The ancients generally used two methods to make mercury: one is to add cinnabar and sodium carbonate to a sealed container, that is, alkali cauterization, and introduce the mercury vapor into the water tank through the pipeline to cool and solidify, which can be obtained Metallic mercury.
The second method is to directly burn cinnabar in an open container to obtain metallic mercury. This method is very dangerous and easy to poison.
Ancient people actually discovered cinnabar mines. These cinnabar minerals themselves are mercury compounds, such as mercury sulfide and so on. China itself is home to one of the largest deposits of cinnabar, with countless resources in this area.
Ancestors have also begun to use cinnabar as red pigment as early as primitive society. The use of cinnabar has been found in several sites dating back to thousands of years BC.
Chinese people are no stranger to this thing, and chicken blood stone is also in this category. It is also a pigment that we have used for tens of thousands of years. It is the red ink used by the emperor’s royal brushes, the red pigment used for ghost painting, the red color of lacquerware, the makeup on women’s foreheads, etc.
Extended information:
The ancient method of preserving mercury was very simple, just like kimchi, just seal it with water. If the quantity is large, the entire jar should be sealed and sunk into water or a relatively cold and constant temperature cellar.
Because mercury requires a certain temperature to volatilize, keeping it at a low temperature can effectively control and preserve mercury. The wisdom of the ancients in this regard is very admirable. After thousands of years of development, the understanding of mercury has also been continuously strengthened.
The ancients have long understood how to use cinnabar to make mercury, and how to use sulfur and mercury to make cinnabar. This is essentially a method of preserving mercury.
Ge Hong already knew how to burn mercury at that time, and mastered the method of combining mercury with sulfur to turn it back into cinnabar. But he believed that mercury was a good thing, a magic medicine that could lead to immortality after taking it.
Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia-Cinnabar