Shí yào ěr yǎ 石藥爾雅
Er yǎ of Mineral Drugs
by 梅彪 (Méi Biāo) — mid-Táng Daoist alchemist
A mid-Táng alchemical lexicon on the model of the classical Ěr yǎ 爾雅, cataloguing the alternate names (yì míng 異名) of minerals and metals used in elixir-making. Indispensable for decoding the deliberately obscure nomenclature of the Chinese alchemical corpus — where cinnabar, lead, mercury, sulfur, and other substances circulate under hundreds of esoteric names. Dated by its preface to 806 (Yuán hé 1). Preserved as DZ 901 / CT 901 (Dòngshén bù, Zhòng shù lèi 洞神部眾術類).
Dating. 806. Dynasty: 唐.
Translations and research
- Needham, Joseph, with Ho Ping-Yü, Lu Gwei-Djen, and Nathan Sivin. Science and Civilisation in China, vol. V.3. Cambridge UP, 1976. Discussions of the Shí yào ěr yǎ as a key to alchemical synonymy.