China’s first emperor seeks elixirs in Tibet –

The inscriptions hidden on the high rock surface of the hiding record a previously unknown expedition sent by Emperor Qin Shi Huang (259-210 B.C.), the first emperor to unify China and the owner of the iconic Terracotta Army who guarded his tomb, seeking the spirit of life.

Ancient records indicate that the emperor sent an expedition to the East to find the elixir of immortality, but do not mention similar expeditions in the West. They also pointed out that after his visit to the empire, he unified seven stone anniversaries to celebrate the emperor’s achievements, and he unified two of the inscriptions between 219 and 211 BC. The inscription is the only Qin carving that is still in place and is almost complete.

The inscription is near Gyaring Lake in Qinghai Province, with a height of more than 2.6 miles. It said the emperor directed the “Level 5 Master YI” (a senior government official) to bring a group of alchemists to Kunlun Mountain in search of “Yao”, which may refer to healing herbs or minerals, but also means the elixir of life. The inscription states that the truck expedition reached the lake in the 37th year of the reign of the Qin King, and another 40 miles to Mount Kunlun.

In Qin’s text, Kunlun Mountain is the sacred birthplace of the Yellow River. Today, Kunlun Mountain has become the name of the western Chinese range, but the mountainous areas quoted in classic texts are different. Researchers believe that Kunlun is the Bayan Har Mountains south of today’s Gyaring Lake. The inscription is evidence supporting the identification.

The inscription was originally discovered in July 2020, and when it was promoted in June this year, historians made huge debates among historians about whether it was a modern forgery. It is carved in the Qiozhuan script, the iconic style of Qinozhuan. The direction of some characters’ strikes is also a typical representative of calligraphy in the QIN period, and the way the word “Kunlun” is written matches the writing on bamboo pieces in the QIN period. The writing style has been documented only in the past 20 years and is knowledgeable enough in this niche to fake scripts that modern counterfeiting is extremely unlikely.

Another scholar believes that it was carved using QIN scripts during the RMB dynasty (1271-1368). This could explain why the inscription was not eroded in the harsh climate of the Tibetan Plateau, but even then, the script was 1500 years old, and there was no example of the inscriptions carved in the Xiaomi style.

Now, the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, has confirmed its authenticity.

Deng said the stone characters show clear chisel markings, indicating that they were carved with flat tools, a method consistent with the technology of the QIN era.

Through analysis of minerals and elements, “the researchers ruled out the possibility of engraving inscriptions using modern alloy tools.”

He said that the grooves of the inscription and the surface of the stone are present in secondary minerals. This suggests long-term natural weathering, which ruled out the possibility of recently completed carving.

Laboratory analysis showed that the carved stone consists of quartz sandstone, a material known for its high resistance to wear and weathering, the report added.

Ancient writers documented Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s fascination with the elixir of life, that he died in 210 BC, just like an adventure because he drank too much. Many other nobles and emperors followed in his footsteps, killed by the elixir of life they drank to defeat death.