Science Focus: Scientists decoded an almost 2,300-year-old Chinese text hiding secret formulas for making the metal

In a stunning discovery, scientists have now managed to decode an almost 2,300-year-old Chinese text hiding secret formulas for making the metal. The 300 BC text is known as the “Kaogong ji” and contained six chemical formulas for producing certain types of metals. All formulas mention two key components by name – Yin and Xi. Some researchers said they “no longer exist”, while others speculated they were copper and tin. Now, however, a study by Cambridge University Press believes that Jin and Xi could be referring to pre-made alloys used in the production of early Chinese bronze.

 Alloys are made by mixing different metals together, and although they haven’t determined the exact combination, the researchers are confident that Jin and Xi are talking about such mixtures. The text ‘Kaogong ji’ is part of the book ‘The Rites of Zhou’, which is said to have been written by the famous historian Liu Xin. The patterns have attracted considerable scientific attention, although they are not yet fully understood. It is thought that the text may have been used to control the production of bronze in early China. “This reading of the six recipes allows us to better capture the invisible production steps embedded in the metallurgical and circulation process and to understand the enormous diversity of alloy composition of artifacts dating to the Chinese Bronze Age,” the researchers said in the study.

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