This article is originally created by: Upstairs Old Fan
From his ascension to the throne on September 8, 712, to his forced abdication as Emperor Taishang on August 12, 756, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang reigned for a total of 44 years, and during his reign, he ate a lot of Danyang in order to seek immortality, so why did he still live to the age of 78?
In ancient times, when technology was backward, Taoism appeared mysterious and strange. Most of the Daoist alchemists are hidden in the famous mountains and rivers, living a life where the dragon sees the beginning and the end, and almost everyone has a special function that is different from ordinary people, or a widely circulated and appalling story. Coupled with their wide robes and large sleeves, their looks are flowing, like immortals. Therefore, the Daoist alchemists have an extraordinary influence on mortals in the world.
In addition to the envy of these people's miraculous powers, the art of immortality is undoubtedly the most attractive place. Among the many cultivation methods, taking the elixir is the simplest and most direct. Therefore, the elixir is the most sought-after and sought-after high-end food in the high society in thousands of years of feudal society.
Among the many sentient beings who are keen on immortal elixirs, the emperors of the past are the most enthusiastic group of customers. In the face of so many delicate rivers and mountains, who wouldn't want to live another five hundred years! But the years are merciless, and heaven will not have additional gifts because of whose status is noble. Therefore, the emperors placed their hopes on the elixir. Whether it was the Qin Emperor Han Wu or the Tang Emperor Song Zu, they were not exempt from vulgarity, and they had great enthusiasm for the Immortal Elixir Dao Technique without exception.
Among them, Li Shimin, known as the sage of the ages, has the most ironic attitude towards the elixir. When he was young, he once said: "The great virtue of the heavens and the earth is the husband who is born, and the constant of the shortness of the lifespan." Born in the shape of seven feet, life is limited to 100 years old. Containing spiritual temperament, it is different, all of them are obtained from nature, and they cannot be divided into foreign enterprises. Although the power of returning to heaven and the day, and the wisdom of god, life will have an end, and it is inevitable. ”
This passage shows that Li Shimin scorns supernatural divine divine skills and has a transcendent but free attitude towards life and death. However, in the twenty-second year of Zhenguan, when Li Shimin felt the call of the god of death, this freedom suddenly disappeared. Moreover, his performance was even worse than that of ordinary emperors, and after eating the Chinese elixir for a year, he felt that the level of the domestic alchemist was not good, and even recruited an Indian Brahmin monk who claimed to have lived for more than two hundred years, and ordered the military department Shangshu Cui Dunli to assist this foreign alchemist in practicing Dan.
As a result, the foreign elixir was too strong, and just after taking a few pills, this ancient sage was terminally ill and died soon after. After eating the domestic elixir for a year, it only destroyed the body, and a few imported elixirs went down, and they asked for the emperor's life, and it seemed that the foreign monks would indeed chant the sutra even more.
Not only Li Shimin, but all the emperors who took the elixir almost died a miserable death. But there was one exception, he was another great emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin's great-grandson, Tang Xuanzong Li Longji.
These two grandchildren are very similar, in the early days of the reign were good emperors who worked hard to govern, and in their later years, they all became a little faint. In the last year of the New Century, the Tang Dynasty was in the praise of the Kaiyuan prosperous world, accompanied by Yang Guifei, who had fallen in love with the country, and Tang Xuanzong, who was nearly a flower armour, felt the beauty of life more and more.
Therefore, one day in the twenty-ninth year of the New Century, Emperor Xuanzong said that the ancestor of kaishan, the old ancestor of the Li family, and the old son of the Xuanyuan Emperor, Li Nie, passed on a message to him, saying: "When qingliu wanye, enjoy infinity!" After that, the auspicious rui about the emperor's longevity was out of control. Many treasures were dug up everywhere, including spells that read "Holy Life Extension" and jade that read "Holy Immortal Longevity".
Along with these auspicious, there are also elixirs offered by local scholars. Famous ones are Wang Xiyi, a Taoist monk of Songshan, Zhang Guo, a Taoist of Hengshan, and Li Hanguang, a Taoist of Maoshan. Under the influence of these people, Xuanzong himself also learned to refine Dan, and built a furnace in the palace to refine, and he was quite fascinated by the art of immortal elixir longevity, and it is conceivable that he and Guifei must have eaten a lot.
From a scientific point of view, the elixir contains a large number of lead, mercury, gold, copper and other toxic elements, long-term use will inevitably be poisoned and die, but Xuanzong lived to be seventy-eight years old, or died of mental depression, why Tang Xuanzong ate a lot of elixir, but he was able to live a long life?
I think there are three reasons:
First, Xuanzong was proficient in medicine.
Emperor Xuanzong possessed superb medical skills, and there are often records in history books that he opened the pulse to his brothers and ministers. Moreover, he also compiled the experience of studying the pharmacopoeia of medical prescriptions into a book called "Guangji Fang", which was published all over the world.
While taking the elixir, according to the medicinal properties of the elixir, it was not difficult for Xuanzong to remove the toxins. Therefore, Xuanzong was able to avoid bad luck.
Second, the art of cultivating immortals is not useless.
The Taoist art of cultivating immortals and the method of immortality is very exquisite, and while taking the elixir, it must also be accompanied by the method of nourishing qi and the pure desire in life.
Pure heart and widowhood can develop good living habits, and the method of breathing and breathing is similar to the current qigong, both of which are health care methods and are scientifically based on longevity.
For example, the Taoist monks boasted of their god-like art of breaking the valley, and they could live forever without eating anything, but that was not the case. There is also a scientific basis for the valley, the valley dan taken, contains mountain art, yam, jujube, poria and other medicinal materials, can maintain the basic nutrients such as vitamins and proteins needed for human survival, coupled with the health care of living in the breath of the pure heart, which is very beneficial to prolonging life.
Third, Xuanzong's physical fitness was very good.
Xuanzong had an optimistic, cheerful, and informal personality, and when he was young, he liked sports activities such as riding archery, polo, and swordplay. In addition, every year I go to Lishan Palace for hot spring recuperation, which is very good for physical and mental health.
Therefore, although Xuanzong took a lot of poisonous and deadly elixirs, he could still live to the age of seventy-eight, and if it were not for the spiritual blows of the Anshi Rebellion, the change of Ma Songpo, the death of the noble concubine, and the imprisonment in his later years, I believe that he could have lived longer.