The ingredients involved in a 2,300-year-old ancient Chinese chemistry formula have been identified. It reveals new secrets about Metallurgy back in ancient China. The formula derived from the Kaogong ji, a Chinese text that dated back to 300 CB. The text is considered the “oldest known technical encyclopedia.”
Translated into English the text reads “THe jin is divided into six, tin occupies one. This is a receipt for bells and tripod-vessels. The jin is divided into five, tin occupies one. This is a receipt for axes and hatchets.”
Researchers have been trying to decipher “Jin” and “Xi” for the past century and have finally found an answer. The researchers from the British Museum and the University of of Oxford say the two mystery elements were most likely pre-mixed alloys. A paper outlining their findings is scheduled to come out October in the journal Antiquity.
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