Rivers of Mercury and Immortality

Folk Belief: Immortality

Throughout ancient Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang Di’s massive tomb, thousands of lifelike clay statues of soldiers stand guard. They even once held real weapons to protect their leader in the afterlife. When the statues were first made in 208 BC, they would have been painted to look even more realistic.

Aside from the clay army, Qin's grave was filled with toxic pools of liquid mercury. During his time, the Chinese practiced alchemy, and mercury was thought to be the key to immortality. However, the huge amount of this poisonous substance has made it nearly impossible for modern archaeologists to properly excavate the site. Many sections still haven’t been explored.

In Mexico, Teotihuacan’s Pyramid of the Plumed Serpent was built to house the body of their emperor when he died. In 2016, archaeologists discovered that there was a pool of liquid mercury underneath the grave site. Some historians speculate that this may have some religious significance. Whether or not these ancient peoples intended it for that purpose, liquid mercury has become a very effective way to ensure that their dead leaders can rest in peace without being disturbed.

Rivers of Mercury

Ancient writings say the emperor created an entire underground kingdom and palace, complete with a ceiling mimicking the night sky, set with pearls as stars. Pits full of terracotta concubines have never been discovered, though experts predict they exist somewhere in the complex.

And Qin Shi Huang's tomb is also thought to be encircled with rivers of liquid mercury, which the ancient Chinese believed could bestow immortality.

Some archaeologists believe this may be the cause of his death. He was taking mercury pills because he wanted to live forever. Unfortunately, it killed him by the age of 39.

That moat of mercury also presents another reason why archaeologists are loath to explore the tomb just yet — doing so would likely be very dangerous, according to soil samples around the tomb, which indicate extremely high levels of mercury contamination.

In the end, scientists and historians must always weigh their desire to know more with the damage such inquiry would cause.

Archaeology, ultimately, is a destructive science,they report. Materials have to be destroyed in order to learn about them.

 Opulent Burial

When he died, Qin Shi Huang was buried in the most opulent tomb complex ever constructed in China, a sprawling, city-size collection of underground caverns containing everything the emperor would need for the afterlife. The ancient Chinese, along with many cultures including ancient Egyptians, believed that items and even people buried with a person could be taken with him to the afterlife.

But instead of burying his armies, concubines, administrators and servants with him, Qin came up with an alternative: clay reproductions.

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Beliefs About Illness
Top Immortals

Fountain of Youth

Eternal Youth

Legends are a popular folklore form.  These stories are both historical (they occurred in the past) and they are also unauthenticated. They also revolved an extremely famous or notorious person. For example, the legends of Paul Bunyan - a mountain man and logger – who is credited with being able to pull a steam train to safety through a treacherous mountain path. Although we doubt that really happened, we all agree that it's human possibly, under the right circumstances, to do so.

But what about places and things? Like the Fountain of Youth legends that have sprung up all over the world. Such a place would reverse the body’s natural process of growing old and then dying, right?

Age Not Revered

In today’s society where age is generally not revered, it still remains a sensitive subject.  As American author Mark Twain noted, "life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of 80 and gradually approach 18." Twain's quip was only one of many complaints about aging that have been recorded for as long as humans have dreaded the downside of a long life. The ancient Greek poet Homer called old age "loathsome," and William Shakespeare termed it "hideous winter."

The Fountain of Youth is a legendary spring that restores youth to anyone who drinks from its waters. The spring has come up in many tales across the world for thousands of years, appearing in writings by Herodotus, the Alexander romanc, and the stories of Prestor John.  Legends and tales of similar waters were also prominent among the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean  during the 14th century Age of Discovery, who spoke of the restorative powers of the water in the mythical land of Bimmi, we know today as the westernmost area of the Bahamas.       
      
Spanish explorer, Juan Ponce de Leon is the name of a man most people associate with the fountain of youth. On the search for the legendary place in the 16th century, he traveled to what is now Florida. It was in St. Augustine, the oldest city in the U.S. that it was believed Ponce de Leon discovered the Fountain of Youth. Since then, the fountain has been associated to Florida. 

Around the world many wish the Fountain of Youth was more than a legend.  One such example is Hollywood’s most recent Snow White movie, starring Charlize Theron and Kristen Bell. This fairytale based story, set in a magical place somewhere out of time,  tells of an evil witch on the hunt for Snow White because she is the most beautiful woman of them all. Her search includes efforts to find the Fountain of Youth that will allow her to remain young and beautiful because that is what she will need to survive.

The Fountain of Youth is a legend that gives people hope; hope that they can change the course of their physical world and somehow find a way to turn back the hands of time. 

Related Information

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Age of Exploration