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promising. Following the steady growth in business in the 1950s, the industry experienced another boom decade as the market in south-east Asia recovered. The number of workers grew from 282 to 344 from 1960 to 1969. During the Cultural Revolution in China from 1968, joss sticks were classified as superstitious items and prohibited both in production and usage. Hong Kong thus lost the Chinese market. However, the acquisition of the overseas market was enough to push the business of the joss stick industry in Hong Kong to a climax. This is reflected in the export trade of Hong Kong at that time. In 1968, 22,693 kg of joss sticks were exported from Hong Kong, but the export volume rose to 1,457,625 kg in 1978, representing a 64.23% increase. This, together with the rising standard of living, effected a qualitative change within the industry. Prior to the 1960s, production was concentrated on lower-priced products, but from the 1970s onwards more expensive and higher grade commodities were produced.
Production
a) Bamboo Processing
The manufacture of joss sticks involves complex stages of processing and fabrication. First of all, bamboo is felled and chopped into canes of different lengths to form the core of the joss sticks. Then, incense powder is ground from incense logs cut down from a variety of glutinous or fragrant trees. These different kinds of incense powder are mixed according to one of the four methods by which incense powder is made compact and inflammable. After being laid in the sun to dry, the finished products are packaged and made ready for sale.
The end products of joss stick factories are classified into two main categories according to the presence or absence of a bamboo core and the shape of the finished products. Those products with bamboo cores are generally called joss stick (#✯, hsien-hsiang), whilst those without sticks are wound up and termed incense coils (, t'a-hsiang).
The bamboo from which the cores of the joss sticks come is varied. The most common type is called Pencil Tube Bamboo (#†, mao chu). This type of bamboo has the property of being highly inflammable and also smooth on its surface. The sources of this species are Chan-chiang, Fo-shan and Shao-hsing. However, these sticks are also highly susceptible to worms. In contrast, a certain type of bamboo from Thailand is more resistant to worms but is not so easily ignited. Perhaps the best type of
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promising. Following the steady growth in business in the 1950s, the industry experienced another boom decade as the market in south-east Asia recovered. The number of workers grew from 282 to 344 from 1960 to 1969." During the Cultural Revolution in China from 1968, joss sticks were classified as superstitious items and prohibited both in production and usage. Hong Kong thus lost the Chinese market. However, the acquisition of the overseas market was enough to push the business of the joss stick industry in Hong Kong to a climax. This is reflected in the export trade of Hong Kong at that time. In 1968, 22,693 kg of joss sticks were exported from Hong Kong, but the export volume rose to 1,457,625 kg in 1978," representing a 64.23% increase. This, together with the rising standard of living, effected a qualitative change within the industry. Prior to the 1960s, production was concentrated on lower-priced products, but from the 1970s onwards more expensive and higher grade commodities were produced.
Production
a) Bamboo Processing
The manufacture of joss sticks involves complex stages of processing and fabrication. First of all, bamboo is felled and chopped into canes of different lengths to form the core of the joss sticks. Then, incense powder is ground from incense logs cut down from a variety of glutinous or fragrant trees. These different kinds of incense powder are mixed according to one of the four methods by which incense powder is made compact and inflammable. After being laid in the sun to dry, the finished products are packaged and made ready for sale.
The end products of joss stick factories are classified into two main categories according to the presence or absence of a bamboo core and the shape of the finished products. Those products with bamboo cores are generally called joss stick (#✯, hsien-hsiang), whilst those without sticks are wound up and termed incense coils (, t'a-hsiang).
The bamboo from which the cores of the joss sticks come is varied. The most common type is called Pencil Tube Bamboo (#†, mao chu). This type of bamboo has the property of being highly inflammable and also smooth on its surface. The sources of this species are Chan-chiang, Fo-shan and Shao-hsing. However, these sticks are also highly susceptible to worms. In contrast, a certain type of bamboo from Thailand is more resistant to worms but is not so easily ignited. Perhaps the best type of
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