Realgar wine expels the five poisons. "Only childhood memories cannot be forgotten, holding mugwort and painting the character 'Wang' on the forehead." The "Wang" on the forehead refers to painting the character "Wang" on a child's forehead with realgar wine during the Dragon Boat Festival. Some also apply it to the tip of the nose or the earlobes. Others mix realgar with baijiu (white liquor), heat it, and then drink it or apply it to the body, believing this can ward off evil spirits and avoid the "pestilence" of epidemics. Realgar wine is poisonous. Yet, to this day, whenever the Dragon Boat Festival arrives, some people insist on drinking a cup of realgar wine. This is mainly due to the mistaken belief that realgar can "ward off a hundred evils."
The main chemical component of realgar is arsenic disulfide. When heated, realgar undergoes a chemical reaction and turns into arsenic trioxide, which is the highly toxic arsenic trioxide (arsenic). This shows that drinking heated realgar wine is essentially consuming poison. Applying realgar wine to a child's head, the tip of the nose, earlobes, or on the body to ward off evil spirits and epidemics has no scientific basis. Alcohol can dilate blood vessels and accelerate the absorption of arsenic through the digestive tract and skin. In as little as ten minutes or as long as four to five hours, poisoning can occur. Mild symptoms include pain at the back of the head, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and "rice-water-like" stools. In severe cases, it can lead to death.
Realgar wine has a strong pest-repellent effect. In ancient China, realgar wine was one of the main disinfectants for eliminating pests and diseases in the summer. It was often sprayed in dark places under beds and in corners to avoid harm from venomous insects.
Therefore, in today's world where scientific knowledge is widely普及, we should correctly view the effects of realgar wine and apply it with caution, promoting its benefits while eliminating its drawbacks, to ensure a safe and happy festival celebration and maintain good health.