Chinese Alchemy

Though similar to western alchemy, Chinese alchemy developed independently and was based more on longevity than wealth. They did not have the Hermetic beliefs or the idea of the philosophers stone but instead followed Taoism. Chinese alchemy was also very closely tied to traditional medicine. Similarly to western alchemy, Chinese alchemy was not written in a straightforward manner. Rather than using allegory or code like in Europe, Chinese alchemists wrote in symbols. Each element and action had its own symbol in Chinese alchemy. Another similarly to European alchemy was the way minerals developed. Alchemists in China believed that they matured into more precious materials and aimed to replicate this process in their labs. This was similar to what the Europeans were doing but for an entirely different purpose.

Beginings

It is unknown exactly when Chinese alchemy began but it dates at least 1000 years before the common era. It became very prevalent around 400 BCE when Dzou Yen came into the picture. Yen was highly regarded among many powerful Chinese people at the time and was described as a very colorful character. He gained popularity by promising his patrons riches through his alchemy and said he could use the occult to give them advice on running their kingdoms.

Taoism and a problem of potions

Taoism is an ancient Chinese religion that focuses on balancing Tao. Tao is the name for two opposing forces called yin and yang. Yin is female and passive while Yang is male and active. Taoism was present in alchemy through Waiden and Neidan. Neidan is inner alchemy and focuses on meditation and finding balance of spirit within. Waiden is outer alchemy and involved creating elixirs to prolong life and heal oneself. It was believed that substances rich in yang would prolong life so these substances were very common in alchemical potions. Gold was seen to have a lot of yang but the substance alchemists believed had the most yang was cinnabar. The problem comes when you realize cinnabar is now known as mercury (II) sulfide. Eventually, after there potions filing and causing mental and physical damage to its user, alchemists decided to use gold instead.

One of, if not the greatest contribution Chinese alchemy had on the world was the creation of gunpowder. First discover around the year 500, gunpowder was initially known as "fire medicine" in china and was used to create fireworks. People quickly realized its destructive potential and began constructing bombs, rockets, mines and flamethrowers. Guns were not created until much later when gunpowder was introduced to Europe.

Chinese Gold

For alchemists to create their "elixirs of life" they needed gold. Unlike their European counterparts, the Chinese wanted gold to heal rather than to become rich. This came about around 133 BCE when an unnamed alchemist entered a royal court, claiming to have unlocked the secret to immortality. He claimed that using alchemy and traditional medicine he could bring harmony to one's body and soul. Nobel's at the time despised commercial ideas so accepted this idea of alchemy rather than the Europeans quest for gold. Medicine in china was already ahead of medicine in Greece at the time because the Chinese believed that minerals could be used with organic materials to create medicine while the Greek thought only organics would do. Between 200 and 300 BCE a Taoist book called "Tsan Tung Chi" appears and seemingly gives the process of creating a gold pill. Gold was said to grant immortality as it doesn't decay or dull. From this time forth, Chinese alchemists and emperors often ate and drank from gold dishes and would ingest gold pills in the hope of immortality.

In Chinese alchemy, rather than the elixir of life or the philosophers stone, alchemists were looking for a cure all. It was a substance that would balance one's internal energies to overcome poison, be healthier, live longer and sometimes even immortal. In some tales, the cure all even gave the user flight, but those were just legends. Chinese alchemy also had competing ideas with the rest of society on the topic because of some of the legendary figure, known as nephalems. To alchemists, they were angelic helpers but in many other religions, they were seen as nefarious, divine/human hybrid, monstrosities.

Ge Hong

Ge Hong (or Ko Hung as he is sometimes known) was a great Chinese alchemist and writer who live during the Jin dynasty from 283 to 343. In his work he wrote of the benefits of alchemy and medicine. He described that traditional medicine was indeed good for your health, but, to achieve immortality, you would need an elixir made of transmuted metals. Boiling, sublimation, fusion and likely distillation were used to create his elixirs. Hong made potions out of a combination of cinnabar, sulfur, lead, arsenic sulfide, salt, chalk and oyster shells. The cinnabar was replaced with gold when mercury was discovered to be toxic, but potions like this still lead to many mental and physical ailments, and sometimes death. This is how alchemy became more and more akin to traditional pharmaceuticals.

Wu Xing or the Five Elements is an idea in Taoism that indicates the interaction between different things. Five was a very important number in Chinese culture and many experiments would have five steps or would repeat the step five times. Wu Xing includes a number of sets of five including elements, colors, directions, emotions, organs, animals and, (most important to alchemy) metals.

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