Chen Guofu陈国符

Period

Modern

Dates

1914 — 2000

Role

ChemistScholar of the Daoist CanonHistorian of external alchemy (waidan)

Birthplace

Changshu (present-day Changshu, Jiangsu)

Life

Chen Guofu, a native of Changshu in Jiangsu, was a chemist (holding a doctorate from the Technical University of Darmstadt in Germany) and a scholar of Daoist texts, and a professor at Tianjin University. He studied the Daozang (Daoist Canon) as a scientist, publishing in 1949 his Studies on the Origins and Development of the Daoist Canon (Daozang yuanliu kao), which systematically examines the compilation, printing, transmission and structure of the Daoist canons through successive dynasties, as well as the dates of composition and authenticity of Daoist scriptures; it is hailed as the founding work of Daozang studies and laid the foundation for later research such as Kristofer Schipper's The Taoist Canon: A Historical Companion to the Daozang. He also drew on his knowledge of chemistry to study the techniques of external alchemy and the "yellow and white" arts (transmutation of gold and silver), writing A Study of Chinese External Alchemy and the Methods of Yellow and White (Zhongguo waidan huangbai fa kao) and Sequel to the Studies on the Origins and Development of the Daoist Canon, investigating alchemical terminology and materials, and becoming the leading authority on the history of Chinese alchemy. His research enjoys extremely high standing in international sinology.

Contributions & Influence

• Wrote Studies on the Origins and Development of the Daoist Canon, founding the field of Daozang studies
• Studied external alchemy using chemical methods, writing A Study of Chinese External Alchemy and the Methods of Yellow and White
• Provided a foundation for international Daozang research projects

Works

• Studies on the Origins and Development of the Daoist Canon
• Sequel to Studies on the Origins and Development of the Daoist Canon
• Studies on Chinese External Alchemy and the Arts of Yellow and White
• Chen Guofu: Collected Essays on Daoist Canon Studies