Application of Sulphur Refining by Oil in Medicine and Gunpowder Manufacture in the Ming and Qing Dynasties
SONG Yu1,2*
1. Faculty of History and Archaeology,Anyang Normal University,Anyang 455000,China;
2. Key Laboratory of Oracle Bone Inscriptions Information Processing,Ministry of Education,Anyang Normal University, Anyang 455000,China
Abstract Sulfur had been the mainly drug in Chinese medicine and alchemy since the Han Dynasty. Realgar was refined with oil in the Tang Dynasty. In the Chinese medical circles of Song Dynasty, the oil-frying method was applied in the purification of sulfur. In the medical book of Ming Dynasty, the technology of refining sulfur with oil was relatively mature. The doctor of the Qing Dynasty proposed an elaborate scheme about removing the residual oil from sulfur. The black powder was added sulfur and oil in the Song Dynasty. In the Ming dynasty, the technique how sulfur was extract from oil was described in detail. In the late Ming and early Qing Dynasty, the western people introduced the distinctive sulfur refining method. Westerners paid more attention to the impurities filtration and getting rid of oil from sulfur. Sulfur purification was a key step to ensure the quality of black powder.
SONG Yu. Application of Sulphur Refining by Oil in Medicine and Gunpowder Manufacture in the Ming and Qing Dynasties[J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Education, 2021, 42(13): 105-108.
No references of article
[1]
. [J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Education, 2012, 33(2): 64-64,67.
