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Verifying That the Tang Emperors Who Took Elixir Pills—Vindicating the Name of External Alchemy
When Daoist elixir refinement is mentioned, people invariably say that the elixir contains all manner of toxic and harmful substances, so many died from taking it, citing the deaths of several historical emponors who took elixir as examples. Influenced by common notions, people think many Tang emperors died from taking elixir. Then another question arises: since predecessors died from taking it, why did later ones still believe? The shallow explanation is simply that emperors all deludedly sought immortality, and so on. Is that really the case? Actually, if one counts strictly, very few emperors died from taking elixir. The Tang had 21 emperors in all; the usual claim is that Taizong, Xianzong, Muzong, Wuzong, and Xuanzong died from taking elixir.
External Alchemy ResearchA Study of the Six-One Mud in Alchemical Scriptures
To refine external elixirs one must first build a furnace. Building the furnace is an extremely important part of alchemy, and to build a furnace one first needs Six-One Mud. This article analyzes the composition of Six-One Mud in detail. Ge Hong’s Baopuzi · Golden Elixir mentions: “Use realgar water, alum water, Rong salt, brine salt, alum, oyster shells, red halloysite, talc, and lead powder, each several tens of jin, to make Six-One Mud [for sealing].” The main function of Six-One Mud is to seal the elixir furnace; in ancient times it was also called divine mud. But the preparation of Six-One Mud has always been kept as an alchemist’s secret, so whether what is recorded in publicly available alchemical scriptures is correct, and which version is the most correct, can no longer be verified.
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