Using the method of fire, then the family observed various forms and properties of mercury and its alloys with various metals.
Ge Hong, a native of the Western Jin Dynasty, was a famous alchemist. I grew up poor, but I am diligent and studious. I studied Confucianism first, and then I was good at keeping in good health. He is the author of Bao Puzi. Besides talking about immortals, he also has a lot to say about alchemy.
Legend has it that Ge Hong worked in Luofu Mountain and Nanhai Danzao, and twice went to Gean Village, Foshan, Guangdong Province to treat the people. Ge Hong, a Taoist, pays attention to harmony. Hearing these voices, he decided to leave on a dark night in order not to cause misunderstanding.
After Ge Hong left, the villagers found that he left three footprints from Ge 'an to Luofu Mountain: one was at the north embankment of Ge 'an village; One is under Xiqiao Mountain; The other is on Mount Luofu. The villagers were surprised, so they regarded Ge Hong as a fairy.
Ge Hong was a Taoist scholar, a famous alchemist and a medical scientist in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The earliest research material of alchemy is cinnabar, that is, red mercuric sulfide, which uses thermal engineering.
Once heated, cinnabar will decompose into mercury, and mercury will combine with sulfur to form black mercury sulfide, and then it will be restored to its original state after sublimation. The generated mercury is a metallic substance, which is liquid, flowing in circles and volatile, which is different from ordinary substances.
All these phenomena made the ancients feel magical, so then the family always wanted to use these substances to make a magical "rejuvenation pill", also known as "Shen Dan". "Bao Puzi Jin Dan pian" records: "The elixir of immortality has been established, which can not only live forever, but also make gold." In other words, this "panacea" is a panacea that can make people live forever and turn iron into gold.
Another great achievement of pyroalchemy is the preparation of elemental arsenic. Ge Hong's "Bao Pu Zi Xian Yao Pian" records six ways to treat realgar, and the last way is to extract it with saltpeter and Xuan Chang, that is, pig large intestine and turpentine.
Arsenic trioxide can be collected when realgar and saltpeter are smelted together, and then smelted twice with carbon-containing pig intestines and turpentine, and then reduced to pure arsenic. This is the earliest method to prepare elemental arsenic in the world.