25. A Fortuitous Case of Mercury Poisoning
Chin Shi Huang’s megalomania included a quest for immortality: he literally wanted to live forever. He lavishly funded searches for a “Life Elixir”, including an expedition with hundreds of ships that sailed off into the Pacific in search of a mythical “Land of the Immortals”. It was never heard from again. He also patronized alchemists who claimed that they were close to inventing the Life Elixir.
One of the charlatans who flocked to the First Emperor’s court gave him daily mercury pills. He claimed that they were a life-prolonging intermediate step in his research for immortality drugs, which should tidy Chin Shi Huang over until the Life Elixir was ready. Swallowing mercury every day, the emperor gradually poisoned himself, and gradually grew insane. He turned into a recluse who concealed himself from all but his closest courtiers, constantly listening to songs about “Pure Beings. The mercury poisoning eventually killed him at the relatively young age of 49.