Explorations in Daoism: Medicine and Alchemy in Literature (Needham Research Institute Series) - Softcover

Yoke, Ho Peng

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0415691273 ISBN 13: 9780415691277

Publisher: Routledge, 2011

Synopsis

The Daoist canon is the definitive fifteenth century compilation of texts, however many of these texts are undated and anonymous. This book brings together an extraordinary compendium of data on alchemical knowledge in China, describing the methods used for dating important alchemical texts in the Daoist canon.

About this title

About the Author:

Ho Peng Yoke has published widely on Chinese alchemy, astronomy, divination and mathematics. He occupied senior academic positions in Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and Hong Kong before becoming the Director of the Needham Research Institute in 1990. On his retirement at the end of 2001 he became its Emeritus Director. He is an academician of the Australian Academy of the Humanities, Academia Sinica and the International Euro-Asia Academy of Science.

 

Review:

"Ho's mastery of the history of science in China is awe inspiring...this is an extremely well-edited volume, with in-text Chinese characters, chemical formulas, and extensive cross-referencing.  It will be an essential reference for scholars of the history of Daoism, alchemy, and Chinese science." - Bridie Andrews Minehan, ISIS, 100:1 (2009)

"Based on solid scholarship in both the natural sciences and history of religions, this collection of articles by Ho Pend Yoke makes an invaluable contribution to our understanding of Daoist alchemy. It presents important materials, both from within the Canon and beyond, in their original wording and with careful examination of their provenance, editorial history, and traditional relevance. The scholarship is impeccable and the work most essential – providing access to materials otherwise hidden in the nebulous realm of Daoist alchemy and encouraging scholars to engage more actively in the interdisciplinary examination of traditional sources." – Livia Kohn, EASTM

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0415691273
• ISBN 13: 9780415691277
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256