Chapter 5 The fourth section "Zhouyi Cantongqi" and the alchemists of the Han Dynasty

In ancient China, some people liked to talk about immortals, and they did things that seemed strange to ordinary people. People called these people immortal alchemists. As early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the belief in immortals had already begun to spread.The two countries of Yan and Qi are close to the sea. People there say that there are three fairy islands in the sea. There are immortals living on the islands. The immortals will never die by eating immortal medicines.The kings of Yan and Qi once listened to the words of the alchemists and sent people to search for the fairy island in the sea.After Qin Shihuang unified China, he sent Xu Fu, an alchemist, with several large ships, and boys and girls into the sea to visit the gods.But Xu Fu didn't come back after leaving. Many people said that he also became a fairy and would not come back.

People in Chu State in the south believe that there are immortals living on the mountains, their skin is as white as ice and snow, and they are as graceful as young girls;Every day, ride the clouds and fog or ride a flying dragon to travel around the world.They are invulnerable to water and fire, and their life span is as long as the sky, earth, sun and moon.Such a fairy life is really enviable!Especially those princes who enjoy the wealth and honor in the world, there is no one who does not want to live forever.So some people claimed that they had mastered the "way of immortality", and some people went to the court to offer some "medicine of immortality".

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty also wanted to become immortal.The alchemist Li Shaojun told him that he once saw a fairy on the sea, and the dates that the fairy ate were as big as melons.If the immortal is happy to see you, he will see you; if he is not happy, you will not be able to find him.Li Shaojun said that he can use cinnabar (a mineral, scientific name is mercury sulfide, chemical molecular formula HgS) and other minerals to refine "gold", and then use it to make utensils for eating and drinking water. Using these utensils when eating, you can live longer.If you live a very long life, the immortal will be happy to see you, and you will be able to get the immortal medicine that will make you immortal.Emperor Wu believed it was true and felt that he was really capable, so he gave him a lot of cinnabar and other raw materials to make "gold".Dansha was also referred to as Dan in ancient times, which originally meant red.The appearance of cinnabar is red.Therefore, Li Shaojun's set is usually regarded as the earliest alchemy activity recorded in historical documents.

Liu An, the king of Huainan during Emperor Wu's time, also liked to study alchemy. It is said that he wrote several books, but not all of them have been handed down.There is a story about "one person attains enlightenment, chicken and dog ascend to heaven". It is said that an old man wanted to see Liu An, but the gatekeeper refused to let him in.The old man showed his supernatural powers and immediately turned into a young man.Only then did the gatekeeper know that he had encountered an immortal, and hurriedly notified him.Liu An immediately came out to greet him, and the old man gave him the elixir, and Liu An became a god after taking it.The remaining medicine was eaten by chickens and dogs, and both chickens and dogs went to heaven.This story was widely circulated in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and its appearance probably has something to do with Liu An's belief in immortal alchemy and his love of alchemy.Around the end of the Western Han Dynasty and the beginning of the Eastern Han Dynasty, many alchemy works began to be secretly circulated in society.

In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a alchemist named Wei Boyang who also knew how to make alchemy.He summed up the experience of the predecessors in studying alchemy, and also summed up many methods and experiences of the ancients in refining and nourishing the body, and wrote a book called "Zhou Yi Can Tong Qi".The book talks about a large set of mysterious truths, using the theory of "Book of Changes" popular in the Han Dynasty to explain the methods of alchemy and body cultivation.Especially for the miraculous effect of Fudan, the book vigorously promotes: Jusheng is flax, also known as pockmark, which is the seed of a plant.The ancients believed that eating it for a long time can prolong people's lifespan, not to mention the miraculous recovery of pills.Gold is the most chemically stable of all metals known to the ancients.Wei Boyang said that after these things enter the human body, they moisten the whole body like rain and mist, and can make the complexion more beautiful, the white hair turn black, and the teeth grow longer, making people rejuvenate, old men into young adults, and old ladies into adults. The young girl changed her appearance, avoided disasters, and became the so-called immortal real person.

In addition, there is a set of sayings in the book about the raw materials used in alchemy and the mastery of the alchemy process.There are many kinds of alchemy raw materials used by the predecessors.Wei Boyang believes that the most important are lead and mercury. Alchemists must master the heat, and alchemists who practice alchemy think this is a particularly important thing.The book explains when to add fire and when to anneal in a day, a month, and a year, using the theory of "Book of Changes" that was popular at that time.The people of the Han Dynasty selected four hexagrams from the sixty-four hexagrams in the "Book of Changes" to manage the four seasons, and the remaining sixty hexagrams matched the specific months and days in order. This set was used to describe the climate change from heatstroke to cold in a year.Wei Boyang changed to use sixty hexagrams with 30 days a month, two hexagrams a day, saying that the alchemy should be controlled and adjusted according to the changes of these hexagrams.

"Zhou Yi Can Tong Qi" was not widely circulated in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, but it had a great influence later on.After the Tang and Song dynasties, many Taoists in the past dynasties commented on this book, admiring it as the "King of the Alchemy of All Ages", that is, the most important book among all the books on alchemy.