| The elixir of life, also known as the elixir of immortality | | | | longevity, were actively toxic. Jiajing Emperor in the |
| and sometimes equated with the philosopher's stone, is | | | | Ming Dynasty died from ingesting a lethal dosage of |
| a legendary potion, or drink, that grants the drinker | | | | mercury in the supposed "Elixir of Life" conjured by |
| eternal life or eternal youth. Many practitioners of | | | | alchemists. British historian Joseph Needham compiled |
| alchemy pursued it. The elixir of life was also said to | | | | a list of Chinese emperors whose death was likely |
| be able to create life. It is related to the myths of | | | | due to elixir poisoning. Chinese interest in alchemy and |
| Enoch, Thoth, and Hermes Trismegistus, all of whom in | | | | the elixir of life declined in proportion to the rise of |
| various tales are said to have drunk "the white drops" | | | | Buddhism, which claimed to have alternate routes to |
| (liquid gold) and thus achieved immortality. It is also | | | | immortality. |
| associated with the Qur'an's Al Khidr ('The Green | | | | The oldest Indian writings, the Vedas (Hindu sacred |
| Man'), and is mentioned in one of the Nag Hammadi | | | | scriptures), contain the same hints of alchemy that are |
| texts. | | | | found in evidence from ancient China, namely vague |
| History | | | | references to a connection between gold and long life. |
| It is unlikely that any such potion has ever been | | | | Mercury, which was so vital to alchemy everywhere, |
| discovered though alchemists in ancient China, India, | | | | is first mentioned in the 4th to 3rd century BC |
| and the Western world spent a great deal of time and | | | | Arthashastra, about the same time it is encountered in |
| effort on it. An elixir can be referred to as the | | | | China and in the West. Evidence of the idea of |
| 'Quintessence of life' or by other names – | | | | transmuting base metals to gold appears in 2nd to 5th |
| quintessence being reference to the five elements of | | | | century AD Buddhist texts, about the same time as in |
| Chinese alchemical philosophy or a theorized fifth | | | | the West. Since Alexander the Great had invaded |
| element in European alchemy. In other cultures, | | | | India in 325 BC, leaving a Greek state (Gandhara) that |
| alchemical philosophy would deem less or more | | | | long endured, the possibility exists that the Indians |
| elements (four in most of Europe, thirty-six in India). This | | | | acquired the idea from the Greeks, but it could have |
| is most commonly seen in Frankenstein by Mary | | | | been the other way around. |
| Shelley. | | | | Today |
| The most famous Chinese alchemical book, the Tan | | | | Today's Elixir Of Health is produced in a FDA certified |
| Chin Yao Ch'eh ("Great Secrets of Alchemy," dating | | | | facility with highest quality ingredients reasearched to |
| from approximately 650 AD), discusses in detail the | | | | to be on the cutting edge of science. Such Elixir is |
| creation of elixirs for immortality (mercury, sulfur, and | | | | Vitavegamin, the Original Nutritional Elixir. Despite some |
| the salts of mercury and arsenic are prominent) as | | | | copycats who try to mimic the Vitavegamin's scientific |
| well as those for curing certain diseases and the | | | | formulation, all fall short of matching the quality and |
| fabrication of precious stones. | | | | efficacy of Vitavegamin. |
| Many of these substances, far from contributing to | | | | |