Alchemy is a form of chemical philosophy of the Middle Ages that sought to discover methods of transmuting base metals into gold and an elixir of longevity. Today, the tales of these ancient alchemists have become mainstream in both books and film. These tales conjure images of ancient Greek philosophers tirelessly trying to create the philosopher’s stone, or old bearded men debating at a meeting of the Royal Society. To many, this is the only type of alchemy that ultimately developed into modern day chemistry. This Eurocentric view, however, fails to give credit to Chinese alchemists who also sought ways to prolong life and methods of metallic transmutation. Chinese alchemy took a distinct course from later Greco-Egyptian alchemy because they blended in Taoist beliefs and ideas of balance and harmony. For example, although both western and eastern alchemy had a similar fundamental purpose, and used similar methods, Chinese alchemists were more concerned about purifying the spirit and body and creating elixirs of immortality than creating gold. Additionally, though Greek alchemists disagreed on the effectiveness between herbal and mineral pharmacy, Chinese alchemists always accepted minerals as having healing qualities because Chinese alchemy was so closely related to traditional holistic Chinese medicine. While western alchemy is obviously an integral part of history, it is also important to remember the remarkable theories and countless contributions eastern alchemy, particularly Chinese alchemy, made to the world.
Although there is an abundance of research, scholars are still uncertain of the exact origins of Chinese alchemy. It is likely that the Chinese’s belief that a drug can confer immortality stems from the ancient India...
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...image that most easily comes to mind, it does not mean it is accurate. It fails to include the many Eastern alchemists, such as the Chinese, that contributed a significant amount of knowledge to the world. While Chinese alchemy and western alchemy had similar methods and ideas, Chinese alchemy differed in that it centered more on uncovering the secret to immortality by blending in beliefs from Taoism. Eventually, they took a different course in history. Western alchemy became the main forerunner of chemistry, while Chinese alchemy took a more medicinal route. But by the 11th century CE, many had abandoned Chinese alchemy because they realized that immortality could not be found in minerals. And although Chinese alchemy transitioned into mystical pursuits, as the west would ultimately do as well, its concrete contributions, such as gunpowder, should not be forgotten.
are characters that can be defined by their traits as certain archetypes. All novels and films contain archetypes that allow their audience to understand and relate more to
Today we can look around ourselves and see thousands of technical innovations that make life easier; But if we take a step back and ask ourselves “How?” we will soon realize that most often, these technological advancements did not just “poof” into existence, but are usually the outcome of building upon yesterday’s technology. If we follow this cycle back into time, we can attribute almost any modern day invention to an ancient civilization during its golden age. China was no exception. China’s Song and Tang dynasties fostered scientific advances comparable to Rome’s during its Pax Romana. The most significant and impacting of these were the development of primitive gunpowder and porcelain of the Tang and paper money, and the magnetic compass of the Song Dynasties. Although these may seem very far off, if you look hard enough, you can see traces of their impacts in society today because most of the advancements today we owe to them.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is quite complex and can be difficult for some people to comprehend. This is because TCM is based, at least in part, on the Daoist belief that we live in a universe in which everything is interconnected. What happens to one part of the body affects every other part of the body. The mind and body are not viewed separately, but as part of an energetic system. Similarly, organs and organ systems are viewed as interconnected structures that work together to keep the body
“Confucius.” Science and Its Times. Ed. Neil Schlager and Josh Lauer. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 2001. Gale Biography in Context. Web. 13 Feb. 2011.
The second part of the journey visits, ancient China in 1500 BCE, a thousand years prior to the formation of the Daoism school of thought. (Brodd, Little and Ny...
To a Western eye, or even to a contemporary Eastern eye, many explanations given under the doctrine of yin and yang combined with that of five phases (wu-hsing), apparently intended to be scientific, would seem either absurd or too arbitrary at first sight. An intriguing fact, however, is that the doctrine of yin and yang and that of five phases (hereafter YYFP) has prevailed until quite recently in almost all the areas of Far-Eastern cultures including medicine, astronomy, music, dance, architecture, geomancy.
Have you ever encountered problems while trying to fulfill a goal in your life? In the book The Alchemist, written by Paulo Coelho, a shepherd boy named Santiago overcomes obstacles to reach his personal legend. Throughout the book Santiago encounters many friends to help him fulfill his destiny. Santiago encounters many problems throughout the story. He overcomes them with the help of his friends and his wife-to-be. These problems shape Santiago into a dignified man of many traits.
We live in a world where being medicated has become a societal norm. Modern health care practices have set the stage for the proliferation of direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription drugs by pharmaceutical manufacturers. Some of these practices include the emergence of managed care organizations (MCOs), the legalization of DTCA of prescription drugs, the emergence of the Internet as an alternative promotional channel, the increased desire by patients to become more involved in their own health care decisions, the disillusionment with traditional medicine, and the rise of ‘alternative’ medicine, to name a few. There is an ongoing debate as to the ultimate harm or benefit of this relatively recent practice of pharmaceutical manufacturers to direct their promotional efforts away from the physician and towards the consumer.
Though the parallel is not as explicit as the aforementioned physical modifications, Miner’s use of them is characteristic of his commentary toward the focus on vanity. The people are convinced they cannot live without the potions; they are economically bound, to the point that they forget the intended purposes (471). This comment is directed toward the capitalistic exploitation of medicine, vitamins, supplements, etc. The charm box − medicine cabinet − is praised (472). This places medicine as being a false idol, due to the foreign atmosphere, which furthers Miner’s claim of the unworthy focus on medical
In his Article, Keightley argues that China possesses an epistemological optimism, and in his lengthy argument, that was supposed to focus on the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods, he ended up using a lot of later texts to justify his points of view, therefore ma...
TCM, or Traditional Chinese Medicine, can be traced as far back as 1000 BC, where stone acupuncture needles were believed to be used. Texts from that period also talked of Yin and Yang and other concepts. The first written work on TCM is titled the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic, Huangdi Newijing (Gascoigne 11). This book was written in 300 BC, but entries date back to the early 2700’s BC. The book is still used in universities of Chinese Medicine around the world and is often called the bible of TCM. Today, TCM is still thriving in China and all of Asia. In recent years, information on TCM has become available to people in the United States. The United States has several schools of TCM, and it is now much easier to buy the necessary supplies needed for correct practice of TCM (Gascoigne 11-7).
Concepts from Daoism, Confucianism, and other schools of Chinese thought found their way into the philosophy and theory of medicine. "Qi, for example, which meant air or breath, ca...
The roots of TCM extend back to the days of Taoism, originating with the study of the healing properties of plants and flowers. Sheng Nong Shénnóng w...
Because other metals were thought to be less perfect than gold, it was reasonable to believe that nature created gold out of other metals found deep within the earth and that a skilled artisan could duplicate this process. It was said that once someone was able to change, or transmute a "base" chemical into the perfect metal, gold, they would have achieved eternal life and salvation. In this way, alchemy turned into not only a scientific quest, but a spiritual quest as well. Although the purposes and techniques were often times ritualistic and fanciful, alchemy was in many ways the predecessor of modern science, especially the science of chemistry.The birthplace of alchemy was ancient Egypt, where, in Alexandria, it began to flourish during the Hellenistic period. Also at that time, a school of alchemy was developing in China.
Since the birth of mankind there has been a close relationship between life, disease and plants. Ancient men started studying the diseases and treatments. There is no evidence till today that the prehistoric man had used synthetic drugs for their ailments, but proofs are there for the usage of things they could easily get for these kinds of problem. The common thing what they can procure easily for these ailments were from plants and animals. They found out that majority of flora were useful as food and others were of medicinally useful or of poisonous nature. By their own experience the knowledge on these plants were transferred from generations to generations and these forms as a basement of folk medicine. Thus the history of herbal medicine