An interdisciplinary investigation on Daoist Wushi (五石, five minerals) unearthed from three tombs dated to the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25–220) in Xianyang City, China

Daoist wushi (五石, five minerals) have been uncovered from archaeological sites in different regions in China and this has generated great interest amongst archaeologists, historians and Daoists. This paper presents an interdisciplinary study concerning groups of wushi found in three tombs dated to the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25–220), located in Xianyang city, Shaanxi province. The research analyzes wushi and discusses their identifications by using Raman spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence and X-ray diffraction for the first time. The results indicated the presence of azurite, cinnabar, calcite, orpiment, realgar, magnetite, fluorite, crystal quartz, and sulfur, which is much more diverse than the conventional opinions of wushi held by historians and archaeologists in terms of Daoist literature. Meanwhile, it reveals that different minerals sometimes use the same name but without uniformity in their identification, which proves the uncertainty to distinguish wushi only by deciphering the archaeological inscriptions. In addition, the observation of wushi shows that their orientations in the tomb are not completely in accordance with the Five Phases theory derived from Daoism.