Institute for the History of Natural Sciences (IHNS), CAS
Studies in the History of Natural Sciences NO.1 2007 - China's Earliest Taoist Alchemistic Artifact: Initial Study on the Gold-Mercury Alloy Unearthed from No.2 Western Han Tomb in Shuangbaoshan, Mianyang, Sichuan Province
HE Zhiguo (School of Art, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China)
SUN Shuyun (Institute for the History of Metallurgy and Materials, Beijing Univercity of Science and Technology, Beijing 100083, China)
LIANG Honggang (Chinese Institute of Cultural Relics, Beijing 100029, China)
Abstract A silver ointment-like metal was unearthed from No.2 Western Han tomb in Shuangbaoshan, Mianyang, Sichuan province in China. Upon inspection, it is found to be “gold amalgam” which contains liquid mercury and gold-mercury alloy. According to ancient Chinese documents, it is the earliest alchemistic material found so far in China. The jade clothes sewn with silver thread, wood Bi, painted figurine with nerve and vein, and pottery pills from the same tomb also serve as collateral evidence.
Key words Western Han dynasty, gold amalgam, alchemistic artifact