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Cinnabar (Dan Sha)

Taste is sweet, nature is slightly cold. Raw consumption is non-toxic, refined consumption kills. It originates from Chenzhou (belonging to Huguang). It is found in the wells of Luandong. (The cinnabar produced in this region is mostly obtained from Liaodong and Laoya wells.) It lies within the blue stone walls surrounding the well. Locals who wish to find it often gather dry firewood. They set fire to burn the entire well, causing the stone walls to crack open, revealing a stone bed as white and pure as jade. Cinnabar nodules grow upon it, bright red like blood. Large ones resemble lotus heads, (weighing four or five taels, up to ten taels per piece.) Small ones resemble arrowheads. (Commonly called "arrowhead cinnabar".) The smallest are called flat bean cinnabar or rice cinnabar. Those forming clear, wall-like structures are superior; granular "luslu" forms are next best. Rice cinnabar is of inferior grade, often containing much iron filings. Magnetic stones are used to remove impurities, and it is dyed white for other uses. One view holds: cinnabar from fire wells is not as potent as that from water wells; (in water wells containing cinnabar, the water turns entirely red, often emitting a miasma of smoke and rosy clouds.) New wells produce cinnabar that cannot match the deep color of old wells. For treating pathological factors, only the premium grade should be taken. Grind finely in a porcelain mortar, wash evenly with clear water. There is no worry in consumption, and efficacy will naturally manifest. It is adverse to magnetic stones and fears salty water. The Classics state: Cinnabar resembles fire, its red color corresponds to the Heart. Therefore, it can calm and nourish the Shen (Spirit), and regulate the Blood vessels. It destroys evil spirits and demons, clears scabies and sores. It stops thirst and removes irritability, calms the Hun and Po souls. Alchemists value it highly and frequently purchase it, believing it can facilitate transmutation and ascension, thus refining it incessantly. According to the method, mercury (Shui Yin) is extracted using porcelain jars, also known as Quicksilver. (Use two porcelain jars. Dig a pit deep and wide enough to hold two jars. Bury one jar in the pit first, compact the soil around it firmly. Fill it with water. Place the second jar inside, half-filled with cinnabar. Add crushed tile pieces on top. Cut an iron wire into a bun shape resembling a full moon, seal the mouth of the upper jar, invert it over the lower jar, ensuring the mouths face each other. Seal the seam with salt mud. Use熟 charcoal fire, starting gentle then increasing intensity. Refine for the duration of one incense stick. All the cinnabar will be transformed, and mercury will flow into the water in the lower jar. Retrieve the lower jar, remove the crust, add new cinnabar, secure the navel area, and refine again. From one tael of good cinnabar, seven or eight qian of mercury are usually obtained. Inferior quality yields only five or six qian.) Store in a gourd to prevent loss. It neutralizes the great toxicity of the five metals. It is adverse to magnetic stones as mentioned before. It coagulates when combined with lead, and binds when combined with sulfur. It relies on Ziheche (Human Placenta). Precious metals like gold, silver, copper, and iron float on it. When ground with jujube pits, it disperses; mixed with saliva, it kills lice. Pouring it on corpses prevents decay; rubbing with copper and tin makes them bright. Mixed with powder of Jidafengzi (Semecarpus anacardium), it kills skin parasites; combined with Huangling to form pills, it terminates pregnancy. (Formula name: Duan Yun Wan / Pregnancy Termination Pill.) It is not solely for medicine but also enters the alchemical furnace. The crust is named Tianshu (Heavenly Sulfur), and in immortal formulas, it is called Yitu (Earth of Ji). If refined according to the correct method, it can transmute copper into silver. Calomel (Qing Fen) is mercury sublimated again, added with salt and Vitriol (Zaofan). Its texture is light and color white, hence the name. (The method: one tael of mercury, seven qian of vitriol, five qian of white salt, ground together until slight stars appear. Place in a cooking pot mold, press flat, sweep into a round cake shape with a chicken wing, cover with a black earthenware pot. Sieve furnace ash, mix with water to seal the pot seams. Place the pot bottom about three inches above the fire. Use熟 charcoal fire to calcine. If the fire is slow, gradually increase it, up to half a jin. Measure by three incense sticks. Remove and let cool. Gently lift the black pot with a knife, place upside down, brush away furnace ash, do not let incense fall. Sweep the powder residue from the bottom of the pot gently with a chicken wing, clean it arbitrarily, and set aside separately. Add more vitriol, mercury, and white salt, grind together, and refine again on the cake in an iron pot. If some does not sublime, sweep the good parts from the top, mix with the previous batch, and refine again. Moisture content should be appropriate. If too dry, add a little water to moisten, but not too wet. Discard the coarse powder at the bottom of the pot, or keep it to rub on sores and tinea. Nowadays, market sellers may use calcined gypsum or gypsum powder to pass off as fake. True Calomel must sublime upwards when heated on fire.) Its function is solely for external medicine; it is contraindicated for all conditions involving fresh bleeding. Vermilion (Yin Zhu) is also made by burning mercury, commonly called Xinhong (Heart Red). It is most remarkable for dyeing and painting colors, and effective for killing insects and lice. Ignorant physicians do not understand this, grinding it for medicinal coating. This error is profound; how can Typhoid Fever (Shanghan) be avoided? (Mo) Notes: Wang Shishan said: The Classics state: Cinnabar is slightly cold, raw consumption is non-toxic. Fire-refined cinnabar is greatly toxic and kills. Mercury is formed by fire-refining cinnabar, how can it be said to be non-toxic? Its nature is slippery and mobile, moving without staying. Its aroma and taste are both Yang, which can be inferred. Yang belongs to hot fire. The Classics state: Mercury is pungent and cold, which seems unreliable. It also states: Toxic. Is this referring to mercury formed by fire-refining cinnabar? Thus, its toxicity is greater than cinnabar itself. It is fitting that it erodes the brain completely and causes contraction of all joints when entering the flesh. Furthermore, when mercury is mixed with vitriol and further refined, flying onto the lid of the cauldron, it is called Mercury Powder, also known as Calomel. This is described in the Classics as Yang within Yang. Relying further on the drying and acrid nature of vitriol, compared to cinnabar and mercury, it is an even more greatly toxic and drying/acrid agent. The Classics state: Powder is cold and non-toxic, how can this be logical? Recently, I have seen promiscuous men and women in the world often developing malignant sores. Starting in the groin, within a few days, it spreads throughout the body, resembling bayberries, hence named Bayberry Sore (Mei Yang Chuang). Severe cases are contagious. Folk doctors use Calomel as the sovereign herb, assisted by Realgar (Xiong), Cinnabar (Zhu), Camphor (Nao), and Musk (She) preparations. Whether in powder or pill form, although initially effective, it recurs after healing, and is taken again. Over time, this leads to contracture of hands and feet, becoming a chronic disease. Commonly also called Bayberry Wind. This is due to the extreme heat and dryness of the drugs consuming the Blood and fluids, causing the sinews to lose nourishment, leading to this condition. Common people do not know they die from the medicine, which is truly lamentable.