"Refining the elixir and seeking longevity" is Qin Shi Huang's greatest wish after unifying the world. Since ancient times, people's desire for immortality has led to many events in Chinese history about refining elixirs. Today, let's follow the footsteps of history and explore the story behind the "elixir" in the ancient tomb of Xiangshan in Nanjing.
Excavation of ancient tombs surprised 100 elixirs
In 1965, with the excavation of the Xiangshan Ancient Tomb in Nanjing, a wave of sensation was set off in the archaeological community. This ancient tomb not only excavated a large number of precious cultural relics, but also found more than 200 "elixirs", so it was nicknamed "elixir tomb" by netizens.
In ancient times, the elixir was only possessed by dignitaries, and such a large number of elixirs were also very rare among dignitaries. As a result, people began to imagine the identity and wealth of the tomb owner. Who would have the financial resources to furnish a luxurious tomb for himself and refine hundreds of elixirs after death, in an attempt to fulfill his wish for immortality?
After five years of research and excavation by experts, they finally determined that the owner of the "Xian Dan Tomb" belonged to the famous Wang Bin family in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. From 1965 to 2000, the Nanjing Municipal Committee for the Preservation of Cultural Relics excavated a total of 11 tombs, each of which belonged to Wang Bin's wife, son and brother. As the tomb of a large and wealthy family, the cultural relics arrangement of the Xiangshan Wang family cemetery can be described as "luxurious".
Although some of the tombs were damaged by tomb robbers, more than 230 burial objects were unearthed throughout the excavation, including agate, gold and silver, amber, bronze and pearls. One of the most striking is the pottery collapse in Tomb 7, which is 1.12 meters long, 0.65 meters wide, and 0.214 meters high. Even the most skilled porcelain craftsmen of the time had to go through several struggles to complete such a large piece of pottery.
In addition to the rare treasures, the most attractive thing in the tomb is the more than 200 refined elixirs. However, these elixirs were not found in the tomb of the tomb owner, Wang Bin, but in the tomb of his daughter Wang Danhu, who was closest to him.
While excavating Wang Danhu's grave, the staff were surprised to find a delicate small box above her head, filled with pills about 5 millimeters in diameter, totaling more than 200 pills. Experts conducted in-depth research and analysis of the cultural relics and texts in the tomb, and finally determined that the pill in the box on Wang Danhu's head was the "elixir" taken by the ancients to pursue the dream of immortality.
What exactly is the elixir?
In order to understand the doubts in Xingxing, the archaeological team members conducted further tests on the "elixir" unearthed in the tomb. Since ancient times, "elixir" has been believed to have many miraculous effects, such as curing all kinds of diseases, strengthening the body, prolonging life, etc., but the test of modern science has shown that these "elixir" is actually a harmful substance, the main ingredient is cinnabar, also called mercury sulfide. Taking the "elixir" can lead to mercury poisoning, which hastened people's deaths rather than strengthening their bodies.
"Immortal elixir" has a long history in the mainland, and it first came from Taoism, and it is an elixir refined by Taoist believers in pursuit of immortality and immortality. It is said that as early as the Western Han Dynasty, Liu An, the king of Huainan, and eight friends refined the elixir on Bagong Mountain in order to live forever. There are also stories about the elixir in many legends, such as Hou Yi shooting the sun and Chang'e flying into the sky.
In real life, the elixir is made by putting a variety of chemicals into the Dan furnace. Although the ancients had a high belief in the elixir, it was not popular a long time ago because refining the elixir required a certain amount of economic strength. It was really preached during the reign of Qin Shi Huang, who pursued immortality by refining the elixir. Later, many emperors and dignitaries also followed their practice to refine the "elixir".
Among them, the most famous is Tang Xuanzong, Tang Xuanzong's alchemy comes from a woman, that is, Yang Guifei, who is "compatible with clothes and flowers", after the Ma Weipo mutiny, the departure of the concubine made Tang Xuanzong grief, coupled with the growing age, the elderly emperor pinned his hopes on the warlocks of the rivers and lakes, and obtained comfort in his heart through alchemy, seeking fairy grass, etc.
Although from the perspective of modern Western medicine, the elixir is not beneficial to the human body, from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, the "elixir" still has a certain historical significance in the exploration of traditional Chinese medicine in the mainland, such as the creation of effective drugs such as "Five Poison Formulas" and "Guangji Feihuangsan".
Why did Wang Bin refine the "elixir"?
Historically, it was no accident that many monarchs and magnates refined elixirs, and they were usually influenced by external and internal influences, so they were easily seduced and chose to spend a lot of gold and silver money to refine elixirs. However, for Wang Bin, a nobleman of the Wang family, what kind of troubles did he abandon reality and pin everything on the "elixir"? This needs to start with the history of the Wang family.
Wang Bin was a minister in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, born in the Wang family, and his brothers and sisters were all outstanding. His cousin Wang Dao is in the position of prime minister, and his cousin Wang Dun is also a powerful minister in the world, and the whole family is an official. Because the Wang family stood on the right side in the pace of history and supported Cao Pi and Sima Yan, they successfully gained the status of the center of power.
As a member of the Wang family, Wang Bin received a good education from an early age, had good conduct, and was loyal to the country. He entered the battlefield to fight for the country, and used his military exploits to obtain an official position for himself in the court. It stands to reason that he should have had a full life at this time. But he went to the path of obeying the warlocks of the rivers and lakes and seeking alchemy. This is because Wang Guo, as the elder brother, not only did not set a good example for his younger brother, support the monarch, and help the world, but instead started to rebel, and Wang Bin, who has been loyal and good since childhood, could not accept this at all.
But Wang Dun's rebellion is not water without a source, a tree without roots. Wang Guo and Wang Dao, as Wang Bin's elder brothers, were both the founding heroes of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, but after the country was laid, the emperor Sima Rui was angry with the growing Wang family, so he chose to promote other families to suppress the Wang family. In addition, there is always friction between Sima Rui and Wang Guo. The contradiction between the two became increasingly intense, and finally in the first year of Emperor Yongchang of the Jin Yuan Dynasty, Wang Dun took the opportunity to launch a rebellion.
In this rebellion, Wang Guo, who made up his mind, killed many celebrities, including Wang Bin's good friends. Everything his cousin did made Wang Bin grief and angry, and as a brother of the same clan, Wang Bin did not shy away from reprimanding his brother's atrocities. At this time, Wang Guo was furious, and the relationship between the two sides once fell to a freezing point.
When the two continued to argue, Wang Bin's brother Wang Dao stood up and took the initiative to persuade the two to reconcile. But the former brother is now full of atrocities, Wang Bin has never forgiven this, in the face of persuasion, Wang Bin said: "Since my foot is injured, it is inconvenient for me to salute even when I see the emperor." Now it is impossible for me to kneel down to the thieves who rebelled, let alone make me apologize! ”
Wang Bin's firm attitude made Wang Guo angry. Wang Guo said: "Which do you think is more painful, the pain in your feet or the pain in your neck?" Despite Wang Guo's threats against him, Wang Bin remained unyielding.
In the big family, everyone is closely connected, and although Wang Bin and himself disagree, Wang Guo still can't kill Wang Bin. In the days that followed, Wang Guo still did what he wanted. Wang Bin's attitude is also very firm, and he has criticized and refuted him in front of Wang Guo many times. Although Wang Guo was furious, he could not do anything to this younger brother, so he had to order him to be imprisoned.
When he was arrested, Wang Bin still shouted at Wang Guo with righteous words: "You killed my cousin Wang Ling back then, are you going to kill your cousin me today?" Wang Guo eventually transferred him to Yuzhang and kept him away from him.
The conflict between the two ended with the defeat of Wang Guo's rebellion, and under the military suppression of Emperor Ming, Wang Guo, who was seriously ill, had no choice but to send his brother and his men to deal with the encirclement and suppression of the imperial court. In the end, they were defeated, and Wang Guo died of illness in the war.
After Wang Guo's death, Wang Bin should have been happy. However, after many years of walking in the official career, he gradually lost his desire and interest in government and power. In the court, the Wang family was still highly meritorious, but it was repeatedly weakened and suppressed by the inaugural emperor. In the deceitful court, Wang Bin, who had made great achievements in the past, no longer had vigor and vitality.
At the same time, getting older and perennial foot diseases have also made Wang Bin's body weak. Eventually, he lost his confidence in the court and his expectations of being an official. In order to relieve the depression and pain in his heart, Wang Bin chose to recruit a group of charlatans and Taoist priests to refine the elixir for himself.
Before his death, Wang Bin's life was still worry-free, graceful and luxurious. He refined more than 200 "elixirs" for his daughter, and these elixirs also made us feel his wealth and status. However, the rich life did not bring Wang Bin a happy ending.
History is always so magical, it invisibly gives us countless possibilities, who would have thought that the hundred "elixirs" hidden in the tomb of Xiangshan in Nanjing will still tell us moving stories after a thousand years.