Whenever I think of cinnabar (朱砂), I remember when I was a child learning traditional Chinese ink painting. The first time stamping my work, I asked the teacher, "What is this red ink paste made of?" The teacher replied, "Cinnabar, it is the most beautiful red color in the world, and even after thousands of years, it will never fade." Since then, I have been fascinated by cinnabar.
If we look at it from a scientific point of view, what is cinnabar? It is a naturally occurring mineral, composed of mercury in combination with sulfur (Mercury sulfide, HgS). It is called China Red or Zhu Sha (朱砂), as its deep red color. Generally, it’s found near the earth’s surface due to volcanic movement. It is widely distributed in many countries, such as China, Spain, Peru, Italy, Slovenia, Serbia, and United States (Jain et al., 2019).
Evidence for the prehistoric use of cinnabar can be found in different parts of the world. The Neolithic wall paintings found at Çatalhöyük in Turkey (ca. 8000-7000 BC) were made with cinnabar pigment. A ceramic vessel filled with red powder was also found in Serbia, prompting renewed interest into the use of cinnabar (ca. 6000-5000 BC). Furthermore, in the Yangshao culture in China (ca. 4000-3500 BC), cinnabar was used for covering walls and floors in buildings related to ritual ceremonies (Gajić-Kvaščev et al., 2012).
During prehispanic times, cinnabar was the source of a bright red pigment, highly valued and widely exchanged in Central Andes too. It was also prized as the source of vermilion (Burger et al., 2016; Burger et al., 2018).
Another use of cinnabar is as medicine, it has been used for more than 2000 years in Traditional Chinese medicines and Indian Ayurvedic medicines (Efferth et al., 2007; Kumar et al., 2006). The Cinnabar-gold was even used as an alchemical drug of longevity, called Makaradhwaja in India (Mahdihassan, 1985).
Cinnabar has long been used in Traditional Chinese medicines for the management of various diseases, there being more than 40 traditional cinnabar-containing medicines that are still used in Asian countries. A notable example is Zhu Sha An Shen Wan (朱砂安神丸), made up of 20% cinnabar. It is a popular over-the-counter traditional Chinese medicine used for insomnia, anxiety, and depression (Zhou et al.,2009). It has been shown to have beneficial effects on sleep-phase modulation in insomnia rats (Jin et al., 2008), and to potentiate the tranquil effects of pentobarbital (Gao et al., 2008). There are about 12% Chinese patented medicines containing cinnabar as an ingredient, according to the Pharmacopoeia of China 2020.
In addition to TCM, cinnabar also has a long and important history in Taoism. For example, the Chinese alchemy (煉丹術), like the Ayurvedic medicines and Western alchemy, hopes to create an elixir of immortality, the most important raw material of which is cinnabar. Furthermore, Taoism believes that cinnabar is formed from the purest Yang (陽) energy in the Heavens and Earth, and it has a powerful ability of driving away negative energy and evil spirits. Therefore, the taoist Fulu (符籙, talismanic scrip) and incense often use cinnabar to purify one's living space.
Each time, we see the word Zhu Sha or cinnabar, we will associate it with pigments or medicines in our daily lives. But if we see its scientific name - Mercury sulfide, we should worry about its toxicity. This is understandable, as most of us don’t have very deep understanding of it and cultural differences between different countries. The modern medicine has already conducted lots of research on cinnabar. As a type of inorganic mercury, it is significantly less toxic than other kinds of mercury because of its low solubility and bioavailability (Burger et al., 2018). The constant Ksp of cinnabar is only 10−53 in water, compared with Mercury sulfate (10-7) and Mercury carbonate (10-17) (Yeoh et al., 1986). This is why the government does not control it, and we can easily get it from TCM or Fengshui shops.
There are also many studies regarding the long-term potential toxicity of cinnabar. According to the Pharmacopoeia of China (2020), the daily allowance of cinnabar in TCMs is 0.1 - 0.5 g. In the animal study with mice, they were given cinnabar (10 mg / kg / day) for 11 consecutive weeks, and no mice treated with cinnabar showed overt signs of clinical toxicity (Huang et al., 2007). Of course, when discussing the toxicity of any substance, the dosage is very important, and it must not be used in large amounts.
Due to the changes of time, modern life has abandoned many traditional wisdoms. Even in Japan, a country renowned for preserving tradition, many high-quality spices can no longer be found and replaced by synthetic compounds. This is our original intention to insist on making this Chu Hui (除穢, cinnabar) incense.
From the very beginning, we paid special attention to the amount and used separate containers and extruders to avoid cross-contamination. If we investigate our incense, for each stick, it contains 0.0015 g of cinnabar. After burning, most of it will fill the whole room and the actual amount that we absorb is less than 1% of it, which is around 0.000015 g. This dosage is far lower than the limit permitted by the government (0.1- 0.5 g / day), and it is also very easy to be metabolized for such a trace amount by the human body without causing accumulation problems.
The effects of this incense is very strong. Some Feng Shui masters and my meditation friends have found that it contains extremely powerful Yang energy, capable of instantly purifying a room. When we feel chilly or visit unfamiliar places, it will bring us warmth as comforting as sunlight immediately.
References:
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