Sign up for our newsletter to get the best of VICE delivered to your inbox daily. In any case, it's pretty safe to say the whole "immortality" thing was something of an oversell. Pan Fusheng, an archeologist involved with the site where the 2,000-year-old elixir, believes that “the tomb provides valuable materials for study of the life of Western Han nobles as well as the funeral rituals and customs of the period.” As the elixir was found in a tomb, however, archeologists haven't made final conclusions as to whether it was partially consumed by the man, or simply placed there as a burial ritual. ‘Elixir of immortality’ discovered in ancient Chinese tomb Xu Fus voyage in search of the Elixir of life. Alchemists in various ages and cultures sought the means of formulating the elixir. The elixir of life was also said to cure all diseases. It didn't quite work out for him, unfortunately, as he likely died of mercury poisoning while trying to achieve eternal life. The elixir of life, also known as the elixir of immortality and sometimes equated with the name philosopher’s stone, is a potion that supposedly grants the drinker eternal life and/or eternal youth. The first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, was obsessed with finding a potion for immortality, and commissioned multiple nationwide army expeditions to find an elixir. Speaking to Xinhua, Shi added that “the liquid is of significant value for the study of ancient Chinese thoughts on achieving immortality and the evolution of Chinese civilisation.”Īncient Chinese elites were on the constant hunt for such remedies. ![]() Although mentioned extensively in historical Chinese transcripts, this is "the first time that mythical ‘immortality medicines’ have been found in China” according to Shi Jiazhen, head of the Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology in Luoyang. ![]() ![]() Archeologists concluded that the liquid must be an "elixir for immortality" after multiple tests showed that the 3.5-liter concoction contained potassium nitrate and alunite as its primary ingredients-matching a recipe from ancient Taoist texts.
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