Kim O'Hara wrote: ↑Wed Feb 22, 2023 11:30 pm
VajraDude wrote: ↑Wed Feb 22, 2023 4:00 pm
Kim O'Hara wrote: ↑Wed Feb 22, 2023 8:11 am
"Appears"? How and where does it "appear"? Written on the heavens in words of fire visible to the Elect both by day and by night, or written in the Oxford Dictionary of the English Language, 13th edition (1730), Vol III, p, 1037?
More seriously, you have to provide
some basis for your claim, especially since it contradicts current knowledge.
Kim
It should not contradict present knowledge, if your knowledge is up to date.
It’s been known for quite a few years the east - west derivation of western alchemy’s “elixir path”, the path of the so-called Lapis Philosophorum, or Philosopher’s Stone. As mentioned by Malcolm above, the work of Needham (all vols on archive.com) is a good source.
"the first-century A.D. Chinese technique of kim or chin, "aurifaction,"
would have been carried west to the Mediterranean world in
perhaps the third century A.D.. This Chinese term
would then have been transliterated, by Pseudo-Zosimus, as chymeia or chemeia, later arabicized into al-chymeia, and introduced into European traditions as alchymia, alchemy.” David Gordon White, The Alchemical Body.
There’s much more that can said on these trends, for example Marco Polo’s visit to the coast of Malabar is the first documented example of ‘chiugis’ (yogis) using mercury to extend their lives. The route of transmission
appears to be via a branch of the silk road that terminated in Arabia. (emphasis added)
Thank you for providing the sources of your claim.
While I don't deny some Silk Road transmission of alchemy as a subject or practice, I do still have serious doubts about your theory of the origins of the word "alchemy".
For one thing, it's highly speculative. I have bolded some words in your post to highlight gaps and assumptions.
For another, it's at odds with all the standard references on the English language (all that I've bothered to look at, anyway - you might be able to find a white crow).
E.g.
https://www.etymonline.com/word/alchemy mid-14c., from Old French alchimie (14c.), alquemie (13c.), from Medieval Latin alkimia, from Arabic al-kimiya, from Greek khemeioa (found c.300 C.E. in a decree of Diocletian against "the old writings of the Egyptians"), all meaning "alchemy," and of uncertain origin.
Perhaps from an old name for Egypt (Khemia, literally "land of black earth," found in Plutarch), or from Greek khymatos "that which is poured out," from khein "to pour," from PIE root *gheu- "to pour" [Watkins, but Klein, citing W. Muss-Arnolt, calls this folk etymology]. The word seems to have elements of both origins.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alchemy
Middle English alkemye, alkamye, alchymie, borrowed from Anglo-French & Medieval Latin; Anglo-French alkemye (Middle French also alquimie, arquemie), borrowed from Medieval Latin alkimia, alchymia "transmutation of base metals into gold, the philosopher's stone," borrowed from Arabic al-kīmiyāʼ, from al "the" + kīmiyāʼ "art of transmuting base metals," borrowed, perhaps via Syriac kīmiyā, from Late Greek chymeîā, chēmeîā, of uncertain origin
Kim
Kim, those are commonly used old sources and mostly outdated, long known to me as I was familiar with this etymology previously. There is a natural gap between western academic scholars of alchemy and eastern practice of the same. Western alchemical scholars are working primarily in Latin, but also German, Italian and Eastern European languages.
These are partial derivations which don't contain the broader context now known and do not include more recent discoveries. I like to call this the tower-of-babble effect. The "khem", black earth nonsense was debunked decades ago. These refs are mostly artifacts of the various early fantasies of Egypt that Europeans, particularly the French, created. Some still persist from the days
before the Rosetta Stone unlocked our understanding of Egyptian history. It's a weird rosicrucio-hermetico fantasy world of Egyptian mysteries (the Egyptian "mysteries" were public) and weird Tibetan texts named the Book of Dzyan! Don't be fooled by the pattern of obfuscation!
The reason for this is the jumble in historical transmission for east-to-west is texts first came via Greece and then later Arabicized
from the Greek. Westerners generally have little practical knowledge of Asian languages. Tower of babble effect. This gap and obfuscation is the problem.
For vajrayana practitioners it's informative to look at era maps of NW India for a clearer overarching understanding. NW India is where the major trade routes came down from "Parada-desa" the land of the Parthians (includes the Traxonians and Baluchistanians), literally, the land of "Parada", mercury. Similarly the place associated with red cinnabar, mercuric sulfide ore or
darada is
Darada-desa or modern day
Dardistan. This is direct line with the Swat valley, the known source for Tibetan buddhist mercurial praxis (e.g.Urgyanpa RInchenpal).
On the opposite side of India we have Nagarjuna-as-mad-light body scientist on secluded Nagajurna-konda. His parada came from the other known trade route via Bengal.
While it was originally assumed that rasashastra originated in southern India, this now known to be incorrect and both NE and NW India were the original areas of praxis.
We should also not assume alchemy as it came to be known in the west originated from China however, it is still basically "a draw" historically.
Steve