The Chinese nation has a long history, when people just began to dominate the world, for the source of all things, the separation of heaven and earth can not be explained, there is no scientific help, people in ancient times would rather believe that there are ghosts and gods, think that there are ghosts and gods before human beings to create all things, there are people, and this has derived a profession: alchemists.
The alchemist can really be said to be a big ups and downs in history, a good alchemist can make the dynasty prosperous, and a bad alchemist directly makes a dynasty metabolite curtain.
So about Alchemist
everyone
How much do you know? Which emperors' failures were painted by alchemists?
Image: Stills of Tang Dynasty alchemists
First, what is an alchemist
In the "Chu Ci", there are characters such as Lady Xiang and Yun Zhongjun, these characters are mythical and legendary immortals, it can be seen that as early as the Wuchu period, the people were quite sure of the existence of gods and ghosts, and they believed that this was a normal phenomenon of reincarnation and sublimation.
With the continuation of the idea of reverence for ghosts and gods, there is gradually a profession of "alchemist", from the records of various ancient books, there are still many interpretations of "alchemist" in ancient times, according to the requirements of different dynasties for "alchemist", we can summarize the three kinds of "alchemist" with different occupational ranges.
Image: Stills of The Alchemist
1、
Alchemist is a Taoist,
In the Book of Han and the Five Elements, it is said: When a Taoist priest goes, he is wounded. Since the Han Dynasty, alchemists have been known as Taoists, and the alchemists of this period are believed to have powerful divine powers, they can communicate with the gods, master the secret recipe of immortality, and help the emperor to live forever. Such people occupy a pivotal position in history, and many emperors are trapped in their dreams of "immortality".
2、
The official in charge of the prison,
During the Zhou Dynasty, Fang Shi was an official name, mainly in charge of prison, listening to the advice of family members and Du Shi to handle cases.
3、
Ancient Chinese medicine, people who knew divination were also called alchemists,
It was only during the Qing Dynasty's literary prison that these materials were destroyed, and archaeologists and historians went through a long period of research to discover that Bian Que, who was skilled in medicine at that time, was also an "alchemist".
For example, Zhang Heng, who invented the seismometer, was also good at calculating by observing the changes in constellations and designing seismometers, so Zhang Heng at that time was also known as fangshi. It can be seen that in ancient times, these people who had real talents and practical learning, but all they knew were relatively unpopular "experts", who were also collectively known as alchemists.
Image: Stills of a superbly skilled Bian Que
Second, those famous alchemists in history
True alchemists are not comparable to those of the three religions and nine streams, and those alchemists in history who have contributed to the rule of society and dynasties have real skills.
For example, Ji Dan, the Duke of Zhou during the Zhou Dynasty.
Although King Zhou Wen in "List of Fengshen Gods" is an ordinary person, he uses Fuxi gossip to see what may happen in the future from the dreams of others, which can be said to make most viewers in front of the TV set envious.
According to historical records, Zhou Gong Ji Dan was the fourth son of King Wen of Zhou, and Ji Chang was a brother of the same mother, Ji Dan was very researched on divination, he not only inherited the talent of King Wen of Zhou in this regard, but also cracked the secret of Fuxi Gossip, it can be said that Qing is better than Blue.
And Ji Dan used his own strengths to assist King Wu of Zhou, so that the Zhou Dynasty social stability, economic development, and later known as the regent of the Zhou ChengWang period, conscientious, all his life for the Zhou Dynasty bowed to the Zhou Dynasty, can be said to be a very conscientious, skilled and knowledgeable "alchemist".
Image: Zhou Gong Ji Dan stills
Oniguzi, a prominent figure in the Warring States period, is also a mysterious "alchemist".
There are many legends about the birth of oniguzi, the most common one is that it is changed from a rice plant, so it knows all things, through hundreds of families, oniguzi is knowledgeable, knows astronomy and geography, and is an important representative figure of Taoism, known as a real person.
It is said that Oniguzi is good at the art of escaping armor and has already had two reincarnations, and it is because he cannot trust his disciples and grandchildren that he has always stayed in the human world to take care of them.
Although this statement is absurd, it has to be said that as a political strategist, educator, and medical scientist, and his countless apprentices have brought extremely important forces to the development of China. Even now, scholars from countries such as the United States still conduct in-depth research on the works of Oniguzi and learn the way oniguzi thinks about politics differently from ordinary people.
Image: Oniguchi manga
Third, those alchemists who pit the emperor
The profession of alchemist is mixed, because the art of Qimen Dunjia is originally a blindfold method, and it will not be difficult to master it with diligent cultivation, and some people who do not have any cultural knowledge, after a long period of practice, can make some blindfold methods very smooth and deceive the emperor, so they are also ashamed to call themselves "alchemists".
Historically, there are also many scholars who attribute the demise of some dynasties to the misleading of the alchemists, but in fact, it is a slap in the face, if the emperor is not obsessed with such superficial tricks, how can he lose his own country?
Image: Stills of the fall of a dynasty
Qin Shi Huang, who was delayed by the Alchemist
Qin Shi Huang ended the division of the Seven Heroes of the Warring States, unified weights and measures, and established a feudal dynasty, laying a solid foundation for the development of the Chinese nation. However, Qin Shi Huang was ambitious when he was young, but in his middle and late years, he fell into the situation of death.
The historical Qin Shi Huang was very afraid of death, he hoped to be able to live forever, always be an emperor, in order to live forever, he not only tried the medicine by himself, but also spent a lot of manpower and financial resources to find a prescription that could make him immortal.
Photo: Qin Shi Huang spent a lot of manpower and financial resources to find stills of the elixir of immortality
Of course, the emperor can have this kind of thinking, and the guidance of the people around him is inseparable. At that time, Qin Shi Huang was extremely eager to get the secret recipe of immortality, and the alchemist Xu Fu said that there was a prescription for immortality in the place of the mountain outside the heavens, and if he obtained this prescription, he would be able to do what he wanted. Thus, there is the story of the famous three thousand boys and girls in history who went to the sea to seek the elixir of immortality.
Although Qin Shi Huang did not obtain a pill of immortality until his death, the long-term trial of the drug made the emperor's body unhealthy, and his personality became more and more withdrawn, and finally he died with full of reluctance.
Qin Shi Huang, who had long trusted in alchemists and pursued the elixir of immortality, finally put the entire Jiangshan into the Bagua Array, making the Qin Dynasty prematurely end its former glory.
Image: Qin Shi Huang tried medicine stills
Emperor Wu of Han, who was obsessed with the Immortal Path
Emperor Wu of Han, who was also a young man, also trusted many alchemists, and the most terrible thing was that he also married his princess to this alchemist, so that he later killed this alchemist and made his daughter a widow, and this person was Yida.
In history, Yi Da actually did not have any real skills, and even there were only a few tricks that could be used, but Emperor Wudi of Han trusted him, and also made him a general of Wuli, and specially made a seal for him to use alone.
Image: Yida stills
It was just that the paper wrapped in fire could not hold the fire, and in the end, the wuli general's means were still exposed by Emperor Wu of Han, and he directly buried his life.
Article author: Dahui
The entire graphic was produced by the team of the Big Cafe Say History Studio!