Editing Elixir of life (section)

=== China ===
[[File:La expedición de Xu Fu, por Utagawa Kuniyoshi.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Xu Fu]]'s first expedition to the [[Mount Penglai|Mount of the immortals]]. By [[Utagawa Kuniyoshi]].]]
Many rulers of ancient China sought the fabled elixir to achieve eternal life. During the [[Qin dynasty]], [[Qin Shi Huang]] sent [[Taoist]] alchemist [[Xu Fu]] to the eastern seas with 500 young men and 500 young women to find the elixir in the legendary [[Mount Penglai|Penglai Mountain]], but returned without finding it. He embarked on a second voyage with 3000 young girls and boys, but none of them ever returned (legend has it that he found [[Japan]] instead).<ref name="Liu">Liu, Hong. ''The Chinese Overseas''. Routledge Library of Modern China. Published by Taylor & Francis, [2006] (2006). {{ISBN|0-415-33859-X}}, 9780415338592.</ref>

The ancient Chinese believed that ingesting long-lasting mineral substances such as [[jade]], [[cinnabar]], or [[hematite]] would confer some of that longevity on the person who consumed them.<ref name="ASOCA">Johnson, Obed Simon. ''A Study of Chinese Alchemy''. Shanghai, Commercial Press, 1928. rpt. New York: Arno Press, 1974. page 63</ref> [[Gold]] was considered particularly potent, as it was a non-tarnishing precious metal; the idea of potable or drinkable gold is found in China by the end of the third century BC. The most famous Chinese alchemical book, ''Danjing yaojue'' ("Essential Formulas of Alchemical Classics") attributed to [[Sun Simiao]] (c. 581 – c. 682 AD),<ref>Glick, T.F., Livesey, S.J., Wallis, F. ''Medieval Science, Technology And Medicine: An Encyclopedia''. Routledge, 2005. p. 20</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/582108/Tan-chin-yao-chueh|title=Tan chin yao chueh – occultism|encyclopedia=britannica.com}}</ref> a famous medical specialist respectfully called "King of Medicine" by later generations, discusses in detail the creation of elixirs for immortality (including several toxic ingredients such as [[mercury (element)|mercury]], [[sulphur]], and [[arsenates]]), as well as those for curing certain diseases and the fabrication of precious stones.

Many of these substances, far from contributing to longevity, were actively toxic and resulted in [[Chinese alchemical elixir poisoning]]. The [[Jiajing Emperor]] in the [[Ming dynasty]] died from ingesting a lethal dosage of mercury in the supposed "Elixir of Life" conjured by alchemists.{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}}