450 REPORT—1883. 
and wealth, comprehends the true cbjects of life, and gains supernatural powers. 
He cannot then be scorched by fire, nor drowned in water, &. &c. ... The 
cauldron is round like the full moon, and the stove beneath is shaped like the half- 
moon. The lead ore is symbolised by the White Tiger ; and it, like metal amongst 
the elements, belongs to the West. Mercury resembles the sun, and forms itself 
into sparkling globes; it is symbolised by the Blue Dragon belonging to the 
East, and it is assigned to the element wood. Gold is imperishable. Fire does not 
injure its lustre. Like the sun and moon, it is unaffected by time. Therefore the 
elixir is called “the Golden Elixir.” Life can be lengthened by eating the herb 
called Hu ma; how much more by taking the elixir, which is the essence of gold, 
the most imperishable of all things! The influence of the elixir, when partaken 
of, will extend to the four limbs; the countenance will become joyful ; white hair 
will be turned black; new teeth will grow in the place of old ones, and age at 
once become youth. . . . Lead ore and mercury are the bases of the process 
by which the elixir is prepared; they are the hinge upon which the principles 
of light and darkness revolve.’ 
This description suggests the idea that the elixir of the Taouists was the red 
sulphide of mercury—vermilion—for the preparation of which the Chinese are still 
famous. That Weipahyang believed in his own philosophy is testified by a writer 
named Ko-hung, who, about a century afterwards, wrote the lives of celebrated 
Taouists. He tells how the philosopher, after preparing the elixir, took it, with his 
disciples, into a wood, and gave it first to his dog, then took it himself, and was 
followed by one of his pupils. They all three died, but, it appears, rose to life 
again, and toimmortality. This brilliant example did not remain without imitators ; 
indeed, two emperors of the Tang family are said to have died from partaking of 
the elixir. This circumstance diminished its popularity, and alchemy ceased to be 
practised in the Celestial Empire. 
At the beginning of the seventh century the doctrine of Lao-tse was in great 
favour at the Chinese Court; learning was encouraged, and there was much 
enterprise. At the same time the disciples of Mahomed carried their arms and his 
doctrines over a large portion of Asia, and even to the Flowery Land. Throughout 
the eighth century there were frequent embassies between eastern and western Asia, 
wars with the Caliphs, and even a matrimonial alliance. We need not wonder, 
therefore, that the teachings of the Taouist alchemists penetrated westward to the 
Arabian philosophers. It was at this period that Yeber-Abou-Moussah-Djafer 
al-Sofé, commonly called Geber, a Sabzean of great knowledge, started what to the 
West was a new philosophy about the transmutation of metals, the Philosopher’s 
Stone, and the Elixir of Life; and this teaching was couched in highly poetic 
language, mixed with astrology and accompanied by religious directions and rites. 
He held that all metals were composed of mercury, sulphur, and arsenic, in various 
proportions, and that the noblest metal could be procured only by a very lengthy 
urification. It was in the salts of gold and silver that he looked for the Universal 
[edicine. Geber himself was an experimental philosopher, and the belief in 
transmutation led to the acquirement of a considerable amount of chemical 
knowledge amongst the alchemists of Arabia and Europe. This gradually brought 
about a conviction that the three reputed elementary bodies, mercury, sulphur, and 
salt or acid, were not really the originators of all things. There was a transition 
period, during which the notion was itself suffering a transmutation. The idea 
became gradually clearer that all material bodies were made up of certain 
constituents, which could not be decomposed any further, and which, therefore, 
should be considered as elementary. The introduction of quantitative methods 
compelled the overthrow of medieval chemistry, and led to the placing of the 
conception of simple and compound bodies upon the foundation of scientific fact. 
Lavoisier, perhaps, deserves the greatest credit in this matter, while the labours 
of the other great chemists of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth 
centuries were in a great measure directed to the analysis of every conceivable 
material, whether solid, liquid, or gaseous. These have resulted in the table of so- 
called elements, now nearly seventy in number, to which fresh additions are con- 
stantly being made. 
