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Archeologists have deciphered the couplet on an ancient stone tablet in the central China province of Henan as Taoist recipes for pills of immortality.

"The two lines tell how Taoist alchemists work hard to make pills of immortality on a jade stove, and each character has a story about Taoism, or a recipe for Taoist charms and spells behind it," said Wang Zhulin, head of a local museum in the ancient Chinese capital, Luoyang.

He said such characters used exclusively by Taoists were rarely found in China, birthplace of Taoism.

The couplet was found several years ago at the entrance of a Taoist grotto on the city wall that encircles the ancient Town of Yanshi, 30 kilometers east of Luoyang, but no one could read the strange, complicated characters.

"Each character is made up of two or more modern Chinese characters. As no one could interpret them, many assumed they were characters of the Nuzhen -- a tribe in northeast China that are believed to be the ancestors of the Manchu," said Wang.

Wang deciphered them only after considerable research.

The very first character in the couplet, he said, combined the modern Chinese characters for "human body" and "treasure" to mean full vitality, and the last word in the first line, consisting of "self", "home" and "water", conveyed the Taoist belief that one can enjoy good health and a long life by swallowing his own saliva. ?

The ancient town of Yanshi, discovered in 1983, is about 3,600 years old and is believed to have been the capital of the early Shang Dynasty (1500-1000 BC). Wang's museum is dedicated to preserving and exhibiting its cultural heritage.

Taoist believers look on Laozi, who lived sometime before 400 B.C., as their master. They worship supernatural beings and believe their particular creed, which includes meditation, use of charms and spells, and ascetic practices, can help them attain immortality.