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Development of Proto-chemistry in the Greco-ArabicEuropean World and, in East and South-East Asia: A Comparative Analysis

Somnath Ghosh Introduction: From the early stages of its development, chemistry is a part of societys material production and, of the production of its theoretical culture. Mankind has and always had the need of chemistry to obtain, from the substances of nature all the possible materials it needed beginning with metals, ceramics, glass-objects, dyes, drugs, etc., to rubber, plastics, man-made fiber and food stuffs. To provide humanity with these much needed objects, the discipline of chemistry has, right from the beginning of human civilization till the present day, been continuously engaged in finding tangible solutions to its Central Problem of preparing substances with preset properties from a host of given, natural substances. A proper solution of this problem has to take care of two sub-problems embedded within it: (I) that of arriving at a comprehensive knowledge of the properties of both the given substances and of those under preparation and, (II) that of formulating a comprehensive idea of the processes necessary to effect the said preparation / transformation. Obviously, the first subproblem leads to the development of the body of theoretical knowledge of chemistry, whereas the second one constitutes the technological world of this particular subject. A ceaseless feedback relation exists between these two sub-realms of the Central Problem of chemistry. This has made the advancement of chemistry possible from the stage of a mere artisanal activity to its present stage, where it plays a significant role in the material production of contemporary human society. This Central Problem1 together with all its invariance, has evolved over time: it was the cause behind the immense diversity of bodies in the ancient period; it was the problem of the dependence of the properties of a substance on the elements constituting a given body in the middle ages; and now it has emerged as the problem of reactivity, coupled with that of control of industrial chemical processes, so as to make them eco-friendly2. Investigators in the field of history of chemistry have identified the gradual emergence of five distinct attempts aimed at providing material solutions to the Central Problem of chemistry, or the five modes3 of solving this problem, which may even be designated as five different scientific programs in the realm of chemistry, following the concept of Scientific Program, introduced by Piama Pavlovna Gaidenko4 in the field of history of science studies. The consistent organization of these modes5, marks the succession of the different conceptual systems of chemistry: specific evolutions and revolutions in its development, that are determined, essentially, by three important factors and these are: (i) the socio-historical conditions prevailing in society, (ii) the nature of the substances used in chemical transformations, and, (iii) the theoretical as well as technological inputs from various other disciplines, like, Philosophy, Physics, Mathematics, Biology, Geology, and Mechanical / Electrical / Electronic / Computer Engineering. As regards the third factor, it must be mentioned that, the study of the history of chemistry has revealed that the evolution of new theories of chemistry, and/or,

the emergence of novel techniques of Chemistry have always taken place, especially, at the historical junctures of penetration of other disciplines into Chemistry. Historians of chemistry have also, more or less unanimously, accepted the year of publication of Robert Boyles celebrated work6, The Sceptic Chemist orChemicoPhysical Doubts and Paradoxes, i.e., the year 1661, as the virtual end of the old era of proto-chemistry, of the first mode, ruled by alchemy, or the art of transmutation of baser metals into Gold and Silver and iatro-chemy, or the art technique, the chemy of the healers or physicians (the Greek word Iatros means healers or physicians). After that, according to these historians, there appeared modern chemistry, armed with the Boylean definitions of true chemical elements and compounds, and depending essentially on well-designed experiments, rather than on banal speculative theories. The remaining four modes have gradually emerged in this modern age of chemistry, in the following chronological order. (1) The second mode of solving the problem of the origins of properties emerged in the writings of Boyle in the second half of the 17th century and, it gave birth to the first conceptual system of chemistry. The third mode of solving the fundamental problem of chemistry originated at the dawn of the 19th century, out of the works of Lavoisier, Dalton, and others and continued almost up to the 3rd quarter of the 19th century, establishing in its wake the second conceptual system of chemistry, namely, Structural Chemistry. The fourth mode of solving the problem of genesis of properties and that of qualitative transformation of substances, emerged under the impact of the new demands of production in and around the last quarter of the 19 th century and maintained its sway up to the middle of the 20th century with the help of the Theory of Chemical Processes, or, the third conceptual system of chemistry.

(2)

(3)

(4) The fifth mode, and as yet, the last mode of solving the Central Problem of chemistry, made its appearance in the middle of the 20th century, ushering in the fourth conceptual system of chemistry, namely that of Evolutionary Chemistry, which, with its ingenuous ways of using the catalytic experience of the animate nature itself, is still continuing, and has, eventually, evolved in its stride, during the last decade of the 20th century, into a system of designing effective, eco-friendly methods, or, Green methods for the Industrial processes of chemistry, which have a high degree of in-built process-control capacity7. General Observations: In the present article, we would concentrate on the first mode of solving the problem of origins of properties of substance. This particular mode made its appearance in all the ancient seats of civilization or geographical regions of the world where human civilization blossomed in the cradle of Neolithic and Chalcolithic material culture: in Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, Greece, Arabia, India, China, countries of fareastern and south-eastern Asia, as also in Africa south of Sahara, some 9,000-10,000 years ago. This mode originated in the womb of ancient natural philosophy and continued to exist in Europe up until Boyles time. In this period two fundamentally different explanations were offered for the immense qualitative diversity of bodies - one atomistic and the other continualistic both, with their numerous shades, boiled down to the assertions that the diversity of the bodies in nature was an accidental manifestation 2

of substance, by which some philosophers implied atoms, and other quality elements, like fire, air, water, etc. Some historians of chemistry have also proceeded to characterize certain general features8 of this mode, such as: 1) speculation, acquiring the great power of abstraction but deprived of empirical foundations; 2) logical deduction laying claim to universality of explanation but essentially not resting on the criterion of practice; 3) the universality and diversity of an object, which is a substance, instead of the specificity of a qualitatively changing material; 4) inability to assist the contemporaneous social production system, substantially; 5)speculative theorization and logical deduction unable to generate any general working scheme for carrying out necessary chemical changes; and, 6) destiny of being historically doomed, becoming useless with the emergence of other new modes for the solution of the Central Problem of chemistry, which yielded more authentic explanations of the qualitative diversity of bodies and, offered practically useful recipes for their purposeful chemical transformation and, thereby assisted the contemporary social production process. At the very outset, we would like to stress upon two very significant aspects of this generalization: a) that this mode was completely ineffective as regards material production needs of the contemporary societies ; this sweeping generalization is not fully acceptable because, on the one hand, this period offered a number of chemical substances like: alcohol, and mineral acids, metals like copper, zinc, iron, lead, tin, mercury, etc. and, some of their useful compounds, some tincturing substances, glass, and so on, which had some definite commercial as well as medicinal applicability, and on the other, during this period many important chemical processes like, distillation, sublimation, amalgamation, filtration, etc. and, the necessary ovens and apparatus, also came into being; these are used by chemists even today, in some form or the other; and, b) the very attempt of generalization, ignoring the specificity of approach and methodology, as well as the differences in aims and objectives of the countries belonging not only to different geographical regions, namely, but also to distinctly different cultures, does not make up a rational way of analyzing issues and items of history of science at all at best, it reminds us of the General Systems Theory Approach of the 1960s, of L.von Bertalanffy et al9, and of the more recent, World Systems Approach, of Immanuel Wallerstein, and others10, which actually proposes the existence of a global capitalist economic system operative right from the days of appearance of the first states, or empires in the ancient civilizations of the world, some 5000 years ago. In this context, it may be mentioned that this alchemyiatrochemistry period of development of chemistry has never made itsre-appearence, since its disappearance as a mode, in societies where newer modes of solving the Central Problem of chemistry have established themselves, gradually, by replacing this 1st mode however, in some societies it is still continuing as a mode may be covertly. This continuance of alchemy-iatrochemistry, may be in a submerged way, in certain parts of the world, e.g. in India in particular and in Asia and South-East Asia in general, points to certain significant facts: (a) the above mentioned gradual emergence of the five modes is not an uniformly global phenomenon, but is basically Euro-centric, or, Occident-centric ; (b) the countries or civilizations, which have opted for continuance of the old, first mode of solving the Central Problem of chemistry, have a basic, in-built socio-cultural and socioeconomic pattern conducive to this particular mode, a host of social situations that are 3

not overwhelmingly supportive to the emergence of the other, more productioneffective later modes; and, last but not the least, (c) the detailed nature of the emergence, development and overall manifestation of this particular 1st mode in the countries where it is still continuing, are significantly different from those witnessed in Phoenicia, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Arabia and Europe, in the phase of preBoyelian development of chemistry. Thus, we may speak of two different types of protochemistries: one, Greco-Alexandrian-Arabic-European, or Occidental, and the other, Indo-Sino-South-East Asian, or Oriental, with manifestly diverse aims and motivations11. A more intensive study of this mode, that developed in the different geographical regions of the world, has indicated some definite differences existing between the body of activities pursued in these two groups of countries, with respect to: i) the existence of a hierarchical chain of development of alchemical-iatrochemical activities among the first group of countries, where Egypt and Mesopotamia provided the artisan-work repertoire of the ancient age, based on which the Greeks and the Arabs constructed their natural philosophical theories and advanced technological procedures of the middle age and, medieval Europe allowed the enactment of the preBoylean drama, involving two sets of opposing characters the mystic searchers of Gold and Elixir, on the one hand, and, the serious, industrious pursuers of active, useful chemical techniques leading to the birth of the modern chemical science, on the other; while the chemical activities in the second group of India, China, etc. have their own, individual, ancient, medieval and pre-modern, or post-medieval stages, with mutual interconnections at various intermittent points of development; ii) the use of different names for these activities in these two groups of countries; iii) the approach of the countries of the first group, towards this body of activities, was essentially metallurgical, switching over to medicinal chemistry or Iatrochemistry, only in the third phase of their development; contrarily, in the second group of countries, mainly in India, the main stress was definitely on medicinal activity, and not on transmutation of baser metals like Copper, Iron, Lead etc. into Gold or Silver; and, iv) the methodology applied in the 1st group followed essentially the deductive model of reasoning codified by the Greeks, but the 2nd group of countries relied on their characteristic demonstrativealgorithmic, way of arguing. Hence, before we begin a comparative analysis proper, we prefer to divide the countries involved into the two above indicated broad groups, as this will enable us to present our observations in a compact manner, in the following way: Phoenicia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, Arabia, and, Europe belonging to the Western World of Alchemy/Proto-chemistry and, India, China, Japan, Korea, and the South-East Asian countries belonging to Eastern World of Alchemy/Proto-Chemistry, although some important members of the 1st group of countries, namely Egypt, Mesopotamia and Arabia, can not be bracketed as Western Countries, in the traditional or customary sense of the term. At this point it would be worth mentioning that, very little has, till date been documented12 in the literature of the history of chemistry, about the evolution and the progress of the alchemy/iatrochemistry, or, proto-chemistry, in the heart-land of Africa. It is true that we have the so-called Leyden Papyri or Stockholm Papyri, which contain vivid descriptions of the development of alchemy in the geographical region of the African continent known as Egypt. However, for the rest of Africa we have only the literary accounts of witch craft, shamanism, and other, related, magico-religious 4

practices, which were, for that matter, common to all the tribal societies of the ancient world. Whether these magico-religious practices really contained any effective chemical knowledge within them may be in a very rudimentary, primitive, form and, whether this knowledge had (or, still have) some potentialities for blooming into alchemy or iatrochemistry, proper, is yet to be investigated thoroughly. An in depth study in this direction may provide valuable information, which may significantly modify the present framework of our discussion! A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS 1) Structures of Developments: The development of the alchemy in the Western World has evolved in the form of a hierarchical chain. The ancient period of this development consists of the ceramic, metallurgic and related proto-chemical activities, at the artisan level, in Phoenicia, Egypt and Mesopotamia, beginning from a remote past, around 5th or 4th millennium B.C.E. This repertoire of chemical information, accumulated over thousands of years, was gleefully accepted by the Greeks, and their natural philosophic theorization of this body of information, in or around 5th century B.C.E., initiated the age of theory, in the alchemical developments of the Western World. This particular stage of Western proto-chemistry, backed by the theories of Empedocles, Aristotle and others matured in Alexandria, in the beginning of the Christian Era, and was ultimately taken over, lock-stock-and barrel, by the Arabs, when they conquered Egypt, in the 7th century C.E. From Arabia it entered Latin Europe through Spain, around 12th century C.E., thus ushering in the middle age, or, medieval period of this body of activities, and there it ultimately evolved into the Boylean and post-Boylean modern age of chemistry, through the intermediate phase of Paracelsan Iatrochemistry or Medicinal Chemistry, in the 17th century C.E.13. In India and China, the countries representative of the Eastern World (because all the other East and South-East Asian countries, more or less, resemble the Empire type state patterns of these two countries, as distinct from the Hearth type character of the states of the Western World14, and have also derived many essential components of culture from these two countries, through interconnection of civilizations/ societies), the entire development, from the stage of ancient period to that of the late medieval period, has taken place, entirely, within the geographical region of each of these countries, although mutual interconnections among them in terms of ideas, principles and specific recipes, existed, and influences from the Western World did enter the Eastern World, at several stages of this entire period 15. These mutual interconnections have been noticed by earlier scholars16. 2) Etymologies of the terms used for this body of activity: According to the historians of chemistry, one possible root of the English word chemistry is the word chemi, meaning the black land, the hieroglyphic name for Egypt, and the art itself was constantly spoken of as the Egyptian art in the ancient literatures. According to Boerhaave17, Plutarch was the first author who made use of this word. In his treatise on Isis and Osiris, Plutarch makes the observation that in the sacred dialect of Egypt, the country was called by the same name as that of the black of the eye, viz. chemia. The author seems to intimate us that the country Egypt might have got this sacred

name from the blackness of its soil, indicating it to be impregnated with a large amount of minerals. According to some other enquirers of the origin of the name, it originally denoted secret or occult, and hence they derive it from the Hebrew Chaman or Haman, meaning a mystery, whose root is Cham. According to the same Plutarch, in hieroglyph, Egypt is sometimes written as Chamia, whence the word is further deduced from Cham, the eldest son of Noah, by whom Egypt was first peopled after the deluge, and from whom in the scriptures it is called the land of Cham or Chem. Now the assertion that Chaman or Haman properly signifies secret appears in the same Plutarch, who, having mentioned an ancient author named Menethes Sibonita, in this context, asserted that the words Amman and Hamman were used to denote the gods of Egypt. Plutarch observed that in the ancient Egyptian language anything secret or occult was called by the name, Hammon. Lastly, Bochurt, sticking to the same sense of the word, chooses to derive it from the Arabic word Chema or Kema which means, to hide; he adds that there is an Arabic book of Secrets called by the name, Kemi. Thus we see that chemistry, or rather, proto-chemistry, was originally denominated as a religious secret, at least in Egypt, to be treasured up and not to be divulged to the populace. This Egyptian word, chemi, or, chemia entered into the lexicon of Greco-Alexandrian transmutative art of conversion (knowingly fraudulent, i.e., aurifiction, and/or, believed to be real, i.e., aurifaction) of base metals, like: Copper, Tin, Lead, and Iron, into the noble metals, Gold or Silver, as chaemia18. The Greek word Chaemia first made its appearance in the royal edict of Emperor Diocletian in C.E. 296, in which the books of the Egyptians dealing with chaemia were ordered to be burnt. This adopted Greek word occurs also in a Greek manuscript, now at St. Marks Basilica of Venice, copied around C.E. 950, from a work by Zosimos (C.E.300), a native of Panopolis (north Egypt) working at the divine art in Alexandria. Around C.E. 640, Egypt was overrun by the Arabs, a people coming from the desert, inspired with the task of conquering the world and imposing their faith of one god, Allah, upon it. They were brave but ignorant, and when the military ardor had cooled off, the rumor that there were books in Egypt teaching how to make gold and cure ills must have interested them. Other nations, the Syrians, Copts, etc., provided the translations, and Greek works on medicine and philosophy, and treatises on the sacred or, divine art (Theia Techne, in Greek), appeared in Arabic18. By the end of 7th century C.E. several such translations were in existence. Thus the Alexandrian era, during which the idea of the Philosophers Stone appears to have been conceived, came to an end in the middle of the 7 th century of the Common Era and, the succeeding age, until the 13th century C.E.., witnessed a domination of al-kimia the Arabic version of the Greek word chaemia, with the characteristic Arabic article al (the ) attached in front of it 20. Finally, from the 12th century onwards, the protochemistry related, or, al- kimia related Arabic literature began to percolate, by way of Spain, into Medieval, Latin Europe, and accordingly the Arabic word al-kimia was, first Latinized and later on anglicized as alchemy, from which originated the modern English name for this discipline Chemistry21. In India, an important member of the Eastern World, this body of proto-chemical activity was termed as Bhaishajyani, the herbal therapy for alleviating diseases and, helping in the maintenance of disease- free, healthy bodies and, as Ayushyani or elixir therapy, comprising of herbal, mineral, and mercurial remedies, meant for 6

prolongation of the life span of human beings and, for offering them eternal youth and vigor, and from this latter term there evolved the word Rasayana, the Sanskrit equivalent of alchemy or chemistry22. The word Rasayana ( rasa + ayana = essence + going ) literally means: that which goes into the essence (of life), hence, that which promotes health and long life. However, from the medieval period onwards, following contacts with the Arabs, Persians, and various Central Asian people, the protochemical or medico-chemical activities in India, also acquired the appellation of Kimiya Vidya (such as, the Tantric Rasayana-Kimiya23). In China, the metal-transmutative as well as the elixir therapeutic activities were clubbed together under the current Chinese term, jin ye, pronounced approximately as kiem- yak in middle Chinese, literally meaning the potable gold elixir, and, according to some historians of chemistry this kiem yak is one probable source for the name alchemy24. 3) Aims and Objectives: The Western World was mainly interested in the transmutation of the base metals, namely, of copper, lead, tin and iron into the noble metals, gold and silver the conversion into gold, or chrysopoeia, was known as the Great Work or Grand magisteri, while conversion into silver, or argyropoeia, was termed the Little Work, or Simple magisteri. In ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, this transmutative art was more or less solely confined to the fraudulent techniques of some unscrupulous goldsmiths and silversmiths, which was passed on from generation to generation through coded manuscripts, containing practical directions for the operations concerned, as manifested in the Stockholm or Leyden Papyrii25. The pattern of reasoning followed by Alexandrian alchemists was mainly deductive, based upon two a priori assumptions: (i) unity of all matter, and, (ii) existence of a Philosophers Stone. A belief in the possibility of a specific transmutation was strengthened by a variety of experimental observations such as the production of silver form lead of galena and the preparation of several alloys bearing some superficial resemblance to gold. The idea of the Philosophers Stone, or, that of the Elixir Vitae, or, of Grand Magisterium was perhaps derived directly from the Greek name Xerion, of a dusting powder or cosmetic26, which resembled the action of Zyme or Yeast, transforming a large quantity of flour or, fermenting the fruit juice to produce alcohol and, which was believed to be so powerful that when thrown upon the prepared metals, was expected to convert them into gold. This Xerion was later arabicized to al-iksir which ultimately became elixir in Islamic Spain. According to Hopkins27, the preparation of the Philosophers Stone, the so-called Great Work, started with a material, which was often prepared by the fusion of the four base metals, lead, tin, copper and iron. The resulting black surface color, characteristic of this first stage, in a series of color changes to follow, was termed Melanosis and, was considered so important that the whole technique was later termed the Black Art- a name applied later on to the whole body of operations of alchemy. The next step of Whitening- Leukosis was accomplished by heating the black alloy with a little silver, followed by mercury (including arsenic and antimony) or, tin. The third step was Yellowing- Xanthosis- for which the usual reagents were gold in small proportion, and sulfur water- the Theion Hydor, or Divine Water (thus called, for the peculiar smell of acidified aqueous solution of Hydrogen Sulfide, containing colloidal sulfur). In the final step, Iosis, Violet color was attained in this chromatic 7

hierarchy of Black to White to Yellow to Violet (or Red). This aurifiction and aurifaction based alchemy continued even in medieval Europe, at least up to the introduction of Iatrochemistry or medicinal chemistry by Paracelsus and his followers, in the middle or third quarter of the 16th century. However, in the Eastern World, especially in India, from the very beginning, the stress was entirely on medicinal chemistry, as observed in the celebrated texts of Ayurveda, and although mineral and metallurgical remedies were employed therapeutically, the texts concerned are, more or less, silent about transmutation of metals, at least up to the beginning of the period of Tantric Alchemy, in and around 8th century C.E., and this significant change occurred as a direct consequence of Indian contact with Chinese elixir alchemy, which began in 2nd century C.E.28. Even in this period, as also afterwards, transmutation of base metals into gold was a process of secondary importance for the Indians, a process needed for testing the efficacy of a particular metallic (often mercurial) elixir, through its ability to convert a specified amount of a base metal into gold, many times larger in amount, as has been mentioned in the famous sloka yatha lohe tatha dehe / purvam lohe pariksheta tato dehe prayojayet as in metal so in the body first test (mercury) on a metal, and then use it on the body, of Rasarnava,29 a very important Rasasastra text of the 12th century C.E. Actually, such an effective transmutating agent, of proven capacity in the realm of metals, was then taken in, internally, by a Tantric, or an adept, to transubstantiate his human body by that of a Siddha, or a perfected and immortal human being, possessing a diamond-like strong body. Thus immortality was the real goal; metal transmutation was just a means for achieving it. In China, however, the search for the elixir of immortality was eternal and it ran parallel with the motivation of metal transmutation, which thrived due to paucity of gold in that country; and according to Needham30, the triune combination of: aurifiction-aurifaction, mercurial as well as other metallic elixir preparation, and macrobiotics, involving search for proper botanical herbal remedies, constituted Chinese alchemy, when it took its final shape, obviously, through the Indian influences of Buddhism and Ayurveda, and was passed on to Latin Europe by the Arabs. 4) Applied Methodology: The metaphysical conceptual apparatus of transmutational alchemy of the Western World was codified in the Greek doctrine of four primordial and sophic elements: fire, air, water, and earth. Around 600 400 B.C.E. some thinkers of the Ionian colonies of Kos, Miletus, Ephesus, and Akragas, belonging to the Greek civilization, chanced upon a body of essentially chemical data provided by ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. The first among them was Thales of Miletus, who spent a large part of his life in Egypt and received academic training from the temple priests of Thebes. He thought that Water was the primordial element, from which everything else in Nature originated. Empedocles of Akragas was the first person to propose the well-known four elements fire, air, water, and earth theory of origin of all natural objects in 5th century B.C.E. This also provided some sort of a speculative theoretical support to the then prevalent four humor (blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile) theory of Greek medicine31. However, the elements of Empedocles were essentially non-changeable, and as such could not provide any methodological frame for the aurifiction or aurifaction work.

Aristotle modified this theory in his treatise titled On Generation and Destruction, by allowing the possibility of transmutation among the elements themselves. According to him, each of these four elements possessed a set of two properties - such as dry and wet, hot and cold - and of these two properties one was common with another element: thus fire is hot and dry, air is hot and wet, water is cold and wet, and earth is cold and dry. This theoretical scheme contained within itself the germ of explanation for transmutability; for instance, if the dryness of fire was overcome by the wetness of water then air is formed, and if the moisture or wetness of water is overcome by the dryness of fire, earth results32. This clearly demonstrates how the Aristotelian scheme provided a theoretical support for the concept of transmutability of bodies the principal goal of chemia in terms of the transmutation of elements themselves, which constitute all natural bodies. Further this supposed transmutation was correlated with the idea of a prima materia, or primordial matter33, from which all things came and to which they all reverted. Moreover, in his treatise titled Metereologica, Aristotle has mentioned, while dealing with the issue of origin of stones and minerals, that our planet Earth releases two kinds of exhalations: one vaporous and the other smoky. Of these the vaporous exhalation is wet and from it the metals are formed, whereas the smoky exhalation is dry and from it the stones and minerals are formed. Due to their origin from vapors, the metals dissolve readily, while the stones and minerals dissolve with difficulty as they originate from dry, smoky exhalations. In alchemical writings, the system of four elements is often symbolized as a square (the four individual elements being given distinct triangular signs: those of fire and air pointing upwards and those of water and earth pointing downwards, the symbols of air and earth being crossed by a bar)34. Thus, the Aristotelian model not only offers a viable scheme for transmutation of metals, but it also provides a speculative explanation for the origin of metals and minerals as well, i.e., the theory was, in a sense, designed to cater to the demands of the metallurgical processes carried out by the aurifactors of the then Greek society. Aristotles works and his ideas were transferred by Hellenic writers to Egypt, especially to the city of Alexandria, founded by Alexander of Macedonia at the mouth of Nile in 331 B.C.E. Here a synthesis took place, of ancient Egyptian industrial arts of metallurgy, dyeing and glass-making, on the one hand, and the philosophical theories of ancient Greece, mainly of Aristotle, on the other, which were by then a bit tinged with oriental mysticism. This synthesis produced the divine art of making Gold (Chrysopoeia) and/or that of making Sliver (Argyropoeia) from base metals. As mentioned before, by the end of 7th century C.E. several Greco-Alexandrian treatises, including those of Aristotle were translated into Arabic and armed with these translations, the Arabs proceeded with the business of experimental alchemy. Among the Arabs, the first renowned cultivator of this Alexandrian art of alchemy was Jabir ibn Hayyan (born around 722 C.E., he is also known by his Latinized name Geber). He modified the cosmogonic scheme regarding the formation of metals from primordial elements. Actually, Aristotle had supposed that earth and water gave rise, respectively, to smoky and vaporous exhalations the earthy smoke consisted of earth in the process of changing into fire, and the water vapor was water undergoing conversion to air, refractory stones and minerals consisted mainly of the earthy smoke, and fusible metals were formed from the water vapor, as mentioned earlier. Jabir postulated an intermediate formation of 9

Sulphur and that of Mercury, from these exhalations, in the womb of our planet Earth. Finally, Sulphur and Mercury, by combining in different proportions, in different degrees of purity, gave rise to various metals and minerals 35. This Mercury-Sulfur theory of Jabir not only ruled the entire subsequent period of alchemy of the Western World , even in Latin Europe, at least up to the advent of Paracelsus in the alchemical scene , when the latter made a minor modification to this scheme by proposing the theory of Tria Prima36 Mercury, Sulfur and Salt for the composition of metals, but this theory also provided the methodological hinterland, for the emergence of the Phlogiston theory of 17th and 18th century Europe, according to which, metals were viewed not as elements but as compounds of metal calces and phlogiston37. In the Eastern World, medicinal chemistry or iatric-chemical activity, rather than the metallurgical one, was at a premium, and all the natural philosophic, cosmogonic theories, of both India and China provided an elaborate methodological base for the development of two of the oldest, continuously practiced traditions of medicine on our planet. Though the origins of these medical traditions as yet have no fixed historical landmarks, they seem to have appeared at approximately the same time, yet independently, growing out of an understanding expounded by the natural philosophers, or other thinkers, of these two countries. At the heart of both of these great healing traditions there exists a world view which sees man and nature as inseparably and inextricably linked. From this perspective each elucidates its own understanding of health, meaning of disease and, that of the journey from illness to health; each employing analogies of the forces and manifestations of nature to express their respective views. These insights were carefully refined, systematized, clinically verified, orally transmitted and, later on recorded in writing38. India occupies a unique position among the countries or civilizations which were engaged in proto-chemical activities right from the antiquity. According to the categorization of Holmyard and some others, it is completely devoid of any alchemical past, and as such Holmyard has not included India in his famous book on alchemy39. Where as according to the criteria developed by Needham, White 40 and some others, India possessed a lone Ayurvedic, Iatrochemical tradition from the Vedic age (about 1500 B.C.E.) right up to the 7th or 8th century C.E.., and that tradition continued parallel to the Tantric-alchemical-iatrochemical body of activities from 7th century C.E. onwards; and, it is still continuing in India, having been subsequently joined and influenced by the Hakimi, Unani, Homeopathic and, Allopathic, medical-iatrochemical systems. According to this second view the real alchemical history of India begins from around 7th century C.E., when Mercury based transmutative as well as body transubstantiative methods were introduced into India, for the first time, by the Tantric alchemist-iatrochemists and the Rasa siddhas41. However, now we periodize the development of proto-chemistry in India in the following way: a) Ancient period from 4000 B.C.E., or earlier, to 1500 B.C.E. characterized by various pottery cultures and associated metal and alloy cultures, comprising especially of copper and bronze, typical of any ancient Neolithic-Chalcolithic civilization; b) Vedic and Ayurvedic period from the Vedic Age or pre-Buddhistic era to c.700 or 800 C.E. characterized by an early tradition of oral transmission of knowledge, followed by the development of linguistic science/proto-science, logic based on grammar and, medicinal-iatrochemical activity, with an almost concomitant development of several, typically Indian(or, Asian), doxographic and naturalistic systems of Darshan or 10

Weltanshanung42, which directly or indirectly provided the methodological backbone for this medicinal activity whose logical format depended more or less entirely on the demonstrative-algorithmic structure of grammar, while the metallurgical and other technological activities were gradually relegated to a distant back bench, courtesy the gradually establishing rigid caste system of the Indian societies; c) Period of Religious alchemy from 2nd to 17th century C.E. which is again divisible into three hierarchically evolving sub-periods : i) Period of Magical alchemy from the 2nd to the10 th century, ii) Period of Tantric alchemy from the 10th to the 14th century, and, iii) Period of Siddha alchemy from the 13th to the17th century.43 The entire development of Religious alchemy is characterized by its interaction and often indistinguishability from other theoretical and applied sciences in which mercury and mineral based preparations played a central role the most important of these, though perhaps not the earliest, being Ayurveda , wherein two fundamental works, the Caraka Samhita (c. 1st century) and Susruta Samhita (c. 4th century44), contain references to external, therapeutic uses of mercury. In this context it must be stressed that, in spite of the fact that Ayurvedic uses of mercury predate those of the Tantric and Siddha alchemical traditions, and although Ayurveda later on incorporated many of the technical discoveries made by Tantric alchemy, especially following the decline of the latter in the 14th century, its use of mercurial and mineral-based preparations (the so called rasa sastra45) were essentially motivated by the goals of therapeutic gains (roga bada46). It is known to us that, with the decline of the Harappan Civilization the period of first urban revolution47 came to an end in the Indian subcontinent, which reappeared again in this geographical territory as the second urban revolution with the establishment of the Mauryan Empire. This period having a span of roughly 1000 years (c. 1500 B.C.E. c. 500 B.C.E.) witnessed a general decline in material culture and technology, but at the same time it witnessed a maturing of human expression in the composition of poetic hymns, as well as in the formulation of cosmogonic ideas, as recorded in the Vedas. The beginning of this period is marked by the decline of urban centers, degeneration of Harappan technology and artifacts and, most important of all, the disappearance of the Harappan script, and, we all know, that the existence of a well-defined script is considered to be a sanguine index of continuance of an urban culture48. Only towards the end of this thousand year period, a regeneration of the urban culture began and, the Bramhi and Kharosthi scripts came into being49. The most striking feature of this period is the absence of writing and urbanity and, at the same time much of the corpus of the Vedic literature was composed in this very period. The literature composed in this period is vast and it is in diverse literary styles. The four VedasRk, Yajus, Sama, and Atharvawere composed in this period, of which the Rgveda is the most archaic and, it came into being in the early part of this period. The composition and preservation of the large corpus of Vedic literature in the non-literate, oral phase of history of civilization in the Indian subcontinent is really a paradox, and it is resolved only when we pay attention to the development of linguistics in ancient India. It is precisely the need to compose and preserve long texts in the absence of writing that led to the developments in linguistics, quite unparalleled in the contemporaneous world. Not only long poetic and metrical compositions were meticulously retained throughout this period using knowledge of phonetics, but also prose compositions and some Sutra style formulaic compositions were also thus preserved. Fixation of language was achieved in a different way through 11

the developments in the exact sciences of phonetics, etymology, and grammar in the oral phase. This thrust of exact science towards linguistics not only helped create oral devices which made possible uncontaminated retention of long compositions but also led to the creation of abstract interest in the phenomena of language, triggering later on, sophisticated theoretical developments in grammar which culminated in Paninis (600 B.C.E. 400 B.C.E.) grammar of Sanskrit, a language of the Indo-European group devised for the Vedas, called Astadhyayi, a fine piece of logical work available to us from the ancient world. Other products of linguistic research which are anterior to Panini are the Nirukta of Yaska (c. 700B.C.E. c. 500 B.C.E.), a book of etymology and semantics, and Rkpratisakhya of Saunaka (c. 600 B.C. c. 500 B.C.), a book of phonetics 50. This development of linguistic studies of the Vedic period is not only unique in the sense that it is the first of its kind in the whole world and, that directly or indirectly, it has also served as the model for grammars of many other languages, but it has also provided the demonstrative-algorithmic, rather than deductive, logical base for all the other sciences that developed in ancient India, such as, those of medicine, geometry, algebra, trigonometry, statecraft, sexuality studies, dramaturgy etc. While studying the Vedic literature we find that the major portion of the first three Vedas are concerned principally with sacrificial and other religious rituals, and although they contain references to metals and alloys, these relate to the contemporaneous social life, but in no way point to any material practice connected with processing and treatment of metals. Whereas the last of the four Vedas, the Atharvaveda, contains specific instructions and prescriptions for treatment and remedy of human maladies, both psychic and somatic, although these are based on magical charms, spells, etc. The original name of Atharvaveda is Atharvangirasaveda. In ancient times the word Atharvan signified a class of fire-worshippers and the Angiras were also a very ancient fire-priest community. Gradually both these terms started finding application to signify magical incantations and rituals. The magical activities implied by the word Atharva were used for welfare of the people, such as, treatment of diseases or toxic actions, enhancement of nutrition, providing antidote for draught condition, etc., while the incantations or rituals meant for bringing evils upon enemies, were included in the class of activities implied by the word Angiras and as both these staffs are the subject matter of Atharvaveda, it was called Atharvangirasaveda. The views of the sages of Atharvaveda were more practical than those of the Rigveda; they had observed that human life is engrossed with poverty and misery, people become panic-stricken after having bad dreams, observing /imagining mysterious omens and, from the fear of rivals. To save the lives of human beings from these tragedies and to remove all obstacles to peaceful life, either man-made, or, godordained, these sages of Atharvaveda relied more on magical incantations and charms51. Hence, the Atharvaveda consists mostly of charms, spells, incantations, magic, sorcery, demonology and witchcraft. However, it also deals with plants and vegetable products as helpful agents for the treatment of diseases and for the prolongation of life. In the Atharvaveda, the hymns for the cure of diseases and for warding off possessions by demons of diseases are known as bhaishajyani(the herbal therapy 52), while those, which have for their object the prolongation of life and preservation of youth and health, are known as ayushyani (the elixir therapy, consisting of metal, mineral, and animalorigin drugs, apart from herbals) a term which later on yielded place to rasayana, commonly known as the Sanskrit equivalent of alchemy53. Thus, we observe that in India 12

the origin of the so-called alchemical/proto-chemical notions gathered around gold, lead, soma juice and other medicinal plants are as early as the age of the Atharvaveda (composed around the time of composition of the Xth Mandala of the Rigveda). The Vedas enjoyed a very high canonical sanctity and were viewed more as revelations than as human compositions, so it is of no wonder that in ancient India medicine and, chemical knowledge could never be completely free from the influence of magic, religion and alchemy as auxiliaries. Chemistry in ancient India has evolved chiefly as a handmaid of medicine and, later on as an adjunct of the Tantric cults. The efficacy of the drug alone was by no means considered sufficient unless it was backed by the kindly intervention of the deities: they may be Hara and Parvati, if the author of the treatise was a Hindu Brahmin or a Shaiva Tantric, or, they may be Buddha, or, Tathagata, or, Avalokiteswara, if the author was a Buddhist by faith54. The incantational medicine of Atharvaveda evolved into a system of empirical medicine, in the , Ayurveda, roughly, around the 6th century B.C.E., which means that the extensive development of Ayurveda is contemporaneous with the time of Siddhartha Gautama the Buddha in India and, he supported both the study and the practice of medicine. This connection of Ayurveda with Buddha and his teachings may not be at all fortuitous or accidental: according to the views of Zimmer and Soegen 55, the Four Noble Truths of the Buddhist Darsana correspond to the four successive questions, which the early Indian physician was taught to ask himself, before engaging himself in the treatment of a patient. These questions are: 1) are the complaints of the patient based on some real suffering; has he a real disease or is he only seemingly ill?if the answer to this is in the affirmative, then ,2) with what kind of suffering is the patient afflicted and what is its origin? Further, 3) whether the disease is curable or not?after the completion of diagnosis in the second step, this third step is crucial in the sense that if the answer to this question is in the negative then the physician is supposed to withdraw from treatment of the patient, but if the answer is positive, and the disease seems curable, then the doctor will ask himself the fourth and the last question about the proper therapy, namely, 4) what kind of treatment is indicated for this particular ailment56 ? The Four Noble Truths, as delineated in the Theravada Buddhist Ethics, are: 1) realizing that misery exists; 2) realizing that misery has a cause; 3) realizing that the particular cause of a misery is eradicable; and, 4) realizing that the misery will cease after one has pursued the Eightfold Path (the Astangika Marga). The striking resemblance between the two approaches is further strengthened by the fact that there are in fact eight main divisions of Ayurvedic therapy, namely, Kayacikitsa (General Medicine), Salyatantra (Surgery and Obstetrics), Salakyatantra (Treatment of the diseases of ear, nose, throat and eye),Bhutavidyatantra (Study of Psychological diseases and their treatment),Kaumaravrityatantra(Pediatrics), Agadatantra(Poisons, their actions and remedies), Rasayanatantra(Geriatrics), and Vajeekaranatantra(Rejuvenation and Virility therapy). Further, two very significant and famous Ayurvedic treatises bear the titles, Astanga Sangraha and Astanga Hridaya Samhita57. Thus, it is apparent that the doctrines of Buddha provided some functional as well as operational foundation for the Ayurveda. It is to be remembered that the period of proliferation and establishment of Ayurveda also coincides with the beginning of several great systems of Indian Darsana, namely, Buddhism, Jainism, and Samkhya (600 300 B.C.E.), as well as with that of certain common orthodox doctrines of Indian Darsana, such as, those of Transmigration of the Soul, Life is Suffering, Karma, Mukti, etc., which 13

gained the status of dominant dogma around this time58. Ayurveda also applies the six categories enumerated in the Vaisesika system, namely, dravya, guna, karma, samavayi, samanya, visesha , for selecting the proper substance , from the host of substances present in Nature, to be used as diet and/or as medicine for the disease at hand, albeit in a slightly modified context59. In this connection, it must be mentioned that these six categories have also been used in the Astadhyayii, of Panini, which developed almost contemporaneously with the attempt to categorize the physical and the mental world, in the Vaisesika Darsana60, around 4th 6th century B.C.E. and, which has a structural family resemblance with the Buddhist Abhidharmashastra. Later on, the syncretic system of Nyaya-Vaisesika used this objective application of the six grammarian categories in Ayurveda as a concrete support for developing its own theory of perpetual flux61. In China, although the search for viable methods of synthesizing gold from baser materials62 ran parallel to the search for the elixir of immortality, yet the stress on the medicinal aspect was definitely greater than that on the metallurgical and, this trend was palpable both in the Taoist and in the Buddhist periods of Chinese social history63. A fundamental tenet of the Chinese system of medicine is that the human bodymind-spirit continuum is an integral whole, and that the individual is linked to a greater macrocosmic totality through a progressive continuum connecting the family, society, environment, and, ultimately, the universe. From this perspective, the manifestation of disease is viewed as the outcome of an imbalance originating within oneself or in ones relationship with the external reality. Conversely, health is a state of both internal and external harmony. Chinese medicine has, since antiquity, provided a clear description of these ideas, formulated principles for understanding their relationships, and developed unique therapies to correct the imbalances. The earliest Chinese medical text extant is the Yellow Emperors Inner Classic (Huang Di Nei Jing); it first appeared in the later part of the Warring States Period (475 221 B.C.E.). The Inner Classic is a heterogeneous treatise, which includes a summation of different medical approaches and practices found at that time in China. It covers numerous topics, including the interpretation of disease, the physiology and pathology of the internal organs and anatomy, including an understanding that the heart is at the center of blood circulation. Herein many varied and seemingly opposite theories and practices, such as the Yin-Yang and the Five Element doctrines, Taoism, Confucianism and shamanic healing, have been discussed64. The terms Yin and Yang, whose etymological roots refer to the dark and lighted sides of a mountain, respectively, were gradually extended to refer to the principle of duality inherent in all manifestation. Yins and Yangs relationship to each other is one of vital, and not of static duality. They are seen as two primal forces in a state of constant change, which the ancient divinatory text known as the Classic of Changes (Yi Jing or I Ching), calls the permanent condition of the universe. Underlying this perpetual flux and motion between the polar forces of Yin-Yang, which cause them to unite, transform, separate and regenerate, is the potential found in Tao. The images of Yin and Yang have at their base Nature, which in itself is an ever-changing phenomenon. In both the ancient oracle inscriptions and the Classic of Changes the image of the receptive Earth below and the creative heaven above form the primary attributes ascribed to Yin and Yang, respectively. Actually, according to this ancient Chinese philosophy, from the Void (Wu) there arose the One or the Supreme Ultimate (Tai Yi) that generates the primal duality known

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as Yin and Yang. A third force Qi, emerges from the tension generated by the Yin-Yang polarity. Creation is seen as a result of the interplay between Yin, Yang and Qi. The Five Elements (Wu Zing) are derived from this cosmic play and are used to understand and organize reality. Practically speaking, four primary principles explain the dynamic relationship between Yin and Yang in traditional Chinese medicine: (1) All phenomena contain two innate opposing aspects; (2) Yin and Yang are co-dependent; (3) Yin and Yang nurture each other; (4) between Yin and Yang there exists a transformative potential. These are the basic principles governing the relationship between Yin and Yang 65. Zou Yin (350 270 B.C.E.) is generally accepted by historians to have first formally articulated an integrated theory based upon the Five Elements (Wu Zing). He was a brilliant philosopher who combined the Yin-Yang doctrine with the Five Elements and, is credited with developing an original method of induction used to interpret and predict human and natural affairs in an orderly way. The Five Element doctrine as an important secondary system of correspondences first had an impact on Chinese medicine with its inclusion in the InnerClassic and then more substantially in the Classic of Difficult Issues. The attributes of the Five Elements are as follows: Wood is characterized by the process of germination and a spreading out tendency; Fire is an emblem for heat and growth with an impulse for flaring upwards; Earth represents transformation and nourishment with a tendency towards containment; Metal is characterized by the maturing process and has a concentrating influence; and finally, Water represents coolness, decay, transmutation and storage with a downward flowing motion. There are two other important patterning methods within the Five Element model known as the Generative Cycle and the Control Cycle (Xiang Sheng and Xiang Ke). The Generative Cycle describes the inherent order of activity found amongst the Elements. The Control Cycle, similarly proceeds in a definitely ordered manner, but denotes a restraining tendency of one Element upon another. Just as in the Yin-Yang doctrine mutual support and restraint are indispensable classically, the Generative Cycle is linked to Yin and the Control Cycle to Yang. According to the ancient Chinese texts, the ordering of the Control Cycle is: Wood uproots and loosens Earth; Fire melts Metal; Earth contains and obstructs Water; Metal penetrates and cuts Wood; and, Water extinguishes Fire 66. These cycles operate simultaneously and unidirectionally creating a natural feedback system. For example, Water controls Fire, but Fire generates Earth, which in turn controls Water; by promoting Earth, Fire exerts an indirect counter-influence on Water. The reciprocal relationships among the Elements thus formed, further strengthen the systems tendency towards harmony, though a perniciously excessive or deficient condition in an Element may cause impairment to this self-corrective propensity. In terms of medicine the Five Element philosophy, thus, provides a valuable framework for describing and understanding many aspects of health and illness, particularly the dynamics of Organs. Actually, Chinese medicine lays paramount importance on understanding the relationship of the Organs (Zang Fu) with the various signs and symptoms manifest on the physical, emotional and mental levels of existence. Thus, Organs are described in terms of patterns and effects, not in terms of anatomical structures. This system of medicine recognized, in general, the functions and patterns of ten Organs whose relationships are based upon correspondences with the Yin-Yang and Five Element theories 67. According to the laws of the Five Elements, within the body each 15

Element is associated with a Yin and Yang Organ. Further, there are two important cyclical relationships or movements amongst the Elements and Organs. The Generative Cycle shows which Elements support each other, while the Control Cycle reveals which Elements restrain each other. In Chinese medicine, illnesses are classified according to their origins from an internal or an external cause. Pathogenic forces disturb the bodys equilibrium and harmony with the surrounding environment. Once this equilibrium is lost, disease patterns become entrenched and develop according to an intrinsic path of progression. Internally, the delicate metabolic balancing process is usually disturbed by imbalanced emotions or life styles, habits. Each pernicious influence is also associated with Yin and Yang according to its effect; a Yin excess injures the bodys Yang and, a Yang excess injures the bodys Yin. In Chinese medicine the symptoms that a Pernicious Influence produces, mimic the characteristics of its corresponding prototype in the environment68. Thus, we see that the natural philosophical ideas developed in China provided an effective methodological base for the search of proper medicine or elixir of immortality, but did not provide much help towards the contemporary metallurgical and metal -transmutational activities, and this is especially evident in the period following the export of Buddhism and Ayurveda to China from India, in the last few centuries before the Christian era and these exports returned back to India, during the period of 1 st 8th century C.E. , only to provide some essential methodological support to the Tantric Alchemical-Iatrochemical activities, by their inorganic laboratory alchemy (external alchemy, or, wei tan) and physiological alchemy (internal alchemy, or, nei tan). Before we conclude this discussion on the applied methodologies of the two worlds of alchemy-proto-chemistry, we must mention the idea put forward by Needham 69, that alchemy proper consists of three essential components of: a) aurifiction; b) aurifaction; -- both of which have been discussed earlier and, c) Macrobiotics, or Preparation of Elixir of Immortality, that would deliver its consumer a guaranteed death-free body. Accordingly, as Needham puts it, alchemy really went to Europe from the Eastern World (precisely from China), and was conveyed by the Arabs, after fusing the Chinese knowledge about elixirs, which reached them through the famous Silk Route, with the Greco-Alexandrian concepts and practices of aurifiction and aurifaction, into a single whole. Conclusion: Apart from the structural, etymological, objective-related and methodological differences existing between the proto-chemical/alchemical activities of the Western and the Eastern World, discussed above, these two developments also arrived at two distinctly different historical destinations. While Medieval Western Alchemy (both metallurgical and post-Paracelsun iatrochemical) ultimately matured into modern chemistry, which attained its developed form through the efforts of Boyle, Helmont, Lavoisier, Scheele, Cavendish, Glauber, Dalton and others70 , in postrenaissance Europe, and, with which we, the people of the Eastern World, gained familiarity through our high school education designed under the colonial influence, the essentially medicinal proto-chemical activity of the Eastern World, especially those of India and China, lost its way in the labyrinths of the various shades of religio-mystical practices prevalent in these two countries in the late medieval period. These included the obsession with astrology-cum-future prediction, preponderance of Tantric religious

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practices in medieval India and, the penchant for mysticism in the Taoist as well as in the Mahayana Buddhist period, together with preoccupation with the Yin-Yang doctrine, in China. Coupled with these were the debilitating, retrogressive social evils prevalent in these two representative societies of the Eastern World. In India, the rigid caste hierarchy and domination of the upper castes in all affairs of the society including academics, the total disinterest of the Indian elite castes in non-spiritual, secular, and practical productive matters, as well as a repulsive attitude towards any academic activity involving physical labor, in a way, stymied the growth of the experimental and empirical sciences in India, and that of the spirit of scientific enquiry among the Indian people. Parallely, in China, the masses were generally illiterate, having no access to the manuscripts and books, which the government commissioned, copied and distributed, in the pre-Taoist, pre-Buddhist period; and the artisans, no matter how greatly gifted, flourished on the other side of an invisible wall, which separated them from the scholars of literary training. This situation improved a little with the inspiration provided by the Taoists and the Buddhists, to the invention of printing, but that upsurge did not last long71. However, apart from these external, social, factors influencing the proto-chemical developments in India and China, the internal factors related to the logico-theoretical approach adopted for the study of natural phenomena in these two countries, also played a very significant role in the history of sciences in the Eastern World. It has been shown through researches connected with the history of logic, in the global perspective, that there were two distinctly different trends in the development of the discipline of Logic72: one, the hypothetico-deductive mode of development observed in Greece, which was later adopted by modern Western World, where as the other, the demonstrative-algorithmic, mode of development took shape in India, China, Japan, Korea, etc. We find that the diverse developments observed in the field of alchemy iatrochemistry, or, proto-chemistry, in different regions and different cultures of the world, are in a sense particular expression of the multi-directional development of Logic in the pre-modern world. Connected with this is the non-monolithic, pluralistic development of the notion of proof, which is very central to both Mathematics and the mathematized Natural Sciences, in the various civilizations of the world. Researchers, working in the fields of history of Mathematics and of Logic73, have established beyond doubt that there were at least four distinct notions regarding proof, prevalent in four ancient civilizations. In ancient Egypt, where a centralized, unusually disciplined, priestcontrolled, theocratic state was in existence, the notion of proof entailed unquestioned belief in relevant written prescriptive document contained in a Papyrus. In ancient Greece, composed of small, democratic, elite-governed city-states, any speaker wishing to establish his views in the rulers council had to convince his listeners by a deductive-logical reasoning process, starting from some premises a practice that ultimately gave rise to the deductive form of proof, involving axioms and postulates, best illustrated in Euclids Geometry. In ancient and medieval India, the algorithmic, grammarians logic, expounded by Panini in the Astadhyayii, which was drilled into the head of every Brahman child aspiring to be a scholar for about twelve years, gave rise to an intuitive-demonstrative form of proof74, which was employed to prove even geometric theorems, such as that about the area of a circle (= / =\R2, where R is the radius of the circle), by using the arithmetical method of area calculation of a rectangle 17

(shown to be diagrammatically equivalent to the area of a given circle), and concluding the proof with the expression Pashya!, meaning See!, in Sanskrit. Finally, in ancient and medieval China, even the geometric problems, like the theorem of Pythagoras, concerning the relationship between the three sides of a right-angled triangle, were approached by the algebraic method, using demonstrative model diagrams75, providing a model-theoretic proof, composed of algebraic formulae, of the general relationship between the hypotenuse and the other two sides of a right-angled triangle. Quite naturally, these different notions of and approaches to proof gave rise to altogether different approaches for treating the observed data, connected with natural phenomena, in the realms of proto-scientific / scientific activities, in these four different ancient civilizations, of which, incidentally, the first two belong to the Western World of Alchemy, and the other two to the Eastern World of Proto-Chemistry. Historically, the algorithmic and model theoretic forms of proof, facilitated the development of the algorithms of arithmetic, algebra and trigonometry, in India and China, to a great extent, but that alone did not / could not lead to the development of modern mathematized experimental / empirical sciences Thus, in spite of the numerous contacts between the Occident and the Orient, since the ancient times till the 16th-17th centuries, there occurred mostly (if not entirely) exchange of some technologies, but not that of theories or ideas between these two Worlds, even though the theories addressed some common problems, in both the worlds. Perhaps this is an explanation of the existence of some kind of insularity in the mental frames of these two worlds, towards their respective approaches to theory, or as Foucault put it76, the two worlds belonged to two different episteme that were nonoverlapping, at least up to the period of colonization of the East by the West. Thus, modern Europe received compass, gun-powder, printing and paper technology from China through the silk-road, and salt-petre, carburized-steel technology and, the knowledge of zinc, from India, yet they dominated us for about two centuries, militarily, intellectually and culturally, and their ideological / theoretical dominance is continuing even today, mainly due to our inertia to change our social systems. It is an inertia, which has been best characterized, probably by Marx, in his idea of the Asiatic Mode of Production77. Further in depth study of the histories of the societies and sciences of the countries of East, South, and, South-East Asia would, possibly, help us in future to judge whether Marxs ideas about an Asiatic inertia are valid for Asia in its entirety, or not. Here historians of science can play an important role, as scientific activities of any society is one very important index, among others, like religion, customs, trade and commerce etc., of the level of culture of that particular society or civilization78

REFERENCES 1. Kuznetsov, V.I., Unity of Social and Object Factors in the Development of Science, Soviet Studies in
the History of Science, USSR Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 1977, p.35; Ghosh, S, The Salient Features of Modern Chemistry and its Relevance to Society, History of Science and Technology, Asiatic Society, Calcutta, 2001, Section-IV, p. 1; Ghosh, S., Alchemy --- The Pre-History of Chemistry --- A Global Overview, to be published in the collected Volume on History of Science & Technology, Asiatic Society, Calcutta.

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2. Kuznetsov, V. I. loc. cit., p - 43; Ghosh, S. The Salient Features .. Section-IV, p.2; Ghosh, S.,
Alchemy --- The.., p. 18.

3. Kuznetsov, V. I., loc. cit., p.37. 4. Gaidenko, P. P., Evolution of Science: The Cultural-Historical Aspect, Social Sciences (Moscow), 1981,
Vol. XIII, No. 2, pp. 131-144.

5. Kuznetsov, V. I., loc. cit., p. 43; Ghosh, S. The Salient Features .., Section-IV, p.18. 6. Boyle, Robert, The Sceptic Chemist. 7. Anstas, P. T. and Williamson, T. C. Ed: Green Chemistry, Oxford University Press, 1998, and the
relevant references therein.

8. Kuznetsov, V. I., loc. cit., p.38. 9. General Systems Theory, was constructed by the biologist, L. von Bertalanffy, logician A. Rappoport,
artificial intelligence theorist C.Shannon, and others in the 60s of the 20 th century, which proposed to treat problems of nature and society, from a common standpoint of systemic behavior, systemic logic, systemic response, etc.

10. Frank, A. G., The Modern World System Revisited: Rereading Braudel and Wallerstein, Civilizations
and World Systems, Ed. Sanderson, S. K., Alta Mira Press, A Division of Sage Publication, New Delhi, 1995, pp. 163-94; Frank, A. G., A Theoretical Introduction to 5000 years to World System History, Review Vol. 13, pp. 155-248; Wallerstein, I., The West, Capitalism, and the Modern WorldSystem, Review, Vol. 15, 1992, pp.561- 619.

11. Ghosh, Somnath, Rasayaner Itihaas, Manob Mon, (a quarterly Bengali Journal), Ed: Basudeb
Mukhopadhyay, Vol. 39, No. 1, Calcutta, 2000 (January), pp. 53-64; Obermiller, E. E., Ways of Studying Tibetan Medical Literature, Theoretical Fundamentals of Natural Science, ed: Debiprosad Chattopadhyay, NISTADS/CSIR publication, Delhi, 1990, p. 551.

12. For references and discussions on this issue, see: the entries Magic and Medicine in Africa,
Transmutative Chemistry in Africa, etc., in the Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures, Ed: Helaine Selin, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1997, and the related references therein.

13. Ghosh, S., Alchemy --- The Figure 5, p 2. 14. Alayev, Leonid Borisovich, The Problem of Pre-Burgeois Formations in the East, Indo- Soviet Studies,
Vol. I, 1990, pp. 45-50.

15. Ghosh, S., Alchemy --- The p. 2. 16. Sen, S., Vijnaner Itihaas, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Jadavpur, Calcutta, 2nd ed.
1962, Vol. 1,p.10.

17. Thorpe, Eduard, History of Chemistry, McMillan & Co., London, Ch. I. 18. Holmyard, E. J., Alchemy, Penguin Publication, U.S.A., 1968. 19. Partington, J. R., A Short History of Chemistry, McMillan, London, 1948, p.27 20. Read, John. Prelude To Chemistry: an Outline of Alchemy, its Literature and Relationships, Bell,
London, 1936, Chapter I, p. 17.

21. Ghosh, S., Alchemy --- , p. 3.

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22. Idem, Ibid, p. 42; Ray, P., Ed. History Of Chemistry In Ancient And Medieval India Incorporating The
History Of Hindu Chemistry By Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray, Indian Chemical Society, Calcutta, 1956, p. 37.

23. Ray, P., loc. cit., pp.38, 113, 128; Sen, Samarendranath, Vijnaner Itihas, (in Bengali), Indian Association
for the Cultivation of Science, Jadavpur, Calcutta, 2nd ed. Vol. 2, 1962, p. 79.

24. Alchemy in China, in: Encyclopedia of the History of Science, Technology and Medicine in NonWestern Cultures, ed. Helaine Selen, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1997, p.40; Kuike, Wang, Alchemy in Ancient China, Ancient Chinas Technology and Science, Beijing University, Department Of History of Science and Technology, 1985, p. 228.

25. Partington, J.R., A Short History Of Chemistry, McMillan & Co., London, 1948, Chapter II, p. 18. 26. Farber, Eduard, The Evolution of Chemistry, 2nd ed., Ronald Press Company, U.S.A., 1969, Ch.III, p.30. 27. Hopkins, A. J. Alchemy the Child of Greek Philosophy, New York, 1934. 28. White, David Gordon, The Alchemical Body, The University of Chicago Press, U.S.A., 1996, pp. 53, 62,
63, and the notes and references mentioned therein.

29. Rasarnava, sloka 17, pp. 165a, 166a, cited in White, D. G., loc.cit. p. 54, and note no. 20 therein. 30. Needham, Joseph, Science and Civilization in China, Vol. V, Pts.2-5, Cambridge University Press, 1990. 31. Ghosh, S. Alchemy --- The , p. 5. 32. Read, John. Prelude to Chemistry: an Outline of Alchemy, its Literature and Relationships. Bell, London,
1936, Chapter I, p. 10.

33. Partington, J. R., A Short History of Chemistry, McMillan, London, 1948, Chapter II, p.14. 34. Sen, S. Vijnaner Itihaas, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Jadavpur, Calcutta, 2nd ed.
1962, Vol. 2, p.371.

35. Read, John, Prelude to Chemistry: an Outline of Alchemy, its Literature and Relationships. Bell, London,
1936, Chapter I, p.18.

36. Read, J., loc. cit., Fig. 8, p.86; Farber, E., loc. cit., p.53. 37. White, J.H., The History Of Phlogiston Theory, London, 1932; Hopkins, A. J., Alchemy -- A child Of
Greek Philosophy, New York, 1934, p. 225; Partingon, J. R., loc. cit., p.86.

38. Svoboda, Robert and Lade, Arnie, Introduction, Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda, Motilal Banarasidass,
1st Indian Edition, Delhi, 1998, p. 7.

39. Holmyard, E. J., Alchemy, Penguin Books Ltd., England, 1968 (reprint). 40. White, David Gordon, The Alchemical Body, The University of Chicago Press, U.S.A. &London, 1996;
Idem, Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol. 1, pp. 190-192.

41. Idem.,Ibid 42. Riepe,Dale, The Naturalistic Tradition In Indian Thought , Motilal Banarasidass, Delhi, 2nd Issue, 1964, p.
224.

43. White, G. D., loc. cit., pp.52, 55-57, 77-78. 44. Idem, Ibid, pp. 52, 76. 45. Ibid, Idem, pp. 52-3, 55.

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46. Ibid, Idem, pp. 52, 55, 145-46. 47. Childe, Gordon, V. Man Makes Himself, The Fontana Library, Great Britain, 2nd Impression, 1970 Ch.
VIII, p. 140.

48. Singh, Navjyoti, Linguistics And Oral Tradition In The Period Between The Decline Of Harappan
Culture And The Rise Of Magadghan Culture, in Chattopadhyay, D. P., ed. Science and Technology in Ancient India: The Beginning, p. 407.

49. Singh, N., loc. cit., p. 407, footnote 2, therein. 50. Singh, N., loc. cit., p. 409. 51. Bandyopadhyay, Santi (Smt.),in loc. cit., p. 96. 52. Ray, P., loc. cit., p. 37 53. Ray, P., loc. cit., p. 37--- but, according to Joseph Needham, this is not alchemy proper, and, we have
discussed this in the section marked, Conclusion.

54. Riepe, Dale, loc. cit., p.145, and footnote no. 90, therein. 55. Zimmer, Heinrich R., Hindu Medicine, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1948, pp.33-34. 56. Sen, Samarendranath. loc. cit., Vol. I, p. 113, and Vol. II, pp. 71-72. 57. Riepe, Dale. loc. cit., p. 33. 58. Idem, Ibid, p. 41. 59. Riepe, Dale. loc. cit., p- 236, and footnote no. 41, therein; Caraka Samhita, i. I. 28-29, cited in
Chattopadhyay, D. P., Science and Society in Ancient India, Research India Publication, Calcutta, 1979, p. 23; Dasgupta, S. N., History of Indian Philosophy, Vol. II, p 371.

60. Faddegon, Barend. The Vaisesika system Described with the Help of the Oldest Texts, Verhandelingen
der Koninklije Akademie van Wetenschapen te Amsterdam: Johannes Mueller, 1918, pp. 177-80.

61. Chattopadhyay, D. P., loc. cit., pp. 134-35. 62. Needham, Joseph, Science and Civilization in China, Vol. V, Part 2, pp.xviii xxxii. 63. Needham, J., loc. cit., Vol. - V. Pts. 2.3 & 5. 64. Svoboda, Robert and Lade, Arnie, loc. cit., p. 10. 65. Ibid, Idem, pp 14-5. 66. Ibid, Idem, pp 16-8. 67. Ibid, Idem, pp 21-22. 68. Ibid, Idem, p 30. 69. White, David Gordon, loc. cit., Vol. V, Part 2, Cover Introduction; Idem, Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol.
1, pp. 190-192.

70. Farber, E., loc. cit., Chapter 5, pp. 48 71. 71. Sen, Samarendranath, loc. cit., Vol. I, pp. 85 - 94, Vol. II, pp.45 - 53; Colin, A. Ronan. The Shorter
Science and Civilization In China (an abridgement of Joseph Needhams multi- volume work, Science and Civilization in China, cited above), Vol. 2, New York, 1980, pp. 61 66; Idem, Ibid, Vol.1, pp. 1 4.

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72. Getmanova, Alexandra, Logic, Progress Publishers, Moskow, 1989; A Brief Historical Survey of
Classical and Non-classical Logic, Chapter VIII therein.

73. Uspyensky, Vladimir Andreivich, Reflections on the Seven Themes of Philosophy of Mathematics,
(in:Zaknomernosti Razvitiya Sovrimyennoi Matematiki) [original article, in Russian], Nauka, Moskow, 1987, pp. 106-55), Bengali (and English) Translation by Baksi, P., in the Special Supplement to: Karl Marx: Mathematical Manuscripts, edited and translated into Bengali (and English) by: Baksi, P., Viswakos Parisad, Calcutta, 1995 (and 1994), pp. 446-53 (pp. 503-540); Baksi, P., On the Problem of Situating Marxs Mathematical Manuscripts in the History of Ideas, in the Special Supplement to: Karl Marx: Mathematical Manuscripts, edited and translated into Bengali (and English) by: Baksi, P., Viswakos Parisad, Calcutta, 1994, pp. 377-8 (p. 438).

74. Staal, F. J., Twee metodische richtynen voor de filosofie, [quoted in: Renou, L., Panini, Current Trends
in Linguistics, Vol. 5, 199, p. 497; quoted in: Paribok, A. V., On the Methodological Foundations of Indian Linguistics, Indo-Soviet Studies, I, 1990, p.19], Baksi, P., On the Problem of Situating Marxs Mathematical Manuscripts in the History of Ideas, in the Special Supplement to: Karl Marx: Mathematical Manuscripts, edited and translated into Bengali (and English) by: Baksi, P., Viswakos Parisad, Calcutta, 1994, p. 377 (p. 438). 75. Colin, A. Ronan, loc. cit., pp 6-7, 39-41.

76. Foucault, Michel. The Order of Things: Archaeology of Human Sciences, London, 1970. 77. Krader, Lawrence, The Asiatic Mode Of Production, Assen: Van Gorcum, 1975; Mandel, E., The AMP
and the Historical Pre-conditions for the Rise of Capital, in: The Formation of the Economic Thought of Karl Marx, London, NLB, 1971; Thrower, O., Marx on India and the Asiatic Mode of Production, Contributions to Indian Sociology, Vol. ix, pp. 33 66.

78. Gaidenko, P. P., loc. cit., p. 1.

About the Author: Dr. Somnath Ghosh [(b. 05 February 1954. d.05 January 2007)] Somnath Ghosh taught Chemistry in several Government Colleges of West Bengal and, History of Chemistry at the Asiatic Society of Bengal. His other interests included Green Chemistry, Archaeochemistry and, History and Philosophy of the Sciences. He loved to cook and, played Sarod.

CATEGORY: HISTORY OF CHEMISTRY KEY WORDS: RASAYAN / AYURVEDA / IATRO-CHEMISTRY / ALCHEMY / INDIA / HUANG DI NEI JING / WU ZING / TAO / YIN-YANG / CHINA / SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMMES

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