Obed Simon Johnson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | May 5, 1881 Lanyon, Iowa, US |
| Died | October 12, 1970 (aged 89) Minneapolis, Minnesota, US |
| Known for | Contributions to history of Chinese alchemy |
| Spouse |
Vida Maude Lowry (m. 1911) |
| Academic background | |
| Education |
|
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Chinese language/history/culture |
| Sub-discipline | Comparative mythology |
| Institutions | |
| Notable works | A Study of Chinese Alchemy (1928) |
Obed Simon Johnson (May 5, 1881[1] – October 12, 1970) was an American academic, chaplain, congregational missionary and student of Chinese culture and history, known for A Study of Chinese Alchemy, which attributes the origin of alchemy to ancient China, rather than Greco-Egyptians 500 years later.[2] He was the first Westerner to recognize the ancient Chinese alchemists.
Johnson was an early and pioneering sinologist. Johnson's contributions were translation, collation and synthesis of Chinese alchemy from many of the Chinese classics and books. He then made western scholars aware that one of the central tenets in chemistry, the elixir concept emerged far earlier in China than in Europe (i.e., w/ Roger Bacon). This is a key contribution to history in general and the history of science and chemistry in particular. He contributed important epistemological perspectives to the historical literature including Confucian and Taoist classics, books such as Chuang Tzu and Huai Nan Tzu, and dynastic histories in his seminal book “The Study of Chinese Alchemy”[2] published in Shanghai in 1928. This book, which is referenced in The Hero With a Thousand Faces[3] by Joseph Campbell, influenced Joseph Needham,[4] Arthur Waley,[5] Lynn Townsend White, Jr.[6] and many other works on Chinese alchemy.[7][8][9][10]
- ^ [Obed Simon Johnson, “John Peter Johnson” in Lost Grove Township, 1869-1969, compiled by the Committee of the Harcourt Commercial Club. Gowrie, Iowa: The Gowrie News, 1970, page 85]
- ^ a b [Obed Simon Johnson, A Study of Chinese Alchemy, Shanghai, Commercial P, 1928. rpt. New York: Arno P, 1974.]
- ^ [Joseph Campbell, "The Hero with a Thousand Faces", 1949 (Pantheon Books), ISBN 978-1-57731-593-3]
- ^ [Joseph Needham, Science and Civilisation in China, vol. 5 pt. 2, pp. 6]
- ^ Arthur Waley (1930), "Notes on Chinese Alchemy ("Supplementary to Johnson's" A Study of Chinese Alchemy)", Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies 6.1: 1-24.]
- ^ White, Lynn; Spence, Jonathan D. (1984). Needham, Joseph; Ling, Wang; Robinson, Kenneth; Gwei-Djen, Lu; Ping-Yu, Ho; Sivin, Nathan (eds.). "Science in China". Isis. 75 (1): 171–189. ISSN 0021-1753.
- ^ Davis, Tenney L.; Wu, Lu-Ch'iang (1930). "Chinese Alchemy". The Scientific Monthly. 31 (3): 225–235. ISSN 0096-3771.
- ^ [JOHN J. KAO, "Chinese Alchemy: Confluence and Transformation", The American Journal of Chinese Medicine, Vol. 05, No. 03n04, pp. 233-240 (1977)]
- ^ [J. R. PARTINGTON, "Chinese Alchemy", Nature volume 128, pages 1074–1075(1931)]
- ^ Pregadio, Fabrizio (1996). "Chinese Alchemy. an Annotated Bibliography of Works in Western Languages". Monumenta Serica. 44: 439–473. ISSN 0254-9948.