研究化学发展史的人都一致承认,炼丹术是近代化学工作的前驱,它为化学实验打下一些基础,因此,考证炼丹的历史对于了解近代化学的起源有很大的帮助。世界现存的古代著作之中,讨论到炼丹术的,要算我国的“周易参同契”一书为时代最早了。苏联学者湼克拉索夫的普通化学教程里,就这样说:“中国学者魏伯阳(汉代,二世纪人)的参同契,则是特别有关炼金术的名著中最古 People who have studied the history of chemical development all unanimously acknowledge that alchemy is a precursor to modern chemical work and lays a foundation for chemical experiments. Therefore, researching the history of alchemy is of great help in understanding the origins of modern chemistry. Among the ancient extant ancient writings in the world, it is the earliest time to discuss the book of alchemy with the Book of the Yi of the Zhou Dynasty. In the general chemistry course taught by Nekrasov, the Soviet scholar, it is said: "The contractual agreement between the Chinese scholar Wei Boyang (Han Dynasty and Second Century) is the most ancient of the alchemical masterpieces