Alchemy is the quest for immortality, the greatest of all temptations to which mankind is subjected. Since the beginning of time, man has wished to live forever and has made all kinds of attempts to do so. Of all the attempts, the fantasies and techniques of the alchemists were the most commonly used.
Alchemy is a name that began in Europe in the 12th century. By the eighth century A.D., alchemy had really taken off. Similar to China, gold making did not play an important role; the alchemists sought to make medicine, and immortality was their main goal.
Alchemy in the West dates back to the Hellenistic period, and the earliest and most reliable representative is Zosimus. Zosimus, who lived from about 350 to 420 A.D., believed in the existence of a substance that could magically bring about the desired changes in metals. His name for this substance, which was imported from Arabia into Latin, was "Elixirvitae" (Elixir of Immortality), which is similar to the Chinese term "Elixir of Excellence", which is "the elixir of immortality". The "Golden Elixir" is also similar to the Chinese term "Elixir of Immortality", which is a "superb medicine" that can make people immortal. Another alchemist, Hermes, active in the third century AD, was an Egyptian cleric. As the inventor of all useful arts, Hermes was universally respected, seen as communicating with the Egyptian god of the moon, and later slowly deified as the "triple god Hermes," so that his name, eventually, evolved directly into "alchemy".
The alchemist believed that the distillation and purification of base metals in alchemy was a process of perfection through death and resurrection, symbolizing the perfection of the soul of the person engaged in alchemy from death and resurrection. Therefore, the "golden elixir" he produces can prolong his life, refresh his spirit and strengthen his essence, and enable him to gain a life of enjoyment, superior wisdom, high morality, and change his spiritual outlook, so that he can ultimately achieve communication with the Creator. Needless to say, such a goal is unattainable. Alchemists also understood this, and thus "explained" it in various ways. For example, one alchemical work explains the difficulty of attaining immortality by saying, "Since it is the most fortunate of all the fortunes of this world, I believe that it can only be attained by a very small number of men who have obtained the Philosopher's Stone through the revelation of the good angels of God, and not through personal diligence." Moreover, the method of taking the "Golden Elixir" to cure diseases and live forever is also intentionally very subtle.
But nonetheless, because of the lure of immortality, until the 19th century, when the possibility of chemically producing gold could not be disproved by scientific evidence, there was a wide market for it, and even great scientists like Isaac Newton thought it was worthwhile to experiment with the production of gold. Many kings in the West, like those emperors in China, were bent on achieving long and eternal life through alchemy. For example, King Henry VI of England, King Charles VII and Charles IX of France, King Charles XII of Sweden, and King Frederick William I and Frederick William II of Prussia were all great believers in alchemy. Which is particularly interesting, like the British Queen Elizabeth, the alchemist John Dee is really favored beyond measure, and even licensed him to engage in alchemy activities in the palace. In Prague, the so-called "center of alchemy", the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II made the alchemist Michael Melt a count.
The advent of modern chemistry cast doubt on the possibility of making gold, and after the 17th century, alchemy was criticized. Hopes for alchemy were dashed.
Alchemy was a medieval idea and practice of chemical philosophy that was the prototype of contemporary chemistry. Its goals were the transformation of some base metals into gold, the discovery of cure-alls and the preparation of elixirs of immortality. Science now shows that this approach does not work. But until the 19th century, alchemy had not been disproved by scientific evidence. A number of famous scientists, including Isaac Newton, made attempts at alchemy. It took the advent of modern chemistry to cast doubt on the possibility of alchemy.
Alchemy in the West
Early alchemists lived from the first to the fifth centuries AD. The earliest works on alchemy in the West were written under the name of Pseudo-Democritus (c. 100 AD). Western alchemy considered metals to be living organisms, which gradually developed into perfect gold. This development could be facilitated, or artificially imitated. The means adopted was to isolate the form or soul of the gold and transfer it to the base metal; the base metal would then take on the form or characteristics of the gold. The soul or form of the metal is regarded as an aura, which is mainly expressed in the color of the metal. Thus the gilding of the surface of the base metal with gold and silver is taken as a transformation effected by the alchemist.
A fairly common method employed by alchemists was to fuse four base metals, copper, tin, lead, and iron, to obtain an alloy-like substance. The surface of this alloy is then whitened, thus giving it an aura or form of silver. Then a little gold is added to it as a seed or leavening agent to change the whole alloy into gold. Finally, another procedure is added, either etching away the surface layer of base metal, leaving a surface of gold, or soaking the alloy in sulfuric water to make it look somewhat like bronze, and the transformation is complete.
Another idea, widely disseminated by early alchemists, was the even more primitive notion that metals were the product of hermaphroditic reproduction, that they were themselves male and female. This idea is more important in Islam and medieval alchemy. From the 12th century AD onwards, the West, where Christianity was prevalent, began to translate Arabic and Greek writings, including alchemical texts. The influence of Greek alchemy on Europe was far less than that of systematized Arabic alchemy. The production of gold was the main goal of European alchemy. European scholars based on the theory of Islamic alchemy, made a lot of experiments. Although it is unlikely to succeed, but for the development of chemistry and the emergence of a large amount of knowledge.
Islamic Alchemy
Islamic alchemy embodies a philosophy about the essence, which is closely related to the philosophy of Hermes in ancient Greece and Chinese alchemy, as well as about the special principles of minerals and metals transformed into gold. In the history of Islam, Muslim scholars have long debated the efficacy of alchemy. Most orthodox religious scholars were opposed to alchemy, while most scholars of natural disciplines, although they too did not believe that metals in general could be turned into gold, accepted the basic ideas of alchemy. The famous Islamic medical doctor Ibn Sina based his doctrine of the composition of metals in his Book of Healing on the theories of alchemy.
The earliest Muslim alchemist was the Umayyad prince Khalid ibn Yaqid, and at the beginning of the 8th century, alchemy was very popular and was represented by Jabir ibn Hayan. His writings, the Seventy Books and the Book of Equilibrium, are regarded as the fundamental theoretical works of Islamic alchemy and are the most important texts on alchemy written in Arabic. The Muslim physician and alchemist Razi is credited with developing alchemy as the founder of ancient chemistry.
Alchemy in China
Alchemy was called alchemy in ancient China.
China sent people to the sea to seek immortality pills from immortals after Qin Shi Huang unified the six kingdoms. Emperor Wu of Han himself was passionate about the immortals and the medicine of immortality. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, the art of alchemy was developed, and a famous alchemist, Wei Boyang, wrote the book "Zhouyi santongqi" to elucidate the immortality of immortality. Later, Tao Hongjing, an alchemist of the Jin Dynasty, wrote the Zhenjiu. In the Tang Dynasty, alchemy combined with Taoism and entered its heyday, when Sun Simiao, an alchemist, wrote Dan Fang Zhi Yao. These alchemy writings have a lot of chemical knowledge, according to statistics *** there are more than 60 kinds of chemical drugs, there are many records of chemical changes.
The Impact of Alchemy
Alchemy has been proven wrong by modern science. However, as a pioneer of modern chemistry, it has played a positive role in the history of chemical development. Through alchemy, people accumulated experience in chemical operations, invented a variety of experimental apparatus, and recognized many natural minerals. Alchemy became the basis for the emergence and development of modern chemistry in Europe.
Muslims have not only made outstanding contributions to the cognition and practice of science, but also explored the "secret arts" which are regarded as "pseudo-science". The "secret arts" of Islam mainly include alchemy, physiognomy and divination (e.g. clay divination). They are categorized as "pseudo-science" because they use a mysterious symbolic language. Alchemy is the primary occult art, and traditional alchemy is actually a complete way of looking at things, including both a view of the universe, which is generally associated with metallurgy, and an understanding of the soul, which often involves spiritual psychotherapy. Alchemy was once considered a science and a method. Alchemy is based on the theory of "mutual compatibility", which holds that everything exists in a way that "you are in me, and I am in you", so that one thing can be transformed into another, and not only the general attributes of things can be transformed, but also the nature of things can be changed. The so-called alchemy refers to a secret art of changing the form and nature of matter in the presence of a spiritual power symbolized by the point of gold, but the prerequisite for the change of matter is the transformation of the inner spirit of man. On the surface, alchemy is closely related to the material world, especially to minerals and metals, and it can be said that the history of the development of chemistry cannot be separated from alchemy; but essentially, alchemy is not primitive chemistry, nor is it pure psychology, which utilizes the change of minerals and metals and other substances formed in the process of alchemy to promote the transformation of the human soul.
Islamic alchemy embodies a philosophy about essence, which is closely related to the general philosophy of Hermes' theosophy in ancient Greece, and to the special principles about the transformation of minerals and metals into gold. This theory of philosophy about essence is based on Aristotle's formal prime matter theory, which holds that everything in the universe originates from four protoplasmic substances and four primordial elements. The four protoplasm are heat, cold, dryness and wetness, and the four elements are water, earth, air and fire. The four primitives are combined into two primitives, namely, sulfur and record, through mutual conversion. However, sulfur and mercury are not minerals in the usual sense of the word, but are similar to the yin and yang in traditional Chinese philosophical thought, and the combination of the two is the universe of all things. For example, according to the theory of alchemy, sulfur and mercury are fused in different proportions, and under the action of some mysterious factors, different kinds of metallic minerals can be produced. The interrelationship of these four protoplasmic substances, four primordial elements and two primordial ...
In the history of Islam, the efficacy of alchemy had been debated for a long time by Muslim scholars with mixed reviews. Most orthodox religious scholars were opposed to alchemy and secret arts in general, while most scientists and doctors of natural fairness, although they too did not believe that metals in general could be turned into gold, accepted the basic view of alchemy; the Aristotelian school also generally scorned alchemy, while the illuminated school held a positive attitude. For example, Ibn Sina made it clear that he did not believe in the alchemical ability to turn ordinary metals into gold, but he did, however, agree with alchemy's theories on the composition of metals, and his famous book, The Book of Healing, on the composition of metals, was based on the alchemical theory of the fusion of sulfur and mercury.
Islamic alchemy inherited the alchemical traditions of the ancient East, mainly Hermesian theosophy and Chinese alchemy centered on Alexander. The earliest Muslim alchemist was the Umayyad prince Khalid ibn Yaqid.Alchemy was popular in the early 8th century, and was represented by Jabir ibn Hayan (721-776), a disciple of the sixth Imam of the Decapolis, Ja'far al-Sadiq (699-765), whose writings are held by the Ismailis as the Classics. Jabir's Seventy Books and the Book of Equilibrium, which have long been regarded as the fundamental theoretical works of Islamic alchemy, are the most important texts on alchemy written in Arabic. Razi, the famous Muslim physician and alchemist, ushered in a new era of alchemy. He is credited with developing alchemy as the founder of ancient chemistry. Razi's important contribution to chemistry lies in his categorization of substances, i.e., the classification of all substances into three main groups: minerals, plants, and animals. He had also given detailed descriptions of many chemical change processes such as distillation, slow burning and filtration. As a physician, he was also interested in chemical medicine. In the history of traditional medicine, he was the first person to isolate alcohol and use it in medical practice.
Alchemy is more closely related to Sufi mysticism. Sufi mysticism advocated the spiritual cultivation of the individual believer, placing special emphasis on alchemy, which has the power to change the human soul, and many of the terms used by Sufism to express its teachings in this regard came directly from alchemy. To this day, not only is the language of alchemy still popular among Sufis, but alchemical activities are also prevalent in certain Sufi orders. In addition, the spiritual psychotherapy employed by Sufism, which views alchemy as a science of the soul, is also closely related to alchemy.
The relationship between alchemy and Islamic art is also unusual in that traditional, Muslim poetry and music are not only heavily influenced by Sufi mysticism, but also by alchemical views. This is because alchemy is said to have an effect on the human soul, transforming it, while the arts of poetry and music are closely related to the transformation of the human soul. In addition, in the plastic arts of Islamic architecture and crafts, such as calligraphy and the expression of several patterns, harmony is indispensable, and the "balance" and "harmony" of alchemy play a role in the harmony of color, structure, proportionality, and its symbolic meaning. Alchemy "balance", "coordination", in the harmony of color, structure and proportionality and its symbolism plays a special role. Therefore, if we do not understand the influence of alchemy on color effects, artistic shapes and other aesthetic ideas, we will not be able to appreciate the mosque architecture of the Timurid era and the carpets, tapestries and other artistic masterpieces of the Safavid era. Alchemy is a bridge connecting the craftsmanship of Islamic art with religious spirit and symbolism, and a key to understanding the inner rhythms of Islamic art.
The pseudo-science of the ancient world consisted of the following: the claim that other elements could be converted into gold, the claim that all diseases could be cured by a single medicine, the claim that human life could be prolonged by a certain ritual, or that life could be created directly.
In short, medieval alchemy was an attempt to evolve a person to a higher level of spirituality and power using some sort of drug or ritual. Speaking of which, the first to study alchemy were the Taoist priests of China and the priests of Egypt. There are many introductions to alchemy in China, and it is always the use of medicines to make elixir, which allegedly prolongs life, or turns stones into gold. But the so-called lead and mercury danhuang failed to reveal the laws of life itself, and gunpowder came into being. In Egypt, too, the secrets of alchemy were in the hands of a few monks, and when the Hellenistic era came, the texts of the Alexandrian library contained relevant accounts. But the children of the Ptolemaic dynasty were merely the descendants of European rulers, the mysteries of hieroglyphics had long been lost, and Napoleon's expedition with the breakthrough on the Rosetta obelisk was thirty centuries in the making. Finally, the world's largest library was reduced to a pile of rubble with the earthquake, and the secret arts of the ancient kingdom were forever clouded.
As Panhellenic civilization flourished, so did humanism, and it was a time of omnipotence. Aristotle was an alchemist who believed that matter could be synthesized by laws. According to his doctrine, the world consisted of four basic elements: water, earth, fire, and air. All forms of material society are composed of these four elements in different proportions. Therefore, earth can be turned into gold by external influences and catalysts.
The astrologers of Mesopotamian origin also invoked this elemental theory. They believed that all the celestial bodies in the universe -- the sun, the moon, the stars -- had an influence on human activity on the ground. As a result, later generations of alchemists believed that alchemical rituals could only be successful when the various celestial bodies were in specific positions. In the eighth or ninth century A.D., Greek alchemy was introduced to Arabia, where nomads simplified Aristotle's theory that all metals are composed of two elements: sulfur and mercury. Chinese alchemy was also introduced to Arabia at the same time in the form of gunpowder, and the elixir of longevity was transformed into the legend of the Fountain of Youth in the Thousand and One Nights. Persian physicians systematically organized these theories into books, which were frequently quoted by medieval alchemists.
At this time, Europe was undergoing a radical change, and the fall of Rome marked the end of an era. Darkness and obscurantism returned to the continent, and the humanities of the Greek system withered away. It was not until the twelfth century that Europeans renewed their interest in alchemy, or the mystical philosophies of the East, through contact with Arab immigrants who poured into the Iberian Peninsula (Spain) and Sicily. The Greek manuscripts were again translated into Latin through the intermediary of Syriac or Arabic. 1455 saw the circulation in Florence and Venice, among other places, of a book called Corpus Hermeticum, the Hermetica Anthology, the name of which has been the subject of much debate, some believing it to be derived from Tut, the moon-goddess of Ancient Egypt, and others from the Greek myth of Hermes. In any case, the book mentions a great deal of alchemy, astrology, magical symbols and paraphernalia, as well as ancient Egyptian rituals, and is simply the AD&D of antiquity.The essays of other Arab scholars not only have philosophical theoretical basis, but also have a great number of application examples. The two most mentioned are Arnold Villanova (1240-1313), the inventor of distillation, and Roger Bacon (1214-1294), who detailed prescriptions for the ingredients of black powder, and the process of making a monocular.
Let's take a look at the alchemist's hut. A typical laboratory would have been dark, damp, and littered with unknown medicines emitting suspicious fumes. Many alchemists work from home to save money and also avoid outsiders. Some choose the kitchen, where they can utilize the ready-made fire. Some crave the attic so that the activities carried out at night will not be noticed by curious neighbors. These diminutive places of convenience were often crammed with oddly shaped instruments, manuscripts, skulls, and taxidermy. For spiritual prayer, there were usually small altars as well. All these furnishings represented not so much science and technology as symbols of mysticism. The work carried out to make elixirs was the most primitive of chemical experiments, and the alchemists were the first pioneers to try to separate the elements. The refining of white phosphorus and the synthesis of hydrochloric acid are products of the Middle Ages; at the same time they used vessels, equipment for distilling liquids, analyzing metals, and all sorts of methods for controlling chemical reactions that are still in use today.
Heating is a must for every alchemical experiment, whether it is heating a liquid or dissolving a lump of lead. To maintain a certain temperature, alchemists invented the water bath, and those of you who studied science must have experimented with this in high school. Furnaces with timers exemplify fine craftsmanship, and the British Museum has a thermostat made in 1616, an era when people already knew how to make bimetallic sheets.
Legend has always told of such laboratories in the depths of castles, and it's true. From the kings of the Mediterranean coast to the country nobles of the Baltic, alchemists were seen as a shortcut to wealth. Greed was often accompanied by corruption, and so there was a mixed bag of scholars, and Europe had no shortage of masterful charlatans and braggarts, whose doings could well be written up in a pompous chronicle. But just as not every laboratory produced Frankenstein, the efforts of the alchemists were mostly in vain. The price paid for failing to make good on a promise to turn out gold was the loss of one's head. The irascible Red Beard II built a gallows to hang the unlucky ones who missed. Medieval alchemists were thus discredited, as practitioners resorted to more or less dishonorable means to stay alive. From the 15th to the 17th centuries, books on alchemy grew more and more complex, with arcane symbols and formulas everywhere.
Some clever alchemists began to deflect the attention of the rich and powerful by claiming to be able to make elixirs that would strengthen the body, and alchemy took on the path of medicine. One of the most famous of these, Phillips Orestes Palazares (1493-1541), disagreed with the then-popular notion that illnesses stemmed from disorders and dysfunctions of one's own faculties. It was believed that diseases existed on some external vehicle, looking for a waiting opportunity to invade the body. Drugs could help ward off these diseases, which was the earliest conception of germs. He also made the first reference to zinc, the "silver-gray" substance obtained in his experiments, and was the first to use the term "alcohol" to refer to the liquid distilled from wine.
The Renaissance brought a golden age of alchemy, and the revolution to revive the glory of Rome was a complete washout of more than a dozen centuries of silence, with a dazzling array of achievements in the arts and sciences. Religion also underwent great changes, and Protestantism completed its reorganization in the first half of the 16th century. Alchemy at this moment consisted of three pieces: part science, part art, and part religion, which also trod a brisk dance to the beat of the revival. The scientific researcher was officially separated from the alchemist and became an independent profession. The by-products of the previous alchemists' quest for precious metals, the experiments they made, laid the foundations of modern chemistry. Another group specialized in astrology, at a low level such as gypsy fortune-telling tricks, at a high level or what might be called numerology, and the psychopathology that prevailed in the mid-20th century also used alchemists' materialism and spirit-recruitment techniques.
The astrologers, just as the purpose of art is the pursuit of beauty, for the astrologer with true wisdom and foresight, the attainment of a higher level of spirituality, far more than the lure of wealth and fame, and the transcendence of the constraints of a leaden and obtuse physical body, so as to make the mind as brilliant and mature as gold, was more important than its physical realization. Unlike the Graeco-Roman age, they did not labor in austerity like the Cynics, nor did they boast like the Stoics. They looked into the skylight of their attic, vaguely grasping the wholeness of the universe, verifying the constant flux of the stars, and keeping the eternal moral code in their hearts.
The astrologers saw their work as the sacred art of perfecting dualism: accomplishing their own spiritual purification and sublimation while interpreting human practices in the light of cosmic movements and changes. Thanks to the open academic atmosphere of the Renaissance, they also began to challenge the authority of antiquity, leaving behind mankind itself to explore the mysteries of nature, accomplishing a transformation from the great into the subtle. (Socrates asked in the square: Who am I? Where do I come from? has been called the great philosophical question.)
This noble purpose without question makes him a martyr, and all his life did not see the door of the Kingdom of Freedom open. While a section of the population spends its days assiduously seeking crucibles full of gold, the true scholar is buried in disappointment in the humble grave of a beggar.
Then come the founders of modern chemistry, who inherited the functions of the earliest alchemists. Let's start with Nicolas Freeman, a 14th-century Parisian alchemist who, along with his disciples, knew nothing about the composition of matter. Everyone at the time believed that all material existence consisted of four basic elements, as in Aristotle's theory. The elements were in different proportions and formed with different degrees of warmth, coldness, dryness and moisture, hence the different forms.
From this theory the transformation of metals is possible. Freeman writes in his book that all metals come from within the earth, that natural furnaces stir and mix the elements, and that the process is determined by some higher being, or can be attributed to the will of God. God's realm is always perfect, so if the mixed elements stay deep within the earth long enough, the earliest might be iron or lead, and slowly become gold and silver. But there is always the case of being mined out too soon, and the metals of the earth thus take on different forms. The mission of the alchemists was to continue the unfinished work of the Creator and to accelerate the "evolution" of the metals. People today read about this and admire the power of their conception.
All the alchemists were secretive about their achievements, and in a 13th-century lecture on alchemy, all of them stood up and said, "I swear on my soul that if I reveal what I have seen today to anyone, I will be damned forever." A cleric named Basil Valentine wrote: "One can only look up, and if one preaches a little of the mysteries of heaven, the soul will fall into the deepest hell."
There were two reasons for doing so: first, a sense of superiority over others, or greed, which the alchemists kept close to their equations; and second, the Church, which believed that alchemy was an interference with and desecration of the Creator, and that alchemists practiced the Devil's art. There were even more noble people who believed that their formula could be successful and would be a scourge to society if it fell into the hands of the ill-intentioned, so they had to bury it. Very contradictory ideas, if so why with pious enthusiasm to drill, but think of today's achievements in nuclear physics, modern man is not entitled to make fun of them.