Jingxiang

Woman kindling the incense sticks for jingxiang at a temple in China.

Jìngxiāng (敬香 "offering incense with respect"), shàngxiāng (上香 "offering incense"), bàishén (拜神 "worshipping the Gods"), is a ritual of offering incense accompanied by tea and or fruits in Chinese traditional religion. In ancestral religious worship it's jìngzǔ (敬祖 "veneration of the ancestor") or bàizǔ 拜祖 ("worship of the ancestor"). It is observed by a devotee holding joss incense with both hands in front of an altar during the worship. For greater reverence or devotion, the devotee will kneel and bow before the altar during and after placing the incense inside the urn at the altar.

Jiangxiang is practiced in diffused Chinese folk religion and also by adherents belonging to the schools of Taoism, Chinese Buddhism and Confucianism. It is highly essential when conducting general prayer to one of the Deities, paying respect to a deceased ancestor as part of the daily devotions in Chinese ancestor veneration, or celebrating the Qingming Festival, Zhong Yuan Festival and Chongyang Festival.[citation needed]