The origin of alchemy
The invention of alchemy in China originated from the idea of immortality in ancient myths and legends. For example, Hou Yi got the elixir from the Queen Mother of the West, and Chang 'e ate it secretly, then flew to the Moon Palace and became a fairy on the moon. We don't have exact records of what pills ancient drug addicts took in order to live longer, but according to the Fairy Biography compiled by Jin people, what they ate included unrefined minerals and plants such as cinnabar, mica, jade, ochre, stone, pine nuts and cinnamon. The method of "Yi Yan" sprouted in the Warring States Period, and Qin Shihuang and Emperor Wudi were also good at talking about immortals and immortals. Various alchemists, such as Li and Luan Da, served in the imperial court, and Liu An was also a famous alchemist in the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. His book Huai Nan Zi once mentioned drugs such as mercury, cinnabar and realgar. By the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Wang Mang still liked immortal thoughts and alchemy. In addition, Taoism is also related to alchemy, and Zhang Ling, the founder of Taoism, is said to be proficient in this technology. Before the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were two different traditions of alchemy: one was to seek immortality medicine; The second is to try to make gold. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, when the two traditions merged into one, alchemists tasted the elixir of life, and the factors that contributed to the combination of the two traditions were related to the development of medicine, so many famous alchemists such as Ge Hong and Tao Hongjing were also great doctors. Ge Hong's contribution to alchemy and early chemistry is preserved in the Inner Chapter of Bao Puzi, which records many Dan medicines (such as Taiqing Dan and Jinye) and their preparation methods. The above is a long-standing belief that mortals can become immortals, and this deformation can be explained by the theory of Yin-Yang and Five Elements.
rise and fall
The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period were the heyday of slave society. A hundred schools of thought contend and the output reaches its peak. Speaking of "Ding", it is an ancient cooker and a ritual vessel for recording meritorious deeds. According to legend, when the Yellow Emperor cast Jiuding, the tripod was a national treasure. Archaeological excavations of cultural relics, such as the famous Simuwu Dafang Ding, showed that bronze smelting (copper-tin alloy) and casting technology had reached a high level at that time. The "Six Qi" laws of alloys with different compositions and properties are recorded in Zhou Li Kao. Ding Ben is an instrument for cooking broth and food. But then people hoped that something else could be extracted from the tripod. Legend has it that Qin Mugong's son-in-law Shaw History is an alchemist in the palace. He once made a "flying snow pill" and rubbed it on Qin Mugong's daughter's face (actually lead powder). He may be regarded as the earliest chemist. Because all kinds of metal minerals are mined from soil, there is a saying that gold is native in the theory of five elements. So there was an assumption that the minerals in the soil would change with time. For example, it is thought that orpiment will become realgar after a thousand years, and realgar will become gold after a thousand years. Cinnabar turns blue in 200 years, lead in 300 years, silver in 200 years and gold in 200 years. Can we speed up this change? At this time, the idea of seizing the power of heaven and earth came into being, in an attempt to achieve "the spirit of the Millennium, one day is enough, and seven days will make mountains and rivers treasure." So I put all kinds of drugs in a tripod, sealed and heated, thinking that I could refine precious gold and silver, so alchemy sprouted at the end of the Warring States period. During the Hanwu period, with the support of the supreme ruler, alchemy developed greatly. At this time, not only precious gold and silver should be made of low metals such as copper and iron, but also the immortal elixir should be cultivated for the rulers. Therefore, this exploration activity started in China should be called "alchemy". They compare people with their bodies and think that gold and jade are immortal, so it is best to give people the essence of gold and jade, so they have the theory that "those who give gold live as long as gold, and those who give jade live as long as jade". At this time, the alchemist hopes to extract a mysterious substance called "golden liquid", which can make people live forever after eating it, and can be turned into gold by cooperating with ordinary substances.
history
Liu An, the king of Huainan in the Western Han Dynasty, was the first one who was keen on alchemy. He called more than 1000 alchemists to practice alchemy and perform special functions in his palace. Later, he wrote Huai Nan Zi and Ten Thousand Books in Huainan. Unfortunately, ten thousand books have been lost. Liu An, king of Huainan, was later killed for rebellion. When Liu Xiang copied his hometown in Huainan, he got an alchemist. He tried it himself, but he never succeeded. Liu An's nephew Liu Che is also keen on the alchemist's strange performance and alchemy. He summoned many people with special functions to the palace, made him a general after his successful performance, and even married a princess, but once the scam was exposed, he immediately pulled it out and beheaded it. In the Han dynasty, an alchemist rose. Although real gold has not been refined, it has been made into various fake gold that looks like yellow and silver. Many chemical reactions have been discovered, mainly among lead, mercury, sulfur and arsenic, and various alchemy tools and methods for refining drugs have been created. By the Eastern Han Dynasty, Wei Boyang had compiled an alchemy book, Avatar, which is recognized as the oldest existing alchemy book in the world (the oldest alchemy book abroad is the manuscript of St. Kyle, which is the transcript of the tenth century AD). In fact, the magical device is a theoretical work summarized by Wei Boyang after studying and summarizing a large number of previous alchemy books, Six Hundred Fire Records. He divided substances into yin and yang, and proposed that yin and yang must cooperate to produce new substances, and similar substances would not be combined. He also pointed out that if "drugs are not the same species, the dosage is uneven, and the discipline is lost", it is "flying turtles and dancing snakes, the more perverse they are", which is actually the explosion in the process of alchemy (this is the prelude to the alchemist's invention of gunpowder). Bao Puzi, edited by Ge Hong in Jin Dynasty, is also a famous alchemy work. Ge Hong pointed out that these argots seriously hindered the correct dissemination of alchemical achievements. Since then, the book Anonymous Notes on Drugs has become an alchemy guide book. In the Tang Dynasty, almost every generation of emperors liked alchemy. At this time, China's alchemy reached its peak, and many alchemy works had more practical contents, and argot was rarely used. At this time, China alchemy also spread to Arab countries, which promoted the development of Arab alchemy. Arabic alchemy was later introduced to Europe, and after several evolutions, it finally formed an important category of modern science-chemistry.