Ep. 299 | The History of Chinese Alchemy (Part 1)

This episode is another listener request. In fact, Homer Lea's been requested regularly throughout the years. He's more of a footnote from history than actual history itself. Homer's story is kind of unique because of the stumbling blocks life threw his way. He didn't live long but in his short life he got to witness a lot and be a sort of "fly on the wall" to some of the great moments in Revolutionary Chinese history that we're all so familiar with. So let's go relive those years from 1908 to 1912 and the walk-on roles Homer Lea got to play as history unfolded.

Listen On Your Favorite Podcast Player


Terms in Episode

Pinyin/TermChineseEnglish/Meaning
Gě Hóng葛洪283-364(?) Chinese linguist, philosopher, physician, politician and alchemist. Writer of The Baopuzi
Lù Yǔ陆羽733-804, Chinese tea master and writer. Wrote "The Classic of Tea"
Táng Dynasty唐朝Chinese dynasty that ran 618 to 907 AD with an interregnum for Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty that ran 690-705\
Xīnjiāng新疆China's far northwest province
Qín秦朝First imperial dynasty of China, ran 221-206 BC
Hàn汉朝The Han Dynasty, ran 202 BC to 220 AD
Yì Jīng易经The Book of Changes, known also as the I Ching
YīnThe feminine of negative principle in nature, the moon, shade, dull, gloomy
YángThe masculine or positive principle in nature, the sun, positive, male
DàoRoad, way, path, channel, way, method, doctrine, The Tao
Yellow Emperor黄帝A deity in Chinese folk religion, reigned (mythical) 2698-2598 BC
Jīn Dān金丹Golden Elixir, one of the many names for these alchemical elixirs of life
Dāndǐng丹鼎A three legged Ding cauldron that was used for mixing substances to produce elixirs
DānMeans the mineral cinnabar or a pellet or powder
wàidān外丹External Alchemy, mainly concerned with producing elixirs and prolonging life through the ingestion of alchemical substabces
Zōu Yǎn邹衍305-240 BC, Chinese philosopher and spiritual writer best known as the representative thinker of the Yin and Yang School of philosophy
fāngshì方士a necromancer or alchemist
Xúnzǐ荀子310-238 (?),Master Xun, known as Xun Kuang, Confucian philosopher
Hán Fēi韩非280-233 BC (?),Legalist philosopher, writer of The Han Feizi
Lǐ Sī李斯280-208 BC (?),Chinese politician, philospher and chancellor to Qin Shihuang during the Qin Dynasty. Also a major figure in Legalism
Jìxià Xué Gōng稷下学宫The Jìxià Academy, a scholarly academy during the Warring States Period located in Linzi, Qi State (Shandong)
Qí State齐国Warring States era politicalk entity located in present-day Shandong province. Lasted from the start of the Zhou in 1046 and was the last to fall to Qiun Shihuang in 221 BC
Shāndōng山东Coastal province in northern China
Sīmǎ Tán司马谈165-110 BC (?),father of Sima Qian. Began work of The Record of the Grand Historian
Wǔ Xíng五行The Five Elements of Fire, Water, Wood, Metal, and Earth. A fivefold conceptual scheme that many traditional Chinese fields used to explain a wide array of phenomena, from cosmic cycles to the interaction between internal organs, and from the succession of political regimes to the properties of medicinal drugs.
Huáinánzǐ淮南子An ancient Chinese text that consists of a collection of essays that resulted from a series of scholarly debates held at the court of Liu An, Prince of Huainan, sometime before 139 BC. The Huainanzi blends Daoist, Confucianist, and Legalist concepts, including theories such as yin and yang and Wu Xing theories.
Pǔ-Ěrh tea普洱茶A category of tea that uses "fermented" tea leaves that only come from the southwest province of Yunnan
Qín Shǐhuáng秦始皇259-210 BC, the first Chinese emperor, ruler of the Qin Dynasty
Xú Fú徐福Known as Jofuku in Japan, he was born in Qi State in 255 BC. According to legend Qin Shihuang sent him on two missions to the east to search out elixirs of life
Pénglái蓬莱Known as Mount Penglai, it was a legendary land of Chinese mythology where the gods and immortals dweled, thought to be in easternmost Shandong province or off the coast
Qīngdǎo青岛Beautiful port city on the eastern tip of Shandong province
Bù Sǐ zhī Shù不死之树Tree of Immortality
Láoshān崂山A mountain located in eastern Shandong near the East China Sea, considered to be one of the "Cradles of Daoism"
Bùsǐzhīyào不死之药Another name for an elixir of immortality
Huán Kuān桓宽Author of the ancient work “On Salt and Iron” - Yán Tiě Lùn
Hàn Wǔdì汉武帝Western Han dynasty emperor who reigned 141 to 87 BC
Liú Chè刘彻Han Wudi's personal name
Yíng Zhèng嬴政Qin Shihuang's personal name
Lǐ Shǎojūn李少君Lived during reign of Han Wudi, (133 BCE) was a fangshi and the earliest known Chinese alchemist. In the early history of Chinese waidan (External Alchemy),Li is the only fangshi whose role is documented by both historical (for instance, Shiji) and alchemical (Baopuzi) sources.
zàoAlso written 灶, an oven
Tiān Dì Rén天地人Heaven Earth and Humanity
Zhōu Dynasty周朝Ancient Bronze Age dynasty that ran 1046-256 BC
Wèi Bóyáng魏伯阳A notable semi-legendary Chinese writer and alchemist of the Eastern Han Dynasty as well as the reputed author of The Kinship of the Three, and is noted as the first person to have documented the chemical composition of gunpowder in 142 AD. The "Cantong Qi" was probably written in stages from the Han dynasty onward until it approached its current form before 450 AD.
Luán Dà栾大Another Fangshi who was in the employ of Han Wudi who failed in his task to find the elixir of life (and paid for it dearly)
Liú Xiàng刘向77-6 BC, Western Han era polymath, astronomer, historian, poet, politician, librarian, and writer. Well known for his bibliographic work in cataloging and editing the Han imperial library.
Liú Xīn刘歆50-23 BC, son of Liu Xiang and no less accomplished in astronomy, math, history. He finished the job started by his father in organizing the Han Imperial Library
Hàn Emperor Xuān汉宣帝Emperor Xuan of Han, reigned 74 to 48 BC
Mèng Mǔ Sān Qiān孟母三迁Mengzi's Mother Moves Three Times, a famous story and Chinese idiom that tells about Mengzi's saintly mother who moved three times until she found the perfect place to raise her son

Resources

Podcasts


Enjoy the show and want to support the CHP?

Join the Teacup Patreon

Make a Direct Donation

Buy Laszlo a Cup of Coffee


Previous
Previous

Ep. 300 | The History of Chinese Alchemy (Part 2)

Next
Next

Ep. 298 | Homer Lea