Chapter 9 Chapter 6 Alchemy - "Zhou Yi Can Tong Qi"

Alchemy, also known as alchemy, alchemy, golden alchemy, and Huangbaishu, is a kind of panacea that can make people "immortality" and "turn iron into gold" by artificial methods in ancient times. Dan's alchemy.This is of course a pseudoscience.However, in the alchemy practice of alchemists, they realized that the change of matter is the universal law of nature, and accumulated a lot of empirical knowledge about the change of matter, which laid the foundation for the emergence of modern chemistry.China is the earliest origin of alchemy, and later alchemy spread to the West through Arabia.So chemistry also originated in China.In addition, one of the important goals of alchemists is to live forever. They are naturally very interested in medicine, so the introduction of alchemy drugs into medical practice also promoted the development of medicine.

In ancient China, people believed that the human body could gain eternal life with the help of some kind of magical medicine.The famous myth that Chang'e stole the elixir that Hou Yi obtained from the Queen Mother of the West, and flew to the moon to become a fairy, reflects this kind of thought.From the Warring States period to the Qin and Han Dynasties, the concept of immortality has become very popular among doctors, alchemists, nobles and scholars in all walks of life.According to historical records, King Qiwei, King Qixuan, King Yanzhao and Emperor Qin and Hanwu all sent people into the sea to search for immortals to seek medicine.Although the search for medicine was unsuccessful, there were many explanations for how immortals can live as long as the sky. It is generally said that immortals obtain longevity by taking gold, jade pulp, cinnabar, etc.As a result, alchemy with the purpose of exploring the secrets of elixir emerged.

The Western Han Dynasty was the foundational period of Chinese alchemy.At that time, the court and some powerful nobles supported many alchemists to refine the medicine of immortality.For example, Liu An, the king of Huainan in the era of Emperor Wu, was a famous figure in alchemy and alchemy. He organized guests to compile a large number of books, among which there were more than 200,000 words of "The Art of Yellow and White".It can be seen that there were already monographs on alchemy in the Western Han Dynasty.Most of these books have been lost, but some alchemy raw materials, such as cinnabar, mercury, lead, Zengqing, realgar, etc., can be seen from the surviving materials, as well as the records of the properties of these raw materials.According to Wei Boyang's "Zhouyi Cantongqi" at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, he had already written 600 "Fire Records" and a large number of alchemy works such as the "Dragon and Tiger Classic" named after the Yellow Emperor.According to modern people's textual research, among the existing alchemy scriptures, works belonging to the Han Dynasty include: "Thirty-six Water Methods", "Taiqing Jinye Shenqi Jing", "Taiqing Jinye Shenqi Jing", "Huangdi Jiuding Shendan Jing" "Wait.Among them, "Thirty-Six Water Methods" was published in the time of Huainan King Liu An, and it is the earliest alchemy work known so far.The book has 54 prescriptions for dissolving 34 kinds of minerals and two kinds of non-minerals, such as using a mixture of saltpeter and vinegar to dissolve metals and minerals.At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, with the rise of Taoism, alchemy merged with Taoism and became an important part of Taoism.At this time, there was a master of alchemy named Hu Gangzi, who wrote a series of alchemy works such as "Hardware Fen Tu Jue", "Illustration of Gold Mine", "He Che Jing", "Xuan Zhu Jing", which reflected the history of the Han Dynasty. A high achievement in alchemy. "Illustration of Gold Mine" records for the first time the "soot blowing method" of smelting gold and silver, the separation method of gold and silver, the production method of gold and silver powder, and the method of producing sulfuric acid by dry distillation of bile alum; The earliest record of the ancient mercury smelting method and the method of making lead elixir (lead compound), among which the "nine-turn lead elixir method" reflects the pioneering work of ancient Chinese alchemists in understanding and realizing reversible chemical reactions.Around the same time as Hu Gangzi or a little earlier, Wei Boyang, another alchemist, wrote a world-famous alchemy work - "Zhou Yi Can Tong Qi".The book made a theoretical summary and sublimation of alchemy, which had a great influence on the development of alchemy in later generations, and was regarded as the "king of alchemy" by alchemists of all dynasties.

During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Taoism flourished, and the art of alchemy and serving bait became popular among the upper class in society, and alchemy began to enter a mature stage.Among the many alchemists at that time, Ge Hong from the Eastern Jin Dynasty was the most representative.Ge Hong's main work is "Baopuzi", and the content of alchemy is mainly concentrated in three volumes: "Golden Elixir", "Immortal Medicine", and "Huangbai". "Golden Elixir" introduces the refining of golden alchemy and how to take it; "Xianyao" specifically discusses medicines that prolong life; "Huangbai" records the refining method of pseudo-gold and silver.These chapters record the "Jinyefang" that can dissolve gold, the replacement reaction of iron and copper sulfate (Zengqing), the chemical reaction of Hufen (lead powder) and Huangdan (trilead tetroxide), and the production of glass, etc. .Ge Hong not only summed up the alchemy achievements of the predecessors, but also creatively developed alchemy. In theory and practice, he was a master of alchemy in the Han, Wei and Jin Dynasties.Another famous alchemist of this period was Tao Hongjing.He is not only an alchemist, but also a famous medical scientist.It is said that Tao Hongjing's alchemy works were only circulated among his disciples, and they were kept secret, so it is impossible to determine whether he has any alchemy works handed down.However, we can know a thing or two about his alchemy achievements from his herbal book "Shen Nong's Materia Medica Collection".Among them, there is the earliest method of identifying potassium salt (saltpeter) by flame analysis in the history of world chemistry, and there are records of the preparation method and chemical action of limestone.He was also the first to distinguish mercuric oxide from mercuric sulfide, and clearly pointed out that "mercury powder" (mercuric oxide) "is the best at removing lice", which is the harbinger of mercuric oxide as an insecticide.

The Sui and Tang Dynasties were the heyday of Chinese alchemy.The most famous alchemist in the Sui Dynasty was Su Yuanming, whose Taoist name was Qingxiazi. On Treasures, Volume 1.In ancient my country, in order to keep secrets, alchemists often used obscure cryptic language in their works, but Su Yuanming wrote in a clear style, which was very different from his predecessors. "Taiqing Shibi Ji" is an important work in the history of alchemy. Among them, the method of refining "Taixiao Huandan" using sulfur and mercury (mercury) as raw materials is the earliest and clear about the artificial synthesis of red mercury sulfide in the existing alchemy works. Records; the "Mercury Frost Method", "Gen Xue Dan Fang" and "Wuwei Dan Fang" in the book have introduced in detail the key to the production of calomel (Hg2cl2) and mercury liter (Hgcl2), especially the refining of liter The record of the mercury method is also the earliest in this book; the book points out that the product refined from "Taiyi Realgar Pill" is "white as snow", which shows that as late as the Sui Dynasty, Chinese alchemists knew that pure arsenic (arsenic) could be obtained by roasting realgar. .In "On Treasures", Su Yuanming recorded the secret of using realgar, orpiment, and arsenic to ignite arsenic white copper and arsenic brass, and pointed out that there were 15 kinds of fake gold and 12 kinds of fake silver at that time.In the Tang Dynasty, because the emperor's surname was Li and he claimed to be the originator of Taoism, Lao Tzu (Li Dan), Taoism was regarded as the state religion.In the Tang Dynasty, most of the emperors and celebrities took pills. According to records, there were as many as thousands of alchemists in the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty, which shows the prosperity of alchemy at that time.A notable progress in alchemy in the Tang Dynasty was that the medicines tended to be small in proportion and developed quantitatively. The unit of measurement was generally "two", unlike the previous "jin" or even "hundred catty".Due to the improvement of technology, the methods of making various medicines at that time were more perfect, of higher quality, and some innovations were made, such as the process of refining lead cream (lead acetate), the extraction of elemental arsenic, and so on. "Zhenyuan Miaodao Yaolue" contains: "burn it with sulfur, realgar and saltpeter, and dense (honey)", then "the flame will burn hands, noodles and houses".This was actually the original black powder, from which the gunpowder that played a major role in the modern world was invented.There are many kinds of minerals and chemicals used in alchemy in the Tang Dynasty, some of which were even imported from abroad, such as Persian asbestos and Amitabha (Pbo).At the same time, the alchemists became more and more knowledgeable about the quality of medicines and the properties of minerals and minerals in various places.The "Jinshi Book Wujiujue" written about 664 AD is a monograph on mineral medicine, which lists the shape, quality and origin of various medicines in detail."Shiyao Erya" written by Mei Biao in 818 AD is the earliest alchemy dictionary in the world. The book records 98 kinds of elixirs that could be made at that time, and lists 163 kinds of alchemy drugs and their hidden names. Some people called the book "a reliable guide to alchemy terms in the Tang Dynasty".Another achievement of alchemy in the Tang Dynasty is that the chemical drugs obtained in alchemy have been widely used in medicine. For example, Sun Simiao's "Qian Jin Yi Fang" records that mercurous chloride (Hgcl) can treat skin diseases such as scabies and eczema; "Waitai Secret Yao" records that another kind of high mercury chloride (Hgcl2) has strong bactericidal and antiseptic power, can remove toxins, pull out pus, and promote wound healing; The resulting "silver paste" is similar to the fillings used in dentistry today; and so on.These show that alchemy has made important contributions to the development of medicine.There are many works on alchemy in the Tang Dynasty, and they have achieved high achievements in different aspects.Sun Simiao's "Taiqing Danjing Essentials" lists 18 secret recipes, refining 14 different elixirs, among which "the method of using tin to volt the male and female erhuang" is not only a method for producing elemental arsenic, but also a method for refining colored gold ( SnS2) new method.Jinlingzi's "Dragon and Tiger Returning Alchemy" recorded the simple method of extracting sand and refining mercury, which was still valued by alchemists until the Song Dynasty; the "method of refining red silver (copper)" in the book was a new method invented by alchemists in the Tang Dynasty. The method of water copper smelting plays an important role in the history of water copper smelting; in addition, the "mercury treatment method" in the book is to make mercury and sulfur into mercury sulfide, and then use lead to replace mercury by heating. The famous quantitative experimental research conducted by alchemists.Existing alchemy works of the Tang Dynasty include: Chen Shaowei's "Dadong Lianzhen Treasure Sutra for Repairing Lingsha" and "Dadong Lianzhen Treasure Sutra Nine Golden Alchemy Secrets", Zhang Guo's "Yudong Dashen Dansha Zhen Yaojue", Zhang Jiugai's "Zhang Real person Jinshi Lingsha Theory", Jin Zhupo's "Great Dan Lead and Mercury Theory", and Wuming's "Yin Yang Turning Purple Gold Point Transformation Returning Alchemy Jue", "Taishang Wei Ling Shenhua Nine Turning Dansha Method", "Shangdong Xindan Jing Jue" ", "Wang Qingyin's Book", "Red Lead into Black Lead Jue", "Xuanjielu", "Yellow Emperor's Jiuding Shendan Jing Jue", "Yinzhenjun Jinshi Five Phases", "Baiyun Immortal Spirit Grass Song", " Penglai Shanxi Zao Huan Dan Jue", "Taishang Tudui Sutra", "Taishang Shengzu Secret", "Golden Alchemy Secret Yao Shen Tonglu", "Yongquan Kufa" and so on.So many works on alchemy show the prosperity of alchemy in Tang Dynasty.

During the Five Dynasties, Song and Yuan Dynasties, alchemy continued to develop, but the momentum slowed down significantly.During this period, the amount of medicine used in alchemy was further reduced, and it had been calculated with "two" and "money", and there were more types of medicine.During the Five Dynasties, there were nearly 240 kinds of medicines recorded in Dugu Tao's "Danfang Jianyuan", which described their shapes, properties, performances in terms of elixirs, and their functions and uses in medicine.There are also quite a lot of alchemy works in the Song and Yuan Dynasties, and great achievements have been made.For example, the "Bao Zang Chang Wei Lun" of the Five Dynasties recorded the metal zinc and gall water immersion copper method earlier; the Song Dynasty "Tai Shang Ling Sha Da Dan" contained the earliest record of alchemists consciously synthesizing lead sulfide; "Ling Sha Da Dan" "Secrets" recorded a new method of obtaining colored gold by refining metal tin and cinnabar; "Danyang Shu" of Yuan Dynasty had a method for extracting elemental arsenic, and had a clear description and utilization of this substance; Several alchemy works such as "Cultivating Danyang Method" have recorded the method of using simple arsenic to directly ignite copper into arsenic white copper.The alchemy works of the Song and Yuan dynasties are superior to those of the previous dynasties in that they left many illustrations.This provides accurate information for us to understand the ancient alchemy equipment.For example, in the distiller uploaded in the "Danfang Notes" in the Southern Song Dynasty, the lower part is a heating furnace, and the upper part is a closed container for holding medicine. A bypass pipe allows mercury vapor to flow into the condensation tank next to it.Such a perfect distiller is an invention of the long-term practice of Chinese alchemists.

Since taking pills often kills people, alchemy has gradually declined since the Southern Song Dynasty.In the Ming Dynasty, although several emperors were keen on alchemy for longevity, alchemy was revived for a time, but the achievements were not great, and the elixirs were mostly used for external use, that is, for medicine.For example, "Hongshengdan" (pure mercury oxide) is still used in traditional Chinese medicine and surgery.By the time of Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty, because Shizong died of taking elixir, several alchemists were dealt with in his will, which was a major blow to alchemy. Since then, the status of alchemy in society has been declining day by day.

"Zhou Yi Can Tong Qi" written by Wei Boyang in the Eastern Han Dynasty is the earliest theoretical work in the history of alchemy in my country and in the world.Wei Boyang was born in Shangyu, Kuaiji (now Shangyu County, Zhejiang). The date of his birth and death is unknown. We only know that he lived in the time of Emperor Huan of the Eastern Han Dynasty.Now the Jinlei Temple in Shangyu County, Zhejiang Province is said to be the place where he made alchemy. "Zhouyi Cantongqi", also known as "Cantongqi", is divided into three parts: the first, the middle and the second, and a tripod song, with a total of more than 6,000 words.Most of the book is written in rhyme, and the words are quaint and profound, so it is not easy to understand.This has also caused differences in people's understanding of the basic content of the book.In ancient times, some people regarded it as the work of Waidan, while others regarded it as a monograph, and this kind of debate has continued to this day.Most people now think that the book contains both inner alchemy and outer alchemy. Except for the general theoretical part, the outer alchemy is the main one, and the inner alchemy is supplemented.

"Zhouyi Cantongqi" is not the earliest work on alchemy in my country.Wei Boyang mentioned in his book that he had 600 pieces of "Fire Records" at that time, as well as alchemy works such as "Dragon and Tiger Classic" named after the Yellow Emperor.The key reason why this book is respected by later generations and regarded as the "King of Alchemy Classics" is that in this book, Wei Boyang summed up the alchemy experience of his predecessors, and on this basis, he used ancient philosophical thoughts to analyze alchemy. The technique has been theoretically demonstrated and improved. The title of the book "Zhouyi Cantongqi" illustrates this point.According to Wei Boyang's explanation in the book, it means that Zhouyi thought, Huang Lao Taoism and alchemy are in harmony.

"Zhouyi Cantongqi" demonstrates that the theoretical basis of alchemy is the theory of vitality, yin and yang, five elements, and eight trigrams that emerged in the pre-Qin period.He believes that the creation and changes of all things in the world are the result of the interaction between Yang Qi and Yin Qi. Different substances can transform and grow together, so of course a certain substance can be refined to keep people full of vitality for a long time.When explaining the possibility and rationality of alchemy, "Zhouyi Cantongqi" regards the changes in nature as laws to follow. Just like the phenomenon of boiling soil and leather into glue, alchemy is also "natural."When explaining why taking Jindan can make people live forever, the book says: "Gold is immortal, so it is a treasure of all things. Warlocks (alchemists) can live long if they take it." The naive idea of ​​gold's anti-corrosion properties being mechanically implanted into the human body for immortality.Later, Ge Hong in the Eastern Jin Dynasty developed this idea into a concept of elixir of "self-reinforcing by fake (borrowing) foreign objects", which became the ideological pillar of alchemists in the past dynasties.Putting aside the unrealistic hope of begging for longevity, it can be seen that the discussion of material changes in "Zhouyi Cantongqi" has a simple materialist viewpoint and dialectical thinking.This is very valuable.

"Zhouyi Cantongqi" also recorded many specific alchemy techniques.There is a "Ding Qi Song" in the book, which describes the most important equipment for alchemy, the "Ding Ding".Danding is a reactor for chemical reactions.This is a very good poem chanting things, expressing the shape and size of the tripod in detail, enabling us to obtain important knowledge of the early Danding tripod. Many alchemy drugs are recorded in the book.Ancient alchemists regarded the medicines used in alchemy as secrets that should not be revealed to others, so they often used "cryptic words" to represent these medicines in their writings. The same is true in "Zhou Yi Can Tong Qi", for example, mercury is called "the girl on the river", lead is called "yellow bud" and so on.After research by scholars, it is believed that the alchemy drugs mentioned in "Zhou Yi Can Tong Qi" include: lead, mercury, gold, copper, sulfur, cinnabar, stone gall, mica, nao [nao] sand, and yu [yu] stone , Magnets, etc. The characteristics of these drugs are also described in "Zhou Yi Can Tong Qi".For example, when describing mercury, it is said: "The girl on the river is the most spiritual. If you get fire, you will fly, and you will not see dust. Ghosts and dragons will hide, and you will not know what is there. To control it, the yellow bud is the root." It means: Mercury Lively and mysterious like a girl, it will "fly" away without leaving a trace when heated by fire; but it can be fixed by the reaction of lead and mercury.In a few words, record the volatility of mercury and its physical and chemical properties that easily combine with lead. "Zhouyi Cantongqi" also recorded some attractive chemical reaction processes.For example, metal lead and its compounds appeared very early in our country. Before the Han Dynasty, people were already making hu powder for cosmetics, that is, basic lead carbonate. "Zhou Yi Can Tong Qi" said: "Hu powder thrown into the fire, the color is broken and it turns into lead." This refers to the chemical phenomenon that basic lead carbonate is reduced to lead when it meets carbon at high temperature.In "Zhouyi Cantongqi", the core content of alchemy practice is refining "returning alchemy", and the refining process is divided into three stages.The first is to heat 15 parts of lead and six parts of mercury together to form lead amalgam (lead dissolves in mercury, called "Huang Yu" in books); continue to heat the lead amalgam for a long time, the mercury is basically evaporated, and the lead It is oxidized to form lead red in the shape of "gray soil"; mix lead red with nine parts of mercury, smash and grind evenly, put it in a tripod, and heat it first with a slow fire and then with a strong fire.Red lead decomposes to release oxygen above 500 ℃, and mercury combines with oxygen to form red mercury oxide, which condenses on the upper part of the red tripod, thus refining red red (HgO). "Zhouyi Cantongqi" also believes that only the same kind of substances can undergo chemical changes with each other, but different kinds of substances cannot interact.The book particularly emphasizes the importance of the ratio of substances when they interact, and believes that the type of medicine and the ratio of dosage are the key to the success of alchemy.Thousands of years ago, it was remarkable to be able to acquire so much chemical knowledge. After the Tang and Song Dynasties, alchemy, which focused on refining gold and stones, began to decline. At the same time, in Taoism, the school of inner alchemy, which uses the human body as a furnace to exercise inner essence, to achieve the purpose of health preservation and immortality, began to rise.Because the theory in "Zhouyi Cantong Qi" is very general, it is very suitable for the needs of inner alchemists, so it is also regarded as a classic by inner alchemists. The qigong method and theory of "introducing internal nourishment" in "Zhouyi Cantongqi" has a huge effect on the development of ancient human science. "Zhouyi Cantongqi" had a great influence on ancient Chinese science.Its theoretical content is related to ancient chemistry, physiology, medicine, mathematics, physics and qigong therapy, and it is a precious heritage.In history, there have been continuous studies on this book, and they have inherited and developed the thought and practice of "Zhouyi Cantongqi" in terms of inner alchemy and outer alchemy.Modern people's research on "Zhouyi Cantongqi" began in the early 1930s. In 1932, Professor TL Davis of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Wu Luqiang jointly published the translation and research results of "Zhouyi Cantongqi".This is the first research paper on this topic, which has attracted great attention both at home and abroad.Since then, the scientific value of "Zhouyi Cantongqi" has gradually been recognized by people, and its research has become more and more in-depth.

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