During his lifetime, Qin Shi Huang became obsessed with achieving immortality and sought the elusive elixir of life.

In the third-century Chinese history book called “Gishiwajinden,” it is written that cinnabar was harvested in the mountains of Japan, and that Queen Himiko offered cinnabar to the Chinese ...

“But the truth is, the history of the relationship of humans with mercury has been quite complex.” Despite the health risks that come with mercury-rich cinnabar, the people of ...