Chinese alchemy facts for kids
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Chinese alchemy is an ancient Chinese way of exploring science and technology. It's a big part of the Taoist tradition, which focused on improving the body and spirit. This practice grew from traditional Chinese ideas about medicine and how the human body works.
Ancient texts, like the Cantong qi, explain that the body is like a small universe. It follows the same natural processes as the world around us, especially the five agents of change, called Wuxing. By understanding and working with these processes, people believed they could become more in tune with the Tao, which is like the natural flow of the universe.
In China, alchemy was mainly about living a long life and making one's spirit, mind, and body pure. This was thought to bring health, long life, and wisdom. People practiced things like Qigong and wuxingheqidao. They also used special mixtures called alchemical medicines or elixirs. These elixirs had different goals, but many were aimed at helping people achieve immortality.
A process called Pao zhi (炮制) was used in Traditional Chinese medicine. It involved preparing ingredients, sometimes by frying them with honey or wine. It also included roasting certain metals like mercury, lead, and arsenic, which are known to be harmful.
Taoism had two main parts. The first was classical Daojia (道家), which was more about spiritual and mystical ideas, coming from thinkers like Laozi and Zhuangzi. The second was Daojiao (道教), which was more popular and included magical and alchemical practices. Daojia was generally more serious, while Daojiao was practiced by many ordinary people.
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What was the purpose of Chinese alchemy?
Alchemists believed that if they could change ordinary metals into gold and then eat this "fake" or man-made gold, they would gain immortal life. They thought this artificial gold was even better than real gold. This was because they believed mixing different substances and changing them through heating gave the final product a special spiritual value. This made it seem to have a more powerful essence than natural gold.
The most desired substances to work with and consume were gold and cinnabar (called jindan). People thought these substances had the power to make things last a long time, and so they could extend a person's life.
Cinnabar is a reddish-brown mineral. It's the most common natural source of mercury. Its red color and the difficulty of refining it made alchemists think it was connected to immortality. Red was also important in Chinese culture, representing the sun, fire, royalty, and energy. When cinnabar was heated, it produced a liquid form of silver called quicksilver, which we now call mercury. People would sometimes consume this. It could also be mixed with sulfur and heated again to turn back into solid cinnabar. The solid form was seen as the yang to quicksilver's yin.
Gold was quite rare in China and usually had to be brought in from other countries. However, cinnabar could be found and refined in the mountains of Sichuan and Hunan provinces in central China.
While many elixirs for xian (immortality) were made from jindan, others were created by mixing metals with natural herbs or animal parts. For example, rhinoceros horn was often used in medicines and elixirs, believed to help with fertility. Elixirs contained metal compounds like gold and silver, but also more dangerous ingredients like arsenic and sulfur.
How was Chinese alchemy different from Western alchemy?
Both Eastern (Chinese) and Western (European) alchemy had similar goals and methods. While Taoists were very interested in creating an elixir for immortality, European alchemists also looked for ways to make substances that could extend life. Both groups also wanted to learn how to change one element into another, especially ordinary metals into gold or silver.
In Europe, the idea of turning cheap materials into gold was very appealing. This kept medieval alchemy popular for a long time, even after Chinese alchemy became less common. Also, changing elements was a way to get precious metals needed for life-extending elixirs, which were otherwise expensive and hard to find.
Chinese alchemy was quite consistent in its practices from the beginning. There wasn't much disagreement among its followers. The main differences were in the specific recipes for the elixir of immortality or its many names (scholars have found about 1000 different names!). Because Chinese alchemy was based on the ideas of Yin and Yang, the I Ching, and the Five Elements, it focused more on reaching a higher mental and spiritual state.
In the West, there were arguments between those who preferred herbal medicines and those who favored "chemical" (mineral) remedies. But in China, mineral remedies were always accepted. In Europe, some alchemists focused on making gold, while others thought medicine was the true goal. The Chinese, however, always preferred the goal of medicine and longevity.
Where did Chinese alchemy begin?
Even with a lot of research, experts are still not sure exactly when Chinese alchemy started. Some thought China was making gold about a thousand years before Confucius, but others disagree, saying that in the 5th century BCE, there wasn't even a word for gold in China, and it was an unknown metal.
However, despite the unclear beginnings, Chinese alchemy and the Taoist tradition share many similar ideas. This suggests that Laozi and Zhang Daoling might be the founders of this tradition. One story says that Zhang refused to work for the Emperor and went to live in the mountains. There, he met Laozi, and together they developed the ideas for creating the Elixir of Life. This is often seen as the starting point for Chinese alchemy, with its goal of achieving immortality.
One of the first clear mentions of Chinese alchemy in history comes from the time of Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor of Qin. A writer named Huan Kuan (73-49 BC) wrote about how changing natural forms and consuming them could bring immortality. Before Huan Kuan, alchemy was mostly about turning ordinary metals into gold.
Other researchers, like Cooper, claim that alchemy was already popular "well before 144 BCE." This is because at that time, the Emperor ordered public execution for anyone found making fake gold. This shows that people knew how to heat metals to change them into a desired form. Cooper also points out that an emperor in 60 BCE hired a famous scholar, Liu Hsiang, to make alchemical gold and extend the Emperor's life. With all these different ideas about its origins, it's hard to know for sure when Chinese alchemy truly began. However, historical Taoist texts often describe alchemical practices, many of which mention an elixir or the Golden Elixir that grants eternal life when consumed.
Since there's a strong link between Taoism and Laozi, some believe he played a big part in creating Chinese alchemy. The Zhou Dynasty philosopher Zou Yan is also said to have written many alchemical books, but none have ever been found or linked to him. The most likely people connected to the start of Chinese alchemy are Laozi, Zhang Daoling, and Zhuangzi, as they are all important figures in Taoist teachings.
Yin and Yang in alchemy
The idea of yin-yang is very important in Chinese alchemical theory. Metals were often seen as male or female. Mercury and sulfur, in particular, were thought to have powers related to the moon (yin) and sun (yang).
Even before Taoism, the Chinese had clear ideas about how the natural world worked and changed. This included the wu xing: Water, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Wood. These elements were believed to be able to change into one another. This idea was key because external alchemy relied on the belief that natural elements could transform. The balanced cycle of these elements is connected to the yin-yang idea, so it appears often in alchemy.
Outer and inner alchemy
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Chinese alchemy has two main ways of practicing: waidan or "external alchemy" and neidan or "internal alchemy." You can find many details about these methods in the Daozang, which is a collection of Taoist writings.
Outer alchemy (Waidan)
Waidan means "outer elixir." It refers to alchemical work done outside the body. This includes preparing chemical elixirs from substances like cinnabar, realgar, and other materials such as mercury, sulfur, lead, and arsenic. It also uses animal and plant products found in Chinese herbology and Traditional Chinese medicine.
This process involves secret oral instructions, building a special laboratory, and carefully controlling the fires used. The alchemist also had to follow rules of seclusion and purification. They performed ceremonies to protect themselves and their workspace. Waidan could also include following a special diet. Preparing these medicines and elixirs was considered an "outer practice" because it happened outside the body. The goal was for these substances, once consumed, to bring about physical changes within the body, separate from the soul.
Inner alchemy (Neidan)
Neidan means "inner elixir." It uses techniques like meditation, visualization, breathing exercises, and specific body postures. Breathing exercises were used to keep jing or "life essence," and body postures helped improve qi or "energy" flow in the body.
Neidan focuses on creating an elixir from the principles of Traditional Chinese medicine and by working with substances already present in the body. This mainly involves controlling three important substances called the "Three Treasures":
- Jing is like "life essence." You are born with a certain amount of Jing, and it guides your growth. People believed they could increase their Jing through diet and lifestyle choices.
- Qi is "energy" or "vital energy." Qi energy comes from the interaction of yin and yang. A healthy body has Qi flowing constantly.
- Shen is "spirit" or "mind." Shen is the energy used for thinking, spiritual activities, and creativity.
The Three Treasures are also linked to specific places in the body where the alchemical process happens. These places include major organs and energy centers called dantians:
- Jing (life essence) is found in the Kidneys.
- Qi (vital energy) is in the Lower Dantian, located about an inch below the navel.
- Shen (spiritual energy) is in the Middle Dantian, which is the Heart.
During and after the Han dynasty, Neidan and Taoist martial arts gradually combined, leading to Neijia martial arts. Famous Taijiquan masters like Wu Tunan and Chen Weiming practiced Neijia.
What were the dangers of alchemical elixirs?
When people took these alchemical mixtures, they didn't always get the results they wanted. Many people became very sick or had mental problems after taking certain elixirs. Some even died. However, the risk of death might not have seemed too great compared to the promise of living forever. Even though these elixirs could be dangerous, some believe that the alchemists knew the risks of the materials they were using.
There were different levels of immortality. If an alchemist died, the level of immortality they reached was judged by their body. If their body smelled sweet, it was said they had achieved immortality in a spiritual state. If their body disappeared, leaving only their clothes (like the adept Ko Hung), this was another form of immortality called shih chieh hsien (corpse-free immortals).
How did alchemy relate to medicine?
Medicines could be used to heal sicknesses inside or outside the body, to control aging, or even to prevent death. The words "medicine" and "elixir" were often used interchangeably because they could affect so many different problems. The main difference was that many medicines were made mostly from natural products like herbs and animal products (not the animals themselves, but things like their fur or dung).
Even though metal compounds were often thought to be stronger for curing illnesses, herbs were used because they were easier to mix and more widely available. Ingredients for medicines included: Kolo nuts, used in famous longevity pills; Asparagus, known to increase strength; sesame, which was thought to prevent forgetfulness; and pine, which had many different uses. Mushrooms, especially the "magic fungus" (Ganoderma), were and still are very popular in Chinese alchemy and medicine, with thousands of uses.
Who were some famous alchemists?
As alchemy became more popular in China, it was seen as a special art. Many women were known to have become masters of this art. The earliest recorded woman alchemist was named Fang (方). She lived around the first century B.C. She grew up in a scholarly family that knew a lot about alchemy. She even studied alchemy with one of Emperor Han Wu Ti's wives, which gave her access to the highest levels of society.
Fang is credited with discovering a way to turn mercury into silver. It's thought she might have used a chemical method to get silver from its ores using mercury. After boiling the mercury, pure silver would be left behind. Details about Fang's life were written down by the author and alchemist Ge Hong.
Keng Hsien-Seng (around A.D. 975) was another female alchemist. Writings from Wu Shu say she "mastered the art of the yellow and white [alchemy] with many other strong transformations, mysterious and incomprehensible." Wu Shu also said Keng knew other Taoist techniques and was believed to be able to control spirits. She also mastered changing mercury and "snow" into silver, likely using a method to extract silver from its ores. She also used an early type of Soxhlet process to continuously extract camphor into alcohol.
Other female alchemists mentioned in Chinese writings include Pao Ku Ko (third century A.D.), Thai Hsuan Nu, Sun Pu-Eh (12th century), and Shen Yu Hsiu (15th century).
See also
- Chinese alchemical elixir poisoning
- Alchemy and chemistry in medieval Islam
- Cold-Food Powder
- Yellow Court Classic
Images for kids
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Chinese woodblock illustration of a waidan alchemical refining furnace, 1856 Waike tushuo (外科圖説, Illustrated Manual of External Medicine)
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Chinese woodblock illustration of neidan "Cleansing the heart-mind and retiring into concealment", 1615 Xingming guizhi 性命圭旨 (Pointers on Spiritual Nature and Bodily Life)
