Ge Chaofu () is a member of the Chinese Ge family who lived during the 4th and 5th centuries CE. He is best known for writing the Taoist scripture known as ''The Five Talismans'' (''Wufujing'') which forms the basis of the beliefs of the
Lingbao School of
Taoism
Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ' ...
. Beyond this, very little is known about Ge Chaofu and his life.
Life
Very little is known about Ge Chaofu beyond his association with the
Lingbao School's scriptures.
Taoist
Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ...
records indicate that Ge Chaofu was the grandnephew of the famous
alchemist
Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...
Ge Hong
Ge Hong (; b. 283 – d. 343 or 364), courtesy name Zhichuan (稚川), was a Chinese linguist, philosopher, physician, politician, and writer during the Eastern Jin dynasty. He was the author of '' Essays on Chinese Characters'', the '' Baopu ...
, and was the inheritor of the Ge family's alchemical texts through a master disciple transmission system. He was most likely born in
Jurong, the ancestral home of the Ge family, sometime in the latter half of the 4th century CE. In the 390s, he researched the books contained in the Ge family library along with
Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
and
Shangqing texts and expanded the five talismans contained within
Ge Hong
Ge Hong (; b. 283 – d. 343 or 364), courtesy name Zhichuan (稚川), was a Chinese linguist, philosopher, physician, politician, and writer during the Eastern Jin dynasty. He was the author of '' Essays on Chinese Characters'', the '' Baopu ...
's book the ''
Baopuzi'' in order to create a new text known as ''The Five Talismans'' (''Wufujing''). In between 397 and 401 CE, Ge Chaofu transmitted this text to two disciples, Xu Lingqi and Ren Yanqing, and thus founded the Lingbao School of Taoism. The year 400 is usually stated as the year in which the Lingbao School was founded, and shortly after this time, the texts had already become very popular. Unfortunately, there are no sources that indicate what happened to Ge Chaofu after the year 401.
See also
*
Ge Xuan
Ge Xuan (164–244), courtesy name Xiaoxian, was a Chinese Taoist practitioner who lived during the eastern Han dynasty (25–220) and Three Kingdoms periods (220–280). He was the ancestor of Ge Hong and a resident of Danyang Commandery in t ...
*
Ge Hong
Ge Hong (; b. 283 – d. 343 or 364), courtesy name Zhichuan (稚川), was a Chinese linguist, philosopher, physician, politician, and writer during the Eastern Jin dynasty. He was the author of '' Essays on Chinese Characters'', the '' Baopu ...
* ''
Baopuzi''
* ''
List of Lingbao texts''
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ge, Chaofu
Jin dynasty (266–420) Taoists