Ge Hong, a famous alchemist, medical scientist and Taoist leader in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, was born in Jurong, Danyang County (now Jurong County, Jiangsu Province) and was called Little Fairy Weng.

He was once named as the Hou of Guannei, and then lived in seclusion in Luofushan for alchemy.

Ge Hong is the author of Biography of Immortals, Bao Puzi, Elbow Urgent Prescription, Miscellanies of Xijing, etc. Among them, Dan Shu "Bao Puzi? The inner chapter tells the knowledge about chemistry in many aspects, such as refining gold and silver pills, and also introduces many material properties and material changes.

Extended data

He systematically summarized the achievements of alchemy before Jin Dynasty in two chapters, namely "Jin Dan" and "Huang Bai" in Bao Puzi's Inner Chapter, specifically introduced some alchemy methods, recorded a large number of ancient alchemy classics and alchemy methods, outlined the historical outline of China's ancient alchemy, and also provided us with precious materials of original experimental chemistry, which had a great impact on the development of alchemy in Sui and Tang Dynasties and was a link between the past and the future in the history of alchemy.

Ge Hong discovered the reversibility of chemical reaction in the process of mercury smelting. He pointed out that heating cinnabar (mercury sulfide) can smelt mercury, and mercury can combine with sulfur to become cinnabar.

He also pointed out that lead can be extracted from lead tetroxide, and lead can also be extracted into lead tetroxide. In Ge Hong's works, it is also recorded that orpiment (arsenic trioxide) and realgar (arsenic pentasulfide) sublimate after heating and directly become crystals.