Fu Qinjia傅勤家

Period

Republican Era

Dates

? — ?

Role

Daoist Scholars

Birthplace

Unknown

Life

Fu Qinjia was a scholar of the Republican era, of whom very little biographical information survives. His work History of Chinese Daoism (Zhongguo daojiao shi, The Commercial Press, 1937) is the first complete, continuous general history of Daoism in Chinese, covering the origins of Daoism, the founding of the religion by Zhang Ling (Zhang Daoling), and the Wei-Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties, Sui-Tang, and Song-Yuan-Ming-Qing periods through to the Republican era, while also discussing Daoist scriptures, doctrine, ritual and schools; it drew on the research of Japanese scholars such as Koyanagi Shigeta and Tokiwa Daijo. Though not large in scope, it long remained the only general history of Daoism in the Chinese-language scholarly world, and was reprinted many times after 1949, exerting a lasting influence. He also wrote An Outline History of Daoism (Daojiao shi gailun, 1933). The book's assessment of Daoism is essentially neutral, noting Daoism's place in popular belief and national culture, and its periodization framework long influenced the writing of later general histories.

Contributions & Influence

• Wrote History of Chinese Daoism, the first general history of Daoism in Chinese
• Established the periodization framework for general histories of Daoism
• Drew on the work of Japanese scholars, bridging Chinese and Japanese Daoist studies

Works

• History of Chinese Daoism
• Daojiao shi gailun (道教史概论, An Outline History of Daoism)