da chu

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ད་ཆུ
mercury, synthetic cinnabar [RY]

mercury, cinnabar [IW]

mercury [JV]

mercury, cinnabar [among mtshal rigs, by its power joins broken bones, dries chu ser, overcomes gnyan nad] [IW]

(med) Cinnabar (Yeshi 2018)
Synonyms : mtshal dkar (Shel gong)

da chus rus pa chag pa sbyor bar byed / ces pa [117] ldong ros dang dngul chu sogs la bzos kyang zer la / dbyibs cog la ma 'dra ba la kha dog de las dkar ba bzos pa'i rtags su snod du blugs nyams yod pa de yin / 'di la mtshal dkar yang zer / da chu zhes rgya nag gi skad yin / rgya'i grong khyer tshad pa kshang zer ba dang / ci ho khams zer bar bzo ba'i phyogs tsam mthong / dngul chu dgos par 'dug / zhib tu mi ston par snang / cog la mo la cu'u gshag zer / de nyo bar dris tshe 'di sa thag ring po nas brag gi gting nas len dgos pas dkon la gong yang che / tshon byed na kha dog nag pas mi dga' / da chu nyo bde mdog legs pas dga' zer / sngar bod kyi mi rgya yul du 'khyar nas sa bzung ba g.yung drung rgyas zer ba zhig gis lo tsa' byas nas / 'o mi shan gyi sman pa la dris pas / cu'u gshag la dug med pas dug la phan / khyad par reg dug bse mog la phan / da chu la dug yod pas dug la gnod / reg dug la byugs na gnod zer / rgyud 'grel dag pa rnams la'ang 'di ltar 'grel pa yin pas yid ches pa'i khungs gtam mo // (Shel gong shel phreng, pdf p 116.6)
da chu ni / rgyud du / li khrid rul gcod da chus rus pa sbyor / zhes pa bai sngon du yig ma dag par 'dod nas rdo chur bzhed pa'ang / zur lugs dang dge bshes bstan 'dzin phun tshogs kyis da chu dgongs so / de la mtshal dkar / mtshal tshwa zer / da chu la cog la mar ngos 'dzin ba rnams nor ba ste / 'grel ba thams cad du bzo mar gsungs shing / bdud rtsi zil dkar las / ze tshwa bzes nas grang [?] tsha la dag / dngul chu (chus bshigs pa'am) mtshal dkar btab btsos (bdud rtsi) da chu yin / mtshal gong rin chen da chu'o // de'u dmar bas / ze tsha srang gsum tsha la srang gang rgya mtshal ba dngul chu zho gang zhun chags byas par gsungs / zhes pa dang / shel 'phreng las / dbyibs cog la ma 'dra ba la kha dog de las dkar ba zos ba'i rtags su snod du blugs nyams yod pa de yin / rgya nag gi shin shi zhes sa pa rdo dug nas bzo ba hung phan zhes pa ma yin no // (mDzes mtshar mig rgyan, print p 070)

cog la ma, da chu and mtshal are distinct, but subsequent entries in the Shel gong and refer to forms of Cinnabar (mtshal). Cinnabar (Mercury sulfide HgS) is the principal ore of mercury, dngul chu. In a strict sense, Cinnabar is the natural mineral Mercury sulfide (HgS). The name Vermilion is used for artificial Mercury sulfide, produced as red pigment since the 3rd or 4th cent. BC in Greece as well as in China for the red pigment. It is frequently confused with the red lead oxide pigments Litharge and Minium (see further under li khri).
The terms are applied differently according to authors and context. Gerke (2021) distinguishes these terms as follows :
mtshal is the basic tibetan word for Cinnabar. Due to the long history of mercury trade with China, there are synonyms of chinese origin, like cu'u gshag (chin. zhusha, 'red sand'), which is synonymous also for rgya mtshal, Vermilion.
da chu is another word of chinese origin, also called mtshal dkar (which describes a colour made from Cinnabar (mtshal) and White chalk (dkar or ka rag). But da chu is also synonymous with dngul chu (mercury) and cog la ma (artificial cinnabar). Some consider da chu as medicinal earth, others as medicinal meltable minerals. Sometimes it seems to refer to Calomel. The Dharamsala Men-Tsee-Khang uses da chu for artificial cinnabar.
cog la ma is differently applied to natural and artificial cinnabar rock, as well as for triturated and roasted cinnabar powder (Gerke 2021)
In the context of Tibetan pigments, the native mineral Cinnabar is known as cog la or mtshal rgod. It is found in South-East Tibet. Synthetic Mercury sulfide is called mtshal or rgya mtshal. Both, India and China, had the technology for synthetizing it since ancient times. (Jackson)
The photographs in dGa' ba'i rDo rje show broken minerals for cog la, Cinnabaris (n°090), an amorphous mass (like processed and molten) for da chu, Hydragyrum sulphidum (n°091), a fine grained red sand for mtshal, Cinnabar (n°092) and light yellow, flat, broken pieces for mtshal dkar, Lithargyrum (n°093).
Yeshe (2018) identifies da chu with cinnabar and it's synonym (according to the Shel phreng) mtshal dkar with litharge.
Calomel, (mercurous chloride, Hg₂Cl₂) or corrosive sublimate (mercuric chloride, HgCl₂), is another mercury ore. Almost colourless, it darkens upon expose to light. Both minerals can appear together in the same rocks (mindat.org).
The indian name Hiṅgula denotes Cinnabar, which is of two types : Śukatuṇḍa (also known as Carmāra) and Haṃsapāda (also known as Pāka). Of the synonyms mentioned in the Shel gong, taṅkaṇa refers rather to borax, and kṣara is a general word for alkali and is rendered by thal sman, medicinal ashes or calcinated matter (wisdomlib.org)
Johannes Schmidt (talk) 05:22, 25 February 2024 (EST)