations of the Fire element. The Fire element is said to be the best enhander for the Wealth locations of the home and office.

For the year 2007, the best Wealth location is the Southwest. Therefore it is very auspicious to place your incense burner in this particular location within your work or living area.

The use of incense in China is an ancient practice spanning centuries, back in the prehistoric times. Incense-burning activities hold spiritual, cleansing and religious meanings.

Censing has a long history in China. Generally, people cense their clothes to show courtesy and censing later became a practice favored by intellectuals. Before the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.- 220 A.D.), incense burners made of ceramics, porcelain, brass, iron and tiles already came into being. During the Xuande reign (1425 - 1434) of the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), the making technique of bronze incense burners reached its peak.

Chinese incense items are not always available, the use of incense sometimes deeply discouraged by government. But Chinese perfumers have managed to produce some fine quality products. Some incense made in China come from a secret source.

Incense use in religious ritual was first widely developed in China, and eventually transmitted to Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Incense holds an invaluable role in East Asian Buddhist ceremonies and rites as well as in those of Chinese Taoist and Japanese Shinto shrines. It is reputed to be a method of purifying the surroundings, bringing forth the Buddhist Alamkaraka (Realm of Adornment).

In Chinese Taoist and Buddhist temples, the inner spaces are scented with thick coiled incense, which are either hung from the ceiling or on special stands. Worshippers at the temples light and burn sticks of incense in large bundles, which they wave while bowing to the statues or plaques of a deity or an ancestor. Individual sticks of incense are then vertically placed into individual censers located in front of the statues or plaques either singularly or in threes, depending on the status of the deity or the feelings of the individual.

Feng Shui utilizes the power of incense to muster up favorable Fire element, as well as for cleansing properties. It is said that burning incense dispels negative Qi, or energy, from a premise to allow the arrival of cleaner, fresher and more positive Qi into a premise. Thus incense burning is an important step in Qi cleansing and space clearing ceremonies in Feng Shui.