[[alternative]]A Study and Application of Glaze Made from Incense Ash of Taiwan Temple

[[abstract]] 台灣地區的寺廟到處可見。這是由於台灣人對傳統宗教信仰的熱衷。台灣的宗教信仰以道教與佛教居多，祭拜時一般也都以燒香為主。燒香祭拜據記載應始於漢代。 台灣的寺廟通常融合了社會群聚活動，也為信眾帶來心靈的寄託。信眾常會到寺廟燒香拜拜，各寺廟在節慶時也常舉辦法會活動，來達謝神明，這些活動都離不開燒香。燒香時，信眾在神明前祝禱、祈求，將他們的心聲傳達給神明知道。因此燒香後留在香爐的香灰，被視為具有靈力，經寺廟人員包成一包包的香火袋，供給善男信女前來求取，作為護身符。 香灰在香火袋中保存較不易，因其易於受潮。本文即以香灰為原料，透過實驗方式，製作成實用的陶瓷釉藥，並嘗試以香灰釉為素材，設計出具有台灣傳統民間宗教意義的文創商品。 在研究過程中，首先要將香灰檢驗，以了解其內含成分，以及各成分的比例。接著再以這些成分去取代某一特定釉藥中的成分，最後再透過實驗試燒，求得最適當的釉藥配方。 透過香灰成分分析及釉藥實驗，本研究也發現：由於市售的線香為了降低成本，在製作過程中都添加了相當分量的碳酸鈣或石灰石粉末，使得香灰中的氧化鈣成分相當高，幾乎可以直接當成碳酸鈣來使用。因此，只要找到一個碳酸鈣或石灰石含量較高的現成釉藥配方，便可以直接以香灰取代其中的石灰石或碳酸鈣成分，再經過一個三角座標釉藥實驗，應該就可以尋求出適合的香灰釉。[[abstract]] We can see temples everywhere in Taiwan, because Taiwanese are enthusiastic about traditional religious. The main religious in Taiwan are Taoism and Buddhism. The way Taiwanese worship gods was burning incense. This tradition has been recorded since Han dynasty. In Taiwan, temples usually have many things to do with social activities, and bring soul comfort to their believers. People burn incense when they worship gods in temples. During festivals, most temples would hold religious activities to thank gods. Burning incense is a must do in all kinds of ceremony. Worshipers believe they can communicate with gods by burning incense. Hence, the ash of burned incense is believed to possess some kind of spiritual powers. The administrators of temples would collect the ash and put into bags, ready for people to wear as amulets. Ash of burned incense can’t be well preserved in the bag, because it’s very easy to get damped. The main purpose of this study is to use incense ash as a raw material to make ceramic glazes through experiments. In this study, we also try to design some culture creative products for Taiwanese traditional religious purpose with the ash glazes we made. First, we analyze the incense ash to find out its component. Then we replace some components of a chosen glaze with the incense ash by precise calculating. Finally, a glaze-hitting experiment was run to decide proper glaze recipes. Through the analysis of incense ash and the glaze-hitting experiments, we find that the incense ash contains high percentage of calcium oxide, as the result of an addied ingredient of calcium carbonate or limestone powder in the incense-making process to reduce the cost. The calcium percentage of incense ash is so high that we can almost use it as a replacement of calcium carbonate or limestone in a glaze recipe. It shouldn’t be hard to acquire some proper glaze recipes just by taking a Triangle coordinated glaze-hitting experiment