Wei Boyang
Illustration — Wei Boyang as illustrated in the book《仙佛奇踪》in AD 1602 Wei Boyang was a Chinese writer and Taoist alchemist of the Eastern Han dynasty. He is the author of The Kinship of the Three (also known as Cantong Qi), and is noted as the first person to have documented something like the chemical composition of gunpowder in 142 AD. As someone or him, only mixed the chemical compound of Sulphur and Saltpetre. Considered a semi-legendary figure who represented a "collective unity." His Cantong Qi was probably written in stages from the Han dynasty onward until it approached its current form, before 450 AD.
Also recorded as Wei Pʾo-yang · Wei Po-yang
Wei Boyang
Hong Zicheng · Xianfo Qizong · Public domain
- Born
- 190 · Shangyu District.
- Nationality
- China
- Occupation
- writer
- Known for
- Cantong qi
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Illustration — Wei Boyang as illustrated in the book《仙佛奇踪》in AD 1602 Wei Boyang was a Chinese writer and Taoist alchemist of the Eastern Han dynasty. He is the author of The Kinship of the Three (also known as Cantong Qi), and is noted as the first person to have documented something like the chemical composition of gunpowder in 142 AD. As someone or him, only mixed the chemical compound of Sulphur and Saltpetre. Considered a semi-legendary figure who represented a "collective unity." His Cantong Qi was probably written in stages from the Han dynasty onward until it approached its current form, before 450 AD.
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Biography
Biography
Wei Boyang was born in a prominent family. One theory claims that he was the son of a minister named Wei Lang (魏朗). In the second year of Jianning (169 AD), Wei Lang was killed due to political trouble. Wei Boyang was forced to hide in the mountains, there he focused on studying Taoism and refining elixirs. Wei Boyang died in the second year of Huangchu of Cao Pi (221 AD).
Legend
Legend
According to a hagiographical account in the, a work attributed to Ge Hong (283–343), he and three disciples retired to a mountain and compounded an elixir for immortality:
Teachings
Regarding Wei Boyang's writings, Ge Hong wrote in the Shenxian zhuan: "Boyang produced and, of two volumes." Wei Boyang believed that cultivating elixirs and the creation of heaven and earth were based on the same principles. Historical sites of Wei Boyang's work in chinese alchemy are located in the Fengming Mountains (凤鸣山) located 4 kilometers southeast of Fenghui (丰惠), and 17 kilometers away from Shangyu City.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
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