Thursday, April 3, 2014

C is for Cinnabar, or, Immortality is not always good for your health

Cinnabar is a mineral of a strong signature red hue that produces the pigment called vermilion. The word cinnabar allegedly comes from the Persian word for "dragon's blood."
I have already mentioned one of the Four Symbols in Chinese mythology, the Azure Dragon of the East. Well, the Vermilion Bird of the South is also one of them, and is fabled to live in a cinnabar cave somewhere in the South. Red is symbolic to this bird partly because its association with heat and fire, but I have always wondered if it has something to do with all the glorious tropical birds of red hues of South-East Asia. But I digress.

What does cinnabar have to do with immortality?

Well, according to Chinese alchemy, cinnabar is an essential ingredient for the Elixir of Immortality. It is highly regarded because of its color (symbolizing royalty, energy, and fire), and also for its relation to quicksilver, which together makes cinnabar a combined element of both Yin and Yang.
According to the legends of the Eight Immortals, the oldest person to achieve immortality was Zhongli Quan (usually translated as Iron-Crutch Li). He lived during the Han Dynasty, and being a miracle child advanced quickly in the royal court until he became a general of the armies. After being beaten in battle by the Tibetan army, he hid in the mountains and became the apprentice of a mysterious old man who taught him the secrets of alchemy (in a three-day intensive boot camp): how to turn stone into gold and silver, and how to prepare the Elixir of Longevity from cinnabar. Equipped with a fan that can turn stone into gold and silver, he set out to make the world a better place. In time, Iron-Crutch Li achieved immortality and ascended into the Heavens on a shining cloud, becoming the leader of the group of Eight Immortals.

WARNING: Do NOT try this at home. Cinnabar contains mercury and is highly poisonous. Any attempt at immortality might be very damaging to your health.

Fun fact: The Barony of Cynnabar, one of the baronies of the Middle Kingdom within the Society of Creative Anachronism, choose its name based on the symbolism of cinnabar, and especially because the symbol of the kingdom is a red dragon. Read the full story here

Also, talking about red hues that start with C, check out Andrew Lang's classic Crimson Fairy Book.

22 comments:

  1. The title of your C post is in itself so alluring. And so is the post. Could never have guessed how the letter C could lead one to immortality, but it makes perfect sense now :) I just now also read the beautiful B post about all those Blue stories. I like how smooth your writing flows. Will be checking here more regularly.

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  2. I was wondering where I'd heard about cinnabar before and then you mentioned mercury and I remembered it was in a book of poisons and their uses mainly in killing people :) (yeah, creepy, I know, but I'm a writer, god forbid any cop should look at my personal library)
    It is strange how most of the elements associated with longevity can actually kill you!
    Sophie
    Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles - A to Z Ghosts
    Fantasy Boys XXX - A to Z Drabblerotic

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  3. Fascinating post, particularly the alchemical pursuits of cinnabar. I've always found alchemy rather interesting, and I don't know near enough about it as I'd like. Thanks for such a great post! :)

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  4. Cinnabar was the answer to a crossword clue the other day :). I had no idea it was so important in mythology. Thank you for all the info.
    Tasha
    Tasha's Thinkings

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  5. It sounds like the philosopher's stone. I wonder if they share legend origins or if it was just serendipidy.

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  6. Interesting facts. Cinnabar not only intrigues my ears, but it being linked to immortality hadn't considered it.

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  7. I did not know this!
    I am working on a book of dragons with my son and this is something I need to research more.

    Thanks!!

    --
    Timothy S. Brannan
    The Other Side, April Blog Challenge: The A to Z of Witches

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  8. I LOVE the word Cinnabar and saying it out loud.

    Great post.

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  9. Thanks for this C post, very interesting and made me laugh. "Any attempt at immortality might be very damaging to your health." A life lesson indeed!

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  10. WOW!! Thank you for the info. I loved it.
    Stevie
    http://smellingthelavender.blogspot.com/

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  11. OH how lovely! I had researched cinnabar myself for reasons of a book and some RPG stuff. PLUS I was curious about the incense base called Dragons Blood. I am loving this! Glad you visited!
    Kriss (otherwise known as Cabin Goddess

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  12. Absolutely fascinating. I had no idea about cinnabar. I also love the Andrew Lang books. Great post! Jeanne, A to Z challenge at Seven Oaks, homegardenjoy.com

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  13. Oh so fascinating! Lovely choice for C....the stories and the research that you have put in is commendable!

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  14. Your theme opens up a treasure trove of story ideas! Intriguing AND beautiful:)

    WriterlySam
    A to Z #TeamDamyanti

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  15. Your theme opens up a treasure trove of story ideas! Intriguing AND beautiful:)

    WriterlySam
    A to Z #TeamDamyanti

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  16. Your posts are so informative. I'm learning a lot of new things. :)

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  17. I like the warning that goes with Cinnabar. Interesting theme. I'll be back for sure.


    J.L. Campbell writes at The Character Depot
    and the Jamaican Kid Lit Blog.

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  18. It's such a pretty word though! And I love H's connection to dragons!

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  19. I love that! "any attempt at immortality may be damaging to your health" That's wonderful!

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  20. I'm working on a book whose world is based within the color wheel. This post changes my entire map. I want the directions to be well laid in mythology, so I will have to do more research and get my north and south figured out a bit more accurately! Thank goodness I stopped by!

    I'm participating in AtoZ, too.
    See you around!
    ~Andi-Roo
    @TheWorld4Realz
    TheWorld4Realz.com

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  21. I'm trying to play catch-up, and read through some of these wonderful posts...
    I know of a perfume named Cinnabar, which is strong and overbearing...

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