Topic 2 Alchemy
“Alchemy is a cosmic art by which parts of the cosmos – the mineral and animal parts – can be liberated from their temporal existence and attain states of perfection, gold in the case of minerals, and for humans, longevity, immortality, and finally redemption. Such transformations can be brought about on the one hand, by the use of a material substance such as ‘the philosopher stone’ or elixir, or, on the other hand, by revelatory knowledge or psychological enlightenment.”
– Harry Sheppard
2.1 Chinese Alchemy
In ancient China, there was a strong link between alchemy and medicine.
Figure 2.1: Taoist Teachings
Much of alchemy was associated with taoism (a religion) and was key in the quest for immortality.
2.1.1 Earliest mention of alchemy
Early historical mentions of alchemy mentioned trying to convert cinnabar into gold.
“Summon spirits and you will be able to change cinnabar powder into yellow gold. With this yellow gold you may make vessels to eat and drink out of. You will increase your span of life, you will be able to see the sian 仙 (deity, fairy) of the Peng Lai mountains (mythical home of the immortals) that is in the midst of the sea. Then you may perform the sacrifices and escape death.”
– Shiji, 133 BCE
The《史记》or the shiji contains an alchemist’s “application for research funding” to emperor Wu Ti (during the Han dynasty). The above blockquote is a snippet of the application.
Nonetheless, the first theoretical treatise on alchemy was written by Zhouyi Cantongqi (周易参同契):
Figure 2.2: Zhouyi’s Alchemy Treatise
Zhouyi’s treatise was based on I-Ching’s tenets, the five elements, and other taoist beliefs.
2.1.2 Basic principles of Chinese alchemy
Alchemy was used to reinforce one’s internal body. For instance, the use of the gold, mercury, and HgS (i.e., mercury sulfate) was used promote longevity.
Figure 2.3: Excavated Elixir Pills
As seen in the above figure, elixirs were concocted to balance the yin and the yang in one’s body to attain “perfect harmony with the universe”. For this reason, it is also usually packaged with occults, spirits, and so on.
Figure 2.4: Ingredients Used to Create the Elixir of Life
The experimentation on the ingredients in figure 2.4 led to major innovations - for instance, gunpowder in the 10th - 11th century in China.
2.1.3 Cinnabar
Cinnabar has been commented on in ancient China for its properties:
“…凡草木烧之即烬，而丹砂烧之成水银，积变又还成 丹砂，其去凡草木亦远矣。故能令人长生，神仙独见 此理矣…”
– 葛洪
The above blockquote roughly translates to:
“…All plant [based medicine] burns to ashes but cinnabar burns to become mercury. After numerous transformations, it returns back to cinnabar. This is far superior to plant [based medicine]. Therefore, cinnabar can cause people to live forever. Only the gods can see this reason…”
– Ge Hong
Since 2000 years ago, Chinese alchemists have been able to perform this reaction. It is commonly believed that cinnabar’s “eternity” contains the necessary ingredients to prolong one’s life if its “essence” can be obtained and consumed.
Figure 2.5: Reactions of Cinnabar
The Chinese word 丹 or “dan” originally meant cinnabar.
2.2 Greco-Roman-Egyptian Chemeia
2.2.1 Metallurgy
Since ancient times, metallurgy has been important. Since metal came from beneath the earth, it was thought that metal “grew” underground from baser metal to finally, gold.
Figure 2.6: Terra Cotta Paintings of Greek Miners Mining
Hence, it could be possible that humans can find a way to accelerate this growth.
2.2.2 Origins of alchemy in the west
Alexandria was the capital of the chemical “industry” in the Greco-Roman world. It was a melting pot of technology and Greek philosophy.
Figure 2.7: Snapshot of the Leyden Papyrus
The Leyden and Stockholm papyrus have some of the earliest text on chemical knowledge (i.e., around the 3rd century AD). The manuscripts also contain recipes for gold and silver work, precious stones, and textile dyes.
According to one manuscript, the process for faking gold is as follows:
“Lime, one dram; sulfur, previously ground, an equal quantity. Put them together into a vessel. Add sharp vinegar or the urine of a youth; heat from underneath until the liquid looks like blood. Filter it from the sediments and use it pure”
– Leyden papyrus
Though, progress was made from “faking” gold to attempts at really “making” gold.
2.2.3 Zosimos of Panopolis
Zosimos of Panopolis was not the first to attempt to make gold, but the first “alchemist” that we have any historical knowledge of. According to Zosimos, he defined alchemy as “the composition of waters, movement, growth, embodying and disembodying, drawing the spirits from bodies and bonding the spirits within bodies”.
Not only did he know about distillation, sublimation, metallurgy, dyeing, and other “chemical crafts”, but he also combined the aforementioned with theory:
Figure 2.8: Zosimos of Panopolis’ Distillation Equipment
Presumably, Zosimos wrote many books, but only fragments of his works can be found. He was also responsible for the development of tools and equipment that remained unchanged from the 4th until the 17th century.
Zosimos claims that metals are composed of two components:
- A non-volatile part: the soma (i.e., body)
- A volatile part: the pneuma (i.e., spirit)
The soma is same for all metals, but the pneuma gives the metal its color and other properties.
Zosimos uses fire (i.e., sublimation, distillation, etc.) to separate the metal’s spirit from its “body”. He then believes that one can join the “spirit” to other “bodies” to cause transmutation.
2.3 Alchemy in the Ancient Islamic World
Figure 2.9: Symbols of the Golden Age of Islam
The Islamic / Arab empire covered Spain, Northern Africa, Middle East, to Central Asia from the 7th century.
Greek-Roman philosophy was acquired by the Islamic world and built on after the 7th century and centered around cities in Damascus, Baghdad, and so on.
During this period, classical knowledge from continental Europe (i.e., the “west”) was lost. However, through Spain, the combined Greco-Roman and Arab knowledge ended up “flowing” back into the “west”, hence starting the renaissance.
2.3.1 Jabir Ibn Hayyan
He was later known in the west as “Geber”:
Figure 2.10: 15th Century Depiction of Geber
He accepts Aristotle’s four elements and four qualities postulate, and his works eventually came down to the west as summa perfectionis under the name Geber. It is the most influential Latin text on alchemy.
2.3.1.1 Jabir’s mercury-sulfur theory of metal
His theory was reminiscent of Aristotle’s theories. For instance, “earthly smoke” transforms into sulfur and “watery vapor” into mercury.
Figure 2.11: European’s Impression of ‘Geber’
Jabir’s theory was also based on the idea of transmutation: metals are made from the “wedding” of sulfur and mercury in different proportions. Hence, with the correct ratio of sulfur and mercury (of the right purity), gold can be obtained.
2.3.2 Islamic alchemy
Figure 2.12: Portrait of al-Razi
Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi was a polymath and was more famous as a physician than a chemist or an alchemist.
His Sirr al-Asrar (i.e., secret of secrets) describes chemicals and minerals. Amazingly, the apparatuses described in his Sirr al-Asrar are still in use today (e.g., glass cups, flasks, stirring rod, etc). The book even described codified lab processes that are used by chemists and alchemists: distillation, calcination, and filtration just to name a few.
2.4 Alchemy in Medieval Europe
Figure 2.13: A Western Alchemist in his Workshop
From the 12th century CE onwards, there was a translation of ancient Greek texts and Islamic / Arab text from Greek and / or Arabic to Latin. Because of this, much knowledge flowed from ancient Islam to medieval Europe (including alchemical and other knowledge).
The following events facilitated the aforementioned:
- Crusades at the Near East brought much violence, but also cultural exchange.
- The Christians’ conquest of the Kingdom of Sicily.
- The persistence of the Arabs / Islamic empires / kingdoms from the 7th CE to the end of the 15th century.
The very book to be translated (translated by Robert of Chester in 1144 CE) into Latin was the Liber de compositione alchemiae - The Book of the Composition of Alchemy:
Figure 2.14: Liber de compositione alchemiae
Robert supposedly commented the following in the book’s prologue:
“…because our Latin world does not yet know what alchemy is and what its composition is…”
– Robert of Chester
The book also had instructions on making the Philosopher’s stone: “a material substance compounded out of one thing… naturally converting substances into better ones”.
The following set of words also arose from the above events: algebra, algorithm, alchemy, alkali, and alcohol.
2.5 Theories and Beliefs of Alchemy
Alchemists believed that metals were “compounds” and not elements. Hence, it should be possible to separate metals into their fundamental constituents (or at least to their relative compositions). The seven metals known to alchemists in the context of this chapter were:
- Gold
- Silver
- Copper
- Iron
- Tin
- Lead
- Mercury
Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the constituents of the above metals:
- Jabir’s mercury-sulfur metallic composition
- Paracelsus’ Tria Prima: metals are made of sulfur, mercury, and salt.
- Aristotle’s prime matter concept: isolate the prime matter and impress the “elemental qualities”.
Because transmutation appears to happen in mines (e.g., lead ores can contain silver and silver ores can contain gold), it was hypothesized that subterrean heat could change the composition of metals.
2.5.1 Symbols
Figure 2.15: Symbols Used in Alchemy
The seven metals listed above were shown to have correspondence between the seven planets of the solar system. Hence, alchemy connected to astsrology and was dependent on the influence of the planets.
This is an obscure ancient source that was probably developed in Alexandria; it was believed that the cosmos was governed by the correspondences between the great and the small.
2.6 Philospher’s Stone
The main aim of European alchemy was to obtain the philosopher’s stone: a material to transmute metal into gold. The practices used to attempt the creation of the stone were shrouded in mysteries, secrets, hidden languages, symbols, spells, and so forth.
During ancient periods, alchemy was very much part of the intellectual environment in those times (i.e., very respected people dabble in alchemy). It was during this time that magic and science did not seem to have a clear-cut difference.
2.6.1 Nicolas Flamel
Figure 2.16: Nicolas Flamel and his Transcribed Book
It is rumored that Flamel obtained a book that he later translated (only successfully a pilgrimage trip to Santiago de Compostela, Spain).
The book he transcribed happened to be a recipe for the philosopher’s stone - this made Flamel rich and a philanthropist.
However, it is worth noting that there is no historical basis or evidence of the aforementioned. He did, however, become famous in Victor Hugo’s Hunchback of Notre Dame and in Harry Potter.
2.6.2 Frauds
Figure 2.17: Fraud in the Canon’s Yeoman Tale
Some frauds regarding the philosopher’s stone have been reflected in literature and in culture - for instance, “The Canon’s Yeoman Tale” (written in Middle English in 1400).
2.6.3 Law and the philosopher’s stone
Both political and church authorities tried to control the populace’s obsession over transmutation and the philosopher’s stone. They didn’t want gold (or fake gold) to flood the market.
Figure 2.18: Portrait of Rudolf II of Bohemia
Kings and emperors (e.g., James IV of Scotland and Rudolf II of Bohemia) heavily supported alchemy.
2.6.4 Issac Newton and alchemy
Figure 2.19: Issac Newton and His Alchemy Experiments
Issac Newton was an avid practitioner of alchemy: he was actively seeking out the philosopher’s stone. An autopsy after his death revealed a high mercury content in his hair - it was probable that Newton died from his alchemical experiments.
2.7 Medieval Mining and Metallurgy
Advances in practical technology in metallurgy and medicine rose in parallel with alchemists’ quests for the “philosopher’s stone”.
Figure 2.20: Biringuccio’s De la Pirotechnia
Vannoccio Biringuccio was an Italian metallurgist who despised alchemy. In his book De la Pirotechnia was an early classic on metallurgy that covered the following topics:
- Smelting and glassmaking
- Treatment of metal ores
- Mercury, sulfur, antimony, alum, arsenic, etc.
- Details on sublimation, distillation, pyrotechnics, etc.
Figure 2.21: *De Re Metallica image
The De Re Metallica by Georgius Agricola was a detailed account of mining, including how precious metals can be separated from other base metals (including how one can use acid and heat).
2.7.1 Future of alchemy
Over time, people began practicing practical arts like metallurgy, dyeing, and so on. They also began having the know-how and the technology to be able to verify or debunk the claims of transmutation.
The age of reason also arose in the 17th century and paved way for the Scientific revolution.
2.7.1.1 Boerhaave’s allegory
A farmer told his sons that treasures lived in the wild fields surrounding their home. The sons worked hard to cut down trees and turn the soil over to look for treasure. The treasure turns out to be fictitious but the already ploughed land was ready to be farmed to let the sons achieve prosperity.
2.8 Etymology of the Word “Chemistry”
“Chemistry” arose from “chemist” in the 1790s. The word “Chymist” came from the 16th to the 18th century in England - it came from “The sceptical chymist” by Robert Robyle.
The word “Chymist” came from the lating word “chymia” and “chymista”.
“Chemistry” also had roots in arabic: “al-kīmiya” or “al-khīmiya”.
In the 1530s, the “Al-” started to be dropped
2.8.1 Possible etymology of “chemistry”
The arabic term was derived from the Greek word “khymeia” or “chemeia”.
“Khem” was from the Coptic language (Egyptian), meaning “black land”: referring to metallurgy, dyeing, and so on.
The Greek word “cheo” meant to “melt or fuse”.
“Kim” 金 was the old Chinese pronunciation of gold or metal. 金液 is still pronounced as “Kim ya” in Fujian dialect, and 金液 is a common term in old Chinese alchemy.