How to extract mercury in ancient times!

In ancient times, there were two methods to make mercury: one was to add cinnabar and sodium carbonate into a sealed container, that is, to add alkali for combustion, and to introduce mercury vapor into a water tank through a pipeline for cooling and solidification, thus obtaining metallic mercury.

The second is to directly burn cinnabar in an open container to obtain metallic mercury. This method is very dangerous and easy to be poisoned.

The ancients actually discovered cinnabar minerals, and these cinnabar minerals are mercury compounds, such as mercury sulfide and so on. China itself is one of the largest mineral deposits in cinnabar, and there are countless resources in this field.

Ancestors also began to use cinnabar as a red pigment as early as primitive society. The use of cinnabar has been found in many sites thousands of years BC.

China people are no strangers to this thing, and so are bloodstone. At the same time, it is also the pigment that we have used for tens of thousands of years, such as the red ink approved by the emperor, the red pigment painted by ghosts, the red color of lacquerware, the makeup on women's foreheads and so on.

Extended data:

In ancient times, the method of preserving mercury was very simple, just like kimchi, it could be sealed with water. If the quantity is large, the whole jar will sink into water or a cold and constant temperature cellar after sealing.

Because mercury needs to volatilize at a certain temperature, keeping it at a low temperature can be effectively controlled and preserved. The wisdom of the ancients in this respect is very admirable. With the development of thousands of years, the understanding of mercury is also constantly strengthening.

The ancients knew long ago that making cinnabar with sulfur and mercury was also a mercury preservation method.

Ge Hong knew how to burn mercury at that time and mastered the method of combining mercury with sulfur to change back into cinnabar. But he thinks that mercury is a good thing and a magic medicine that can live forever.

References:

Baidu encyclopedia-cinnabar