中国古代的蚊香

Mosquito Repellent Incense in Ancient China

基于传统的烧香和端午节的卫生习俗,以及对蚊子习性的了解,我国宋代发明了蚊香。当时称"蚊烟"或"蚊虫药",主要制作材料是艾草、雄黄和浮萍,产品类似线香,并出现专门的作坊。明清时期蚊香生产有了进一步的发展,原材料不断增多,包括阿魏、羌活、川芎、硫磺、樟脑和烟草等等。产品类型也更多种多样。19世纪中叶,我国的蚊香配方曾引起西方学者的关注。

The mosquito repellent incense was invented by the Chinese in Song dynasty, basedon the traditional habitude of burning joss sticks and ceremony of sanitation in dragon boat festival,as well as the knowledge about the behavior of mosquito. The incense was called ＂mosquito smoke＂or ＂mosquito drug＂. It was made up of argy wormwood and arsenic sulphide as well as duckweedmainly, shape liked stick, and produced in special workshops. The production of the mosquito repel-lent incense was developed between Ming and Qing dynasties, more and more materials were used toits production, including asafetida, notopterygium, wallich ligusticum, sulphur, camphor, and to-bacco. Its types tended to become more varied. The composition of its materials aroused the interest ofwestern scholars in the 1850s.