The Chinese Emperor's Elixir Poem by Paul Hartal

Let me start this story with a magic trip
to one of the most exciting places on Earth:
Xi'an.

In ancient times it was the capital
of China and among the biggest cities
in the world. The city's earlier name was
Chang'an, which means "perpetual peace".

Historically, Xi'an had also been
an important center of international trade
from where long caravans of brave merchants
started their dangerous journey westward
traveling on the Silk Road.

When I had visited Xi'an,
in the beginning of the 21st century,
I found a dynamic modern metropolis
pulsating with exuberant energy,
dispersed with old buildings and pagodas,
a city surrounded with ancient massive walls
still very well-preserved.

Also, the famous archeological site
of the two millennia old mausoleum 
with its 6,000 life-size Terracotta Army 
soldiers, horses and chariots,  
guarding steadfastly the afterlife
of the first Chinese Emperor,
Qin Shi Huang (259-210 BCE) ,
can be found near Xi'an.
 
The first emperor was the founder
of the short-lived Qin dynasty
although he had succeeded in unifying China.
He also ordered to fill up the gaps
in the Great Wall that swerves through China,
protecting the empire against nomadic invasions.

Furthermore, with the help of his minister,
Li Shi, the Emperor implemented
a series of significant economic
and political reforms. 

Yet Qin Shi Huang was a tyrannical,
despotic ruler.The first emperor of China
was a ruthless dictator,  who burnt books,
executed scholars and many others,
those people whom he feared or did not like.

The Qin dynasty  
lasted only for 15 years,

In his personal life Qin Shi Huang
was tormented by obdurate fear of death
and he sought to discover a panacea,
a magic potion to gain immortality.
He employed alchemists with the goal
of creating an elixir of everlasting youth
and of eternal life.

Qin Shi Huang's persistent quest,
his search for the elixir led once
to a meeting between the Emperor
and a Taoist wizard and immortal,
named Anqui Sheng.

This magician
was said to be over 1,000 years old
who had the reputation of being able
to make himself visible or invisible at will.
The emperor and the wizard met for three days.

But the meeting ended without any concrete result.
The emperor's fears, his existential angst  
only increased through time. He experienced
frightening visions and suffered from
dreadful nightmares.

In his ongoing pursuit of procuring
the elixir of immortality, at some point,
Qin Shi Huang decided to contact
Anqui Sheng again.

However, the wizard's whereabouts
were unknown. He disappeared from the scene.

But the Emperor did not give up the search.
It was now the year of 219 BCE
and Qin Shi Huang assembled a group of scouts
and sent them on an expedition
to find Anqui Sheng.

To the emperor's bufflement and frustration,
the expedition had failed.
Its members never managed to return to Xi'an
and disappeared into the thin air.