He is best known for writing the Taoist scripture known as The Five Talismans (Wufujing) which forms the basis of the beliefs of the Lingbao School of Taoism.
Very little is known about Ge Chaofu beyond his association with the Lingbao School's scriptures.
He was most likely born in Jurong, the ancestral home of the Ge family, sometime in the latter half of the 4th century CE.
[3] In the 390s, he researched the books contained in the Ge family library along with Buddhist and Shangqing texts and expanded the five talismans contained within Ge Hong's book the Baopuzi in order to create a new text known as The Five Talismans (Wufujing).
[4] In between 397 and 401 CE, Ge Chaofu transmitted this text to two disciples, Xu Lingqi and Ren Yanqing, and thus founded the Lingbao School of Taoism.