What is cinnabar?

The mineralogical name of cinnabar is cinnabar, which has been the source of cinnabar pigment since ancient times. As early as 6,000 years ago, during the Hemudu culture period, the ancients used natural cinnabar as a pigment for painting. Its chemical composition is natural mercury sulfide (HgS), often mixed with minerals such as realgar and apatite. In nature, the color of cinnabar ranges from bright red to deep red and black red. But after a long time, cinnabar will darken, and now it is generally replaced by synthetic chemicals with lower toxicity.

Cinnabar is a kind of pigment commonly used in ancient runes, which is collected from veins. Because it absorbs the meaning of heaven and earth, the magnetic field is very strong. Cinnabar is different from jade and dzi beads. Its tentacles are cold, but it is warm in your hand. Therefore, cinnabar is a sacred product to ward off evil spirits in China. It can calm the nerves and everyone can wear it. Therefore, many people will put cinnabar pendants in their cars to improve their attention when driving.

In our daily life, we can often see the figure of cinnabar, such as the Taoist priest in the movie. The red pigment used to draw symbols is cinnabar, and the inkpad used in our unit also contains a certain amount of cinnabar.

It is harmless for us to wear cinnabar ornaments, but if cinnabar is heated to produce mercury vapor, it is highly toxic. And if you take cinnabar in excess, it will also cause poisoning, because cinnabar will react chemically in the absence of oxygen-free sulfur to generate methylmercury, and the absorption of methylmercury by human body is 100%, so it is not recommended for children to wear it to avoid eating it by mistake.