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The next prominent figure was Sun Si-miao (between 531 to 682 AD). He wrote the text Tai-qing 22 dan-jing yao-jue麓 (Essentials of the elixir manuals for oral transmission). In ancient texts Sun Si-miao had read about "men taking elixirs and sprouting feathers whereby they rose In weightlessly in flight." These accounts made Sun desirous of these elixirs and he made some himself. He calls the 20 wang yuan zhi 21 xiang shi zheng I fan 22 tai qing dan jing yao jue

58 art of alchemy a minor art, Shao Dao. He admits to having personally tried several alchemical formulae and assures of their efficacy. He also comments, That devotees of the refining art have had no prospect of success, is surely not because of the ancients have spoken deceiving words! It must be that students of the way themselves have been unable to reach the essential meanings. In this text Sun Si-miao has given a list of some thirty-four elixirs. Some of these are: Grand purity elixir, Pale moon elixir, Nine cycle elixir, Divine dragon elixir, etc. He does not wish to let the public know about their methods of preparation, but only to the right persons. Hence he has only listed the names and not the methods. A method of preparation of a Six-one lute, which is used in making the crucible airtight, is given in this text. It has the following ingredients: 23 1. Arsenolite. 24 2. Red bole clay. 23 24 bai shi E chi shi zhi

3. Shell of a left-oriented oyster KAL (SO 4) 2 12 H鈧侽. 4. Talc 26 3 MgO. 2 SiO 2掳 2 H鈧侽. Impure NaCl. Turkestan Salt 27 5. 28 6. Lake salt' - Kalinite 25 Na 2 CO 3. NaHCO 3. 2 H鈧侽. This Six-one lute is applied over the crucible and which is rendered airtight by this method and the reactants are not allowed to escape by volatilisation. Sun adds that there are some who foolishly 29 employed earthworm excreta qui-yin-fen, but he himself considers it unnecessary. Sun has dealt with a number 25 zuo yan mu chong yu 26 hua shi 27 rong lin 28 wei 29 qiu yin fen 59

of metallurgical processes such as purifying brass, 30 paktong (Bai-tong), and making jade, pearls and fixing mercury. Sun has given a method for counterfeit Indigo as well. He describes the construction of apparatus to be used in these chemical processes with detailed measurements of the reaction vessel and the furnace. Commenting on the development of alchemy in this period, Needham writes: 31 " The time between Ge Hong and Sun Si-miao was an important period in alchemical development. Beginning from Ge Hong alchemical writings became less theoretical, developing finally into the lucid, practical style of the "Dia-jin shi-bi-ji" and the "Dan-jing Yao-jue. However after the time of Sun Si-miao, many of the alchemical writers gradually returned to the fashion of using obscure synonyms, perhaps because of the alarm caused by many cases of elixir-poisoning and the desire that those without proper guidance should be desuaded from trying out alchemical experiments by themselves. Increased attention to the use of vegetable material and plants in alchemical processes can be seen in the treatise "Shun yang zhen-fen 32 30 bai tong 31 Needham, Joseph (1), Vol. 5, Pt. III, pp. 138-139. 32 chun yang lu zhen ren yao shi zhi 00 60

61 yao shr zhi' (The adept Shun-yang's book on preparations of drugs and minerals). During and after the ninth century AD, there seems to have been a general trend in alchemical writings from originality to compilation, from clarity in style to obscurity, and from proto-chemical techniques to psycho-physiological exercises (Nei Dan).