The Chinese Isles of the Blest.
57
seems, because they had failed him in the quest of the magic herb.[1]
Six sovereigns occupied the throne of China during the seventy years following the death of the First Emperor. Some favoured Taoism, but it was not till the accession of Wu Ti in b.c. 140 that the cult of immortality obsessed the thoughts of an emperor. Wu Ti was not contented with merely searching for the Isles of the Blest. His revival of the ancient sacrifices in honour of heaven and earth[2] was apparently the outcome of the magicians' repeated assurances that by so doing he would attain hsienship, and, like the Yellow Emperor, be translated to paradise without dying.[3] The same motive led him to recognise officially the art of alchemy. The following is important as the earliest historical account of Chinese alchemy. It refers to the year 133 b.c.
"Shao-chün
[4] said to the Emperor: 'Sacrifice to the crucible, and you will be able to make supernatural beings appear. When you have effected their attendance, cinnabar can be transmuted into yellow gold. Having obtained yellow gold, you can fashion it into vessels for drinking and eating, and thus extend your longevity. When your powers of long life have been increased you will be able to see the
hsien who live on the Island of P‘êng-lai that is in mid-ocean. When you have seen them, and have also performed the sacrifices in honour of heaven and earth, you will become immortal. It was thus with the Yellow Emperor. Your servant, in the course of his constant wanderings at sea, has seen the Master An-ch‘i, who was eating dates as large as melons. The Master An-ch‘i is a
hsien and he frequents P‘êng-lai. He can make himself visible or invisible to mortals as it pleases him.'
It was in consequence of this discourse that the Son of Heaven personally offered for the first time sacrifices to the crucible.
- ↑ Id. ii. p. 180 seq.
- ↑ Fêng and shan.
- ↑ Chavannes, op. cit. iii. pp. 487 seq., 497 seq., 517.
- ↑ v. Giles, Biog. Dict. No. 1189.
