When China’s First Emperor Got Hooked on the Mythology of an “Elixir of Life”
Qin Shi Huang (259 – 210 BC) founded China’s first imperial dynasty, the Qin. A key figure in the country’s history, he was the first monarch to rule a unified China after he defeated and conquered all rival kingdoms. After his victory he declared himself emperor, and grew megalomaniacal, tyrannical, and weird. When scholars objected that his rule differed from that of historically good monarchs, he ordered hundreds of them buried alive. He also ordered that all books on philosophy, and every other subject except for agriculture, science, and magic, be burned.
Magic was exempted from the flames because Qin Shi Huang became obsessed with mythological life prolonging treatments that promised eternal life. So he wanted somebody to find or magic up for him an “Elixir of Life” that would allow him to cheat death. He became obsessed with immortality, and numerous charlatans exploited his desperation to live forever. One such was Xu Fu, a self-proclaimed magician who assured the emperor that immortality was within reach. Its elixir, he promised, awaited in the Penglai Mountain, the mythical home of the Eight Immortals.