China's original gunpowder consists of three basic components, namely saltpeter, sulfur (realgar and orpiment) and charcoal. How charcoal was introduced into the alchemy formula has hardly been studied. You know, in the early days of China's alchemy, plants and herbs were rarely used in the raw materials of alchemy pills, which was determined by Dante Taoism at that time following the concept of "seeking its substance from the outside and seeking its strength from the inside". As Ge Hong said: "The medicine of vegetation will rot when buried, rot when cooked, and scorch when burned. If you can't live by yourself, how can you live? " Therefore, they are more discriminating against herbs, thinking that herbs can only nourish health and cannot be used as raw materials for longevity drugs.