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The mythological White Hare from Chinese mythology, brewing the elixir of life on the Moon. The elixir of life (Medieval Latin: elixir vitae), also known as elixir of immortality, is a potion that supposedly grants the drinker eternal life and/or eternal youth. This elixir was also said to cure all diseases. Alchemists in various ages and ...
Chinese woodblock illustration of a waidan alchemical refining furnace, 1856 Waike tushuo 外科圖説 (Illustrated Manual of External Medicine). Waidan, translated as 'external alchemy' or 'external elixir', is the early branch of Chinese alchemy that focuses upon compounding elixirs of immortality by heating minerals, metals, and other natural substances in a luted crucible.
The Alchymist, in Search of the Philosopher's Stone by Joseph Wright of Derby, 1771.. The philosopher's stone [a] is a mythic alchemical substance capable of turning base metals such as mercury into gold or silver; [b] it was also known as "the tincture" and "the powder".
Elixir originated in medieval European alchemy meaning "A preparation by the use of which it was sought to change metals into gold" (elixir stone or philosopher's stone) or "A supposed drug or essence with the property of indefinitely prolonging life" (elixir of life). The word was figuratively extended to mean "A sovereign remedy for disease.
The Elixir of Life is a famous potion that aimed to create eternal youth. [32] During the Chinese dynasties, this elixir of life was often recreated and drunk by emperors, nobles and officials. [citation needed] In India, there is a myth of the potion amrita, a drink of immortality made out of nectar. [33]
Xu Fu is said to have reached the top of Mount Kinryu, where he met a hermit and obtained the elixir of immortal life. The elixir is said to have been made from a plant called furofuki, which still grows on Mount Kinryu today. The name "furofuki" is said to come from the word "furofushi", which means "not grow old, not die" in Japanese. [6]
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However, historical texts of Daoist teaching include alchemical practices, most of which posit the existence of an elixir or the Golden Elixir that, when ingested, gives the drinker eternal life. As there is a direct connection between Daoism and Laozi , some suggest he played a major role in the creation of Chinese alchemy.