Realgar wine
Realgar wine or xionghuang wine (Chinese: , xiónghuángjiǔ) is a Chinese alcoholic drink that consists of Chinese cereal wine (huangjiu, "yellow wine") dosed with powdered realgar, a yellow-orange arsenic sulfide mineral (As4S4). It is traditionally consumed as part of the Dragon Boat Festival at the height of summer.
A pesticide and insecticide used (particularly) against mosquitoes, realgar was considered to be a universal antidote against poison by traditional Chinese medicine, which therefore advocated its use for protection against disease, snakes, and evil spirits. The Dragon Boat Festival coincides with what Chinese astronomy considers the height of summer and yang's force for the year. Adults were advised to consume huangjiu (as alcohol is considered yin) dosed with pesticide; children too young to consume alcohol would wear an amulet containing realgar or have a 王 ("king") drawn on their forehead or chest with realgar slurry left over from the production of the wine to protect them.
These practices were later connected with the festivities honoring poet and statesman Qu Yuan (340–278 BC), who killed himself in protest by drowning in a river. According to legend, locals rushed in boats to save him or preserve his body from being eaten by the fish. A doctor among them is said to have cast realgar into the river, drawing out an aquatic dragon which the boatmen promptly killed.
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