Researchers decode metal-making recipes in ancient Chinese text

Study identifies mystery elements in Kaogong ji, shedding light on how early bronzes were produced

Researchers have deciphered enigmatic recipes for metal-making contained in an ancient Chinese text, revealing unexpected complexity in the art at the time.

Six chemical formulas are given in a Chinese text from 300BC known as the Kaogong ji. The manuscript, known as The World's Oldest Encyclopedia of Technologies, forms part of a detailed archive of early imperial rule, which archeologists have been trying to decode since the 1920s.