User:Wuffadin/Keng Hsien-Seng

Geng Xiansheng (Chinese: 耿先生, Pinyin: Gěng Xiānshēng, Wade-Giles: Keng Hsien-Seng, c. 850-975 A.D.) was a female alchemist employed by the Chinese Imperial Court.

Early life
Geng was the daughter of the renowned scholar Geng Qian (traditional Chinese: 耿謙, simplified Chinese: 耿谦, Pinyin: Gěng Qiān), who lived in the ninth century A.D. According to Wu Shu's Jiang Huai Yi Ren Lu, Geng liked reading books when she was young. She also enjoyed writing and occasional wrote poetry. Geng mastered the "art of the yellow and the white" (i.e., alchemy), along with "many other strange transformations, mysterious and incomprehensible." However, no one knows how she learned so much about alchemy.

Career
During the Dazhong era (847-859 A.D.), the emperor summoned Geng to the Imperial Palace so he could watch her practice her alchemical techniques. She was given special accommodations at the palace and referred to as "Teacher."

Geng's most notable alchemical skill consisted of being able to turn mercury and "heavy snow" into silver. She was also notable for her use of an early version of the Soxhlet continuous extraction process to extract camphor into alcohol. Geng also was known for her distilled perfumes.