檀香

檀香因其木质坚实细密、香气清雅悠远而得名，古人称其色白者为'白檀'，是历代宫廷与寺庭焚香、雕刻的珍贵材料。

檀香自古便是海上丝绸之路的重要贸易商品，经由南洋诸国转运入华，是古代中外香料贸易史中最负盛名的木材之一。

Sandalwood is named for its dense, solid wood and its clear, lingering fragrance. The ancients called the pale variety 'white sandalwood,' a precious material for incense and carving in imperial courts and temples through the ages.

Sandalwood has long been an important trade commodity along the Maritime Silk Road, transshipped into China via the kingdoms of the South Seas — one of the most renowned woods in the history of ancient East-West spice trade.

《本草纲目》记载檀香'辛温、行气温中'，古时医家常以其配伍砂仁、木香等药，治疗脘腹冷痛、气滞不舒之症，是理气类药材中芳香醒脾的代表。

檀香亦常用于治疗胸闷气逆、心腹绞痛之症，取其芳香行气、宽胸散结之效，是古代方书中理气宽胸的常用配伍药材。

The Bencao Gangmu records that sandalwood is 'pungent and warm, moving qi and warming the middle.' Physicians of old commonly combined it with amomum and costus root to treat cold pain in the epigastrium and abdomen and qi stagnation — a representative aromatic, spleen-awakening herb among qi-regulating medicines.

Sandalwood was also commonly used to treat chest oppression, qi counterflow, and cramping abdominal pain, drawing on its aromatic qi-moving and chest-easing, node-dispersing effects — a frequently combined herb for regulating qi and easing the chest in ancient formularies.

檀香性温而燥烈，古时医家亦用其散寒止痛，配伍其他温里药材，治疗寒凝气滞所致的胸腹疼痛之症，取其辛温发散之性。

佛教与道教文化中,焚檀香静心安神的传统亦流传千年，虽属宗教习俗，却也从侧面反映出这味木材在东方文化中身兼药用与精神慰藉的双重意涵。

Warm and drying in nature, sandalwood was also used by physicians of old to disperse cold and relieve pain, combined with other interior-warming herbs to treat chest and abdominal pain caused by cold congealing and qi stagnation, drawing on its pungent, warm, dispersing quality.

In Buddhist and Daoist culture, the tradition of burning sandalwood incense to calm the mind and settle the spirit has persisted for a thousand years. Though a religious custom, it also reflects, from another angle, the dual significance of this wood in East Asian culture — both medicinal and spiritually comforting.

檀香树须生长数十年方能形成香气浓郁的心材，采伐后剖取树干中心部分，劈成小块或刨成薄片，晒干后即可入药或制香。

老药工鉴别檀香讲究'香气醇正、质地油润'，认为香气愈浓郁持久、木质愈油润细腻者品质愈佳，这一经验标准延续至今。

Sandalwood trees require several decades of growth before their heartwood develops a rich fragrance. After felling, the central portion of the trunk is extracted, split into small blocks or planed into thin shavings, and sun-dried before being fit for medicinal use or incense-making.

Veteran herb dealers judge quality sandalwood by the standard 'pure, mellow fragrance, oily, lustrous texture,' believing that the more persistent and rich the fragrance, and the more oily and fine the wood grain, the higher the quality — a standard that continues to this day.

现代研究发现檀香精油中含有檀香醇等成分，具有一定的镇静、抗炎作用，与古人'行气安神'之说互为印证，也令这味木材在现代香料及理气方剂中仍备受青睐。

由于野生檀香资源日益稀少，如今檀香多来自人工种植林，这也让这味珍贵木材的保护与可持续利用成为当代林业与本草文化共同关注的议题。

Modern research has found that sandalwood essential oil contains components such as santalol, which possess certain sedative and anti-inflammatory properties — corroborating the ancient claim of 'moving qi and calming the spirit,' and keeping this wood highly favored in modern fragrances and qi-regulating formulas.

As wild sandalwood resources have become increasingly scarce, most sandalwood today comes from cultivated plantations, making the protection and sustainable use of this precious wood a shared concern of contemporary forestry and herbal culture.