Lead (Pb) Products and Sino-Iranian Relations in Late Antiquity

Jeffrey Kotyk

Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna

Contribution presented by Antonio C. D. Panaino

Abstract

Lead (Pb) was domestically produced in China since antiquity, but certain types of lead and lead products were imported from Iran, especially starting in the sixth to seventh centuries. The significance of this exchange in a wider Eurasian context remains largely unrecognized. Chinese medicine in the early Tang period expresses an awareness of litharge as a product of Persia. The word in Chinese is a transcription from Middle Persian. We also observe Buddhist magical practices begin using the substance around the same time. Shortly thereafter a domestic production of litharge is documented, which points to a technology transfer having occurred. Chinese metallurgists were also aware that “Persian lead” was of a different quality than the domestic variety. This study argues that lead and lead products constituted a noteworthy example of material exchange between Iran and China in Late Antiquity, which in itself only highlights the significance of Iran to the history of China.

Keywords

China, Iran, Lead (Pb), Metallurgy, Litharge, Persia.

© Jeffrey Kotyk, 2023 / Doi: 10.30682/annalesm2301f

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license

Introduction

Material exchanges between China and foreign polities to the west continually occurred throughout history stretching back to ancient times. The Chinese were, of course, well-known as suppliers of silken textiles. The Romans at times lamented that they could not directly access the Chinese market, but instead they had to rely upon Iranians as intermediaries for the products and therefore pay a much undesirable premium that only benefited their rival, the Sasanians. Commercial exchanges accelerated during the Common Era, when overland and maritime trade links grew. This included a significant amount of Sino-Iranian trade.1 There was a diversity of goods traded back and forth between East and West Asia, but some of the commodities sent eastward are not properly understood today.

In this study, I want to draw attention to lead (Pb) products as a unique case of material culture between Iran and China that has not received sufficient attention. Although China had its own domestic production of lead (qian 鉛) and its properties were well-understood by Chinese metalworkers since antiquity, a certain amount of lead and lead-based products were still imported from Iran from around the sixth to seventh centuries. This fact emphasizes the significance of Iran as a source of some metals for the Chinese, but also that these products influenced Chinese culture in identifiable ways. This study will point out the significance of Iran to historical Chinese metallurgy.

Trade Connections and Metals

Although trade certainly occurred between Parthia and China, too few details about this relationship are available based on the available evidence. We know far more about commercial links between Sasanian Iran (Persia) and China. Formal diplomatic connections between the two empires commenced in the year 455 (Rong 2015, 61-80). One of the dynastic histories of China, the Wei shu 魏書 (Book of Wei), which was compiled by Wei Shou 魏収 (506-572) in 554, offers an early albeit brief overview of Sasanian culture, and lists a number of commodities produced in Persia. The metals of Persia include gold, silver, brass, copper, tin, and mercury, but not lead.2 Lead, however, was produced in Kucha (Qiuzi 龜茲) according to the text.3

Nevertheless, we know that a certain lead product was evidently sourced from Persia because this is denominated using a loanword from Middle Perian, namely mituoseng 密陀僧 (Early Middle Chinese: mit da səŋ). This is a phonetic transcription of murdār-sang (the “dead stone”) from Middle Persian, as was already pointed out by Laufer (1919, 508). This is dross of lead or litharge (lead oxide).4 We might infer that Persia produced litharge in significant quantities, based the fact that the cognate in Syriac stems not from Greek (λῐθᾰ́ργῠρος), but from Middle Persian: «mrdkʾ, mwrdkʾ, mrdsng ‘litharge, lead protoxide’, MPers. mord(e)-sang» (Ciancaglini 2006).5

Materia Medica

We might conjecture that this murdār-sang first became known to the Chinese through the translation of materia medica from foreign languages (presumably Persian or Syriac) because the medical applications of the substance are related early on and we can identify a parallel with at least one major source of Syriac medicine. As Song (2001, 15) points out, the Xinxiu bencao 新修本草 (Revised Materia Medica), which was compiled by Su Jing 蘇敬 (599-674) in 659, already discusses murdār-sang. The relevant entry specifically states that it is sourced from Persia, and that its medical applications include treatments for persistent diarrhea, hemorrhoids, scars from lacerations, and facial scars. A medicine including the substance could be applied on the face as an ointment. The “minor toxicity” (you xiaodu 有小毒) of the substance is also recognized. Su Jing also states the word is a foreign term (hu yan 胡言).6 The use of litharge as a remedy for hemorrhoids parallels a prescription found in the medieval Syriac Book of Medicines (Spar-Sammāné), which was translated into English by Budge (1913, 511). This work prescribes the use of lead dross as an ingredient in a remedy «for the anus that protrudeth and for the boils in it». The medicinal applications of the substance in Chinese, we might infer, stemmed from a foreign source.

The source of this knowledge in Chinese, however, is difficult to identify with any confidence. A significant amount of Indian medical literature was already translated during the Sui dynasty (581-617) and preceding eras (Xue 2007, 205-212). The bibliography in the dynastic history of the Sui (Sui shu 隋書, Book of the Sui) includes the titles of a number of medical works dealing with Indian medicine, but we also see a work with a title that we might translate as the Collected Prescriptions of Eminent Physicians of the Western Regions. This is noted to have originally been a lengthy twelve fascicles, although it was only four fascicles at the time (perhaps the remaining fascicles had been lost).7 The original text is not extant, hence we may only speculate about its contents based on the title. This may not have been exclusively Indian medicine, since the “Western Regions” also denoted every other land westward to Byzantium. It has been pointed out by some scholars that Syriac Christian (Jingjiao 景教) clergymen also practiced medicine in China. The Church formally arrived in China in 635, and then firmly established itself following the recognition by the court only a few years later. There was certainly ample opportunity to translate for the court works on medicine from West Asian languages, especially as multilingual clergy became active in China.8

Buddhist Works

Turning to Buddhist texts, the sangha already used the phonetic transcription of murdār-sang starting around the seventh century, a fact which would only point to the West Asian source of the word, because otherwise we would expect a transcription from Sanskrit and not Persian. One prime example of this is found in the Collection of Dhāraṇīs (Tuoluoni ji jing 陀羅尼集經), translated by Atikūṭa (Adijuduo 阿地瞿多) in the year 654, in which we observe murdār-sang alongside transcriptions of Sanskrit terms: «If someone wishes to gain antardhāna [invisibility], take both manaḥśilā (in China called stone-realgar) and murdār-sang in equal portions and pound them together into powder, and then further grind them …». 若人欲得安怛囉二合陀那, 取摩那叱囉唐云石雄黃也蜜陀僧二物等分, 共擣為末, 更細研之 ….9

This sort of magical application of murdār-sang was translated from a Sanskrit source, but murdār-sang was already an accepted word in the common parlance in China. Whether Chinese Buddhists regularly engaged in such spellwork as we read above is uncertain, but in light of the diverse uses of litharge already in the early Tang, and the fact that Chinese metallurgy was highly developed, we should suspect that a domestic production would have quickly developed.

Domestic Production of Litharge

Indeed, at some point during the Tang period (618-907), more likely in an earlier than a later period, litharge was, in fact, domestically produced. This is clear from statements in a Daoist alchemical treatise. This treatise appears to date to the Tang period.10 Therein we read, «The lead of Jiazhou [Sichuan] and the earths of different provinces are refined into powder [lead carbonate?]. It is roasted into massicot; it also becomes murdār-sang; it also becomes lead powder». 嘉州鉛及雜州土鍊成爲粉; 燒成黄丹, 亦成蜜陀僧, 亦成胡粉.11 Golas (1999, 56) explains that argentiferous lead occurs in the northern mountains of the Mesozoic basin of Sichuan. This perhaps was the source of the “lead of Jiazhou”, although this is uncertain.

“Persian Lead”

This type of lead from Jiazhou is distinguished from what the author calls “Persian lead” (Bosi qian 波斯鉛), which is equated to an ambiguous “lead of the shifting sands” (liusha qian 流沙鉛). We know that this is a reference to lead sources from the Western Regions (i.e., the Tarim Basin and beyond) because we read, «Although there is blossom from the lead of China, it is light and it cannot attain pure form; it is different from the lead of the shifting sands in the western countries». 漢國鉛雖有華, 輕不得純體, 不同西國流沙鉛.12 I read this “blossom” as a reference to cupellation, a way of extracting silver metal from lead, but gold could be further extracted. Lead ores differ in their gold content. Craddock (1995, 213) explains that «the gold content of silver from the argentiferous lead ores depends on the particular ore. Silver from the oxidised ores and jarosites can contain several per cent, but the gold content of silver from the primary galena is much lower, typically in the range from 0.01 per cent to 0.1 per cent». Chinese relied on argentiferous galena for their silver, so the higher quality of foreign lead ore is perhaps explained by these facts.13 Modern mineralogical surveys also help us to understand differences between regional ores. Harrison (1968, 506), for example, points out one source of ore in Iran in which «the lead is argentiferous, some of it containing about 100 oz of silver to the ton of lead concentrate». A metallurgist in Tang China familiar with ores and ingots from different international and domestic sources would have certainly become aware of these types of facts.

The name “Persian lead” still appears in later centuries, although whether this was still a widely used term or not seems unlikely, judging from the extant literature. Li Shizhen 李時珍 (1518-1593) in his work on materia medica, citing Baozang lun 寳藏論 (Treatise of the Gem Repository) from late antiquity, writes, «There are several types of lead. Persian lead is firm and white. It is foremost in the world». 鉛有數種, 波斯鉛堅白, 為天下第一.14 It is difficult to say based on this alone that this was applied knowledge on the part of physicians, since it might just as well have been a classical source cited for the sake of comprehensiveness. The term was not widely used, although we can infer that it was used starting around the Sui period (late sixth to early seventh century), when Persia and China were frequently interacting with each other. The transcription of murdār-sang, on the other hand, was still used in the Chinese language even into the nineteenth century. Hanbury (1861, 113) included oxide of lead (litharge) in his study of minerals in contemporary Chinese materia medica under this term.

Litharge in Paints

One other major use of murdār-sang in China and also Japan was in art. Su Jing in his medical text briefly notes the substance «is formed like yellow dragon teeth, but it is firm. It is also white in color, which can be used for preparing stone inscriptions». 形似黃龍齒而堅重, 亦有白色者, 作理石文.15 Indeed, Golas (1999, 108) points out that in China «the lead oxide litharge was an important component of paints and varnishes, and was also used in external medicines, as was lead carbonate (cerussite)». This carried over to Japan. Yoneda (2015, 302-303) explains that litharge is an attested ingredient in Japanese oil paintings, in which it was used as a firming agent (this type of painting is called mitsuda e 密陀絵 in modern Japanese). This knowledge most likely stemmed ultimately from Iran, because the same ingredient was used in oil paintings in Bamiyam in Afghanistan from the mid-seventh century.16

Conclusion

It becomes clear from the above discussion that lead products and lead ores were a noteworthy part of Sino-Iranian trade starting from around the late sixth century. Litharge in Middle Chinese was known by a loanword from Middle Persian, murdār-sang, a fact that only highlights the origin of the substance. Litharge had a function in Chinese medicine, but the knowledge and applications of the substance most likely were introduced from a West Asian source. Litharge also appears in Chinese Buddhist texts from the seventh century. Instead of using a transcription of a Sanskrit term, translators used the transcription from Persian, a point that would indicate that the loanword had already become a recognized term in the common parlance. Litharge was also used as an ingredient in oil paintings from Bamiyam to Japan. This would likely indicate a transfer of knowledge eastward from Iran. Finally, “Persian lead” became known from the late sixth to early seventh century. This appears to have referred to a type of argentiferous lead ore that was recognized as possessing a different quality from domestic sources in China.

As a final thought, I believe we ought to recognize the significance of metals in commodity exchanges and the transfer of technical knowledge between West and East Asia. This point demonstrates that Iran as a cultural sphere, in fact, influenced China in Late Antiquity in ways which are often left unrecognized, even after Laufer a century ago explained at great length the introduction of any number of things from Iran into China. These influences from Iran have also been detected in fields such as Chinese astrology and its associated iconography.17 In short, the study of East Asia would benefit from greater consideration of historical interactions between East Asia and Iran in past ages.

Acknowledgments

Research for this paper was carried out with funding by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (H2020-MSCA-IF-2020), EU Commission. Research project: “Sino-Iranica: Investigating Relations Between Medieval China and Sasanian Iran”. Grant agreement ID: 101018750. Part of the research of this paper was also carried out between March 7-13, 2023, at the Library of Congress (Asian Reading Room), and January 15-28, 2023, at Columbia University.

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