courtesy name
A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...
Zhichuan (稚川), was a Chinese linguist, philosopher, physician, politician, and writer during the Eastern Jin dynasty. He was the author of '' Essays on Chinese Characters'', the '' Baopuzi'', the ''Emergency Formulae at an Elbow's Length'', among others. He was the originator of
first aid
First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with a medical emergency, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery until medical services arrive. First aid is gener ...
in
traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medicine, alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. A large share of its claims are pseudoscientific, with the majority of treatments having no robust evidence ...
and influenced later generations.
He also took on the name Baopuzi (), with which translates literally as ‘embracing simplicity’—a reflection of his commitment to fundamental virtues, unadorned truth, and detachment from material temptations.
Early life
Ge Hong was born near Jurong county in AD 283, as the third son into a well-established family originally from
Eastern Wu
Wu (Chinese language, Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' < Eastern Han Chinese: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in historiography as Eastern Wu or Sun Wu, was a Dynasties of China, dynastic state of China and one of the three major sta ...
.
His ancestor Ge Xi (葛奚) once served in the high ranking position of Dahonglu (大鸿胪) in
Eastern Wu
Wu (Chinese language, Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' < Eastern Han Chinese: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in historiography as Eastern Wu or Sun Wu, was a Dynasties of China, dynastic state of China and one of the three major sta ...
. His great-uncle was
Ge Xuan
Ge Xuan (164–244), courtesy name Xiaoxian, was a Chinese Taoist practitioner who lived during the eastern Han dynasty (25–220) and Three Kingdoms periods (220–280). He was the ancestor of Ge Hong and a resident of Danyang Commandery in t ...
(葛玄) (also known as Ge Xianweng), an alchemist during the
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...
period. He studied alchemy and Taoism with Zuo Ci.
His father, Ge Ti (葛悌), served as the prefect of Shaoling (邵陵) after the nation entered the Jin Dynasty. He died when Ge Hong was 13 and his family went into decline.
Ge Hong is of an ascetic nature and did not like honor and gain. He was not especially fond of classic literature, but rather especially appreciated the guidance of the divine. Ge Hong studied
Chinese alchemy
Chinese alchemy (煉丹術 ''liàndānshù'' "method for refining cinnabar") is a historical Chinese approach to alchemy. According to original texts such as the Cantong qi, the body is understood as the focus of cosmological processes summariz ...
under Ge Xuan's disciple Zheng Yin (郑隐).
Career
By Ge Hong's time, although the family was declining, he was employed in numerous high ranking positions within the bureaucracy of the time.
In his public service role as an official, he was often asked to appraise his friends and acquaintances as possible candidates for government office positions and was also chosen to perform military service. However, he was unhappy with his life as an official and general. Although he never rejected
Confucianism
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, Religious Confucianism, religion, theory of government, or way of li ...
, he grew interested in
Taoist
Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ...
cultivation and elixirs to achieve the spiritual freedoms of Taoist Immortality.
In the second year of Tai'an in the Western Jin Dynasty (AD 303), Ge Hong was promoted due to his contributions in calming the peasant uprising led by Shi Bing in
Yangzhou
Yangzhou is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province, East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yancheng to the northeast, Taizhou, Jiangsu, ...
.
In the first year of Guangxi (AD 306), Ji Han (嵇含), the newly promoted governor of
Guangzhou
Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
, recommended Ge Hong to join the ranks as an army official. Ge Hong first went to Guangzhou, but after Ji Han was killed, he went to Mount Luofu to live in seclusion. There, he gathered
herbal medicine
Herbal medicine (also called herbalism, phytomedicine or phytotherapy) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. Scientific evidence for the effectiveness of many herbal treatments ...
, refined elixirs, and documented numerous cases of illness.
Later, Ge Hong became a disciple of Bao Liang (鲍靓), then prefect of Nanhai, from whom he learned alchemy and received the '' Sanhuangjing''. He also married Bao Liang's daughter Bao Gu, who excelled in the techniques of moxibustion.
In the second year of Jianxing of Emperor Min (AD 313), Ge Hong returned to his hometown, but still lived in seclusion and did not work as an official. In the first year of Jianwu of Emperor Yuan of Jin (AD 317), the ''Inner'' and ''Outer Chapters'' of ''Baopuzi'' were written.
In the first year of Xianhe (AD 326), he was called by Wang Dao to serve as under the position of "Zhubo" (主簿), later promoted to "consulting general" (咨议将军).
In the 7th year of Xianhe, he heard that
Jiaozhi
Jiaozhi (standard Chinese, pinyin: ''Jiāozhǐ''), or
,
was a historical region ruled by various Chinese dynasties, corresponding to present-day northern Vietnam. The kingdom of Nanyue (204–111 BC) set up the Jiaozhi Commandery (; , ch� ...
County (present-day
Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
) produced
cinnabar
Cinnabar (; ), or cinnabarite (), also known as ''mercurblende'' is the bright scarlet to brick-red form of Mercury sulfide, mercury(II) sulfide (HgS). It is the most common source ore for refining mercury (element), elemental mercury and is t ...
, and asked Emperor Cheng to serve as the magistrate of Gouti (句屚) (near present-era Hà Sơn Bình province). After receiving the Emperor's consent, his family traveled south. When he arrived in Guangzhou, he was asked to remain, so Ge Hong once again lived in seclusion in Mount Luofu to refine elixirs.
His autobiography was the last part of his collected writings. Referring to his years as an official in Guangzhou, he wrote that "Honor and status, are like guests yet are not common goods, as they leave they cannot be kept."
Impact
Hong's main contributions were in
Chinese alchemy
Chinese alchemy (煉丹術 ''liàndānshù'' "method for refining cinnabar") is a historical Chinese approach to alchemy. According to original texts such as the Cantong qi, the body is understood as the focus of cosmological processes summariz ...
and medicine, and also as a religious scholar integrating
Confucianism
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, Religious Confucianism, religion, theory of government, or way of li ...
and
Taoism
Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ' ...
. Ge Hong questioned ancient writings and was against the traditionalism of the time, whereby older writings were valued while newer ideas were less respected, and instead emphasized innovation and methods which involved experimentation and results. This was especially the case in his work in medicine and alchemy. In medical practice, Ge Hong read a large number of medical books in his analysis and research. He summarized treatment experience and collected knowledge from folk treatments, compiling works such as the hundred-scrolled book ''Yuhanfang'' ().
In his book ''Emergency Formulae at an Elbow's Length'' (), he suggested treating rabies patients by applying the brain matter of rabid dogs onto the bite wound, and extractions from the plant '' Artemisia annua'' to treat malaria. The latter method inspired the works of the Chinese malariologist and pharmaceutical chemist Tu Youyou, which led to the discovery of artemisinin extracted from the same plant, part of the 2015
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine () is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, acco ...
.
Hong was knowledgeable about
chemistry
Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
. He documented the
redox reaction
Redox ( , , reduction–oxidation or oxidation–reduction) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of the reactants change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is ...
chalcanthite
Chalcanthite (, ) is a richly colored blue-green water-soluble sulfate mineral . It is commonly found in the late-stage oxidation zones of copper deposits. Due to its ready solubility, chalcanthite is more common in arid regions.
Chalcanthite i ...
(copper sulfate pentahydrate) can be transformed to a golden bronze-like alloy, using the redox reaction involving
copper sulfate Copper sulfate may refer to:
* Copper(II) sulfate, CuSO4, a common, greenish blue compound used as a fungicide and herbicide
* Copper(I) sulfate, Cu2SO4, an unstable white solid which is uncommonly used
{{chemistry index
Copper compounds ...
and
iron
Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...
.
There is a hall in Xiaolingfeng Temple (小灵峰寺) in Ningbo, in which enshrines a statue of Ge Hong. In the second year of Xianhe (AD 327), Hong came here to distill elixirs. When he lived in seclusion in the Lingfeng peaks (in the Yandang Mountains) nearby, a plague occurred, and he practiced medicine to help locals.
Ge Xuan
Ge Xuan (164–244), courtesy name Xiaoxian, was a Chinese Taoist practitioner who lived during the eastern Han dynasty (25–220) and Three Kingdoms periods (220–280). He was the ancestor of Ge Hong and a resident of Danyang Commandery in t ...
References
Further reading
*Campany, Robert Ford. ''To Live As Long As Heaven and Earth: Ge Hong's Traditions of Divine Transcendents''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002
*Davis, Tenney and Ch’en Kuo-fu. "The Inner Chapters of ''Pao-p’u-tzu''." ''Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences'' 74 (1941): 297–325.
*Fang Xuanling, et al. ''Jin shu'' (History of the Jin Dynasty). 10 vols. Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1998
*Feifel, Eugene. "Pao-p’u tzu nei-p’ien." ''Monumenta Serica'' 6 (1941): 113–211; 9 (1944): 1–33; 11 (1946): 1–32. haps. 1–4 and 11*Giles, Lionel. ''A Gallery of Chinese Immortals''. London: John Murray, 1948.
*Hausen, Johan and Tsaur, Allen. ''The Arts of Daoism''. Auckland: Purple Cloud Press, 2021
*Hu Fuchen. ''Baopuzi neipian yanjiu'' (Research on the Inner Chapters of The Master Embracing Simplicity). Beijing: Xinhua chubanshe, 1991
*
, ''A Study of Chinese Alchemy'', Shanghai, Commercial, 1928. rpt. New York: Arno P, 1974.
*Lin Lixue. ''Baopuzi nei wai pian sixiang xi lun'' (An Analysis of the Thought of the Inner and Outer Chapters of The Master Embracing Simplicity). Taipei: Xuesheng, 1980.
*Penny, Benjamin. "The Text and Authorship of Shenxian zhuan". Journal of Oriental Studies 34 (1996): 165–209.
*Ren Jiyu, ed. ''Zhongguo daojiao shi'' (A History of Chinese Daoism). Shanghai: Shanghai renmin chubanshe, 1997.
*Robinet, Isabelle. ''Daoism: Growth of a Religion'', translated by Phyllis Brooks. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1997.
*Sailey, Jay. ''The Master Who Embraces Simplicity: A study of the philosopher Ko Hung, A.D. 283-343''. San Francisco: Chinese Materials Center. 1978.
*Sivin, Nathan. "On the Pao P’u Tzu Nei Pien and the Life of Ko Hong (283-343)". Isis 60 (1976): 388–391.
*Sivin, Nathan. "On the Word ‘Daoist’ as a Source of Perplexity". History of Religions 17(1978): 303–330.
*Tang Yijie. ''Wei Jin Nan Bei Chao shiqi de daojiao'' (Daoism in the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties Era). Taipei: Dongda tushu gongsi yinhang, 1991
*Wang Liqi. ''Ge Hong lun'' (A Discussion of Ge Hong). Taipei: Wunan tushu chubanshe, 1997.
*Ware, James R. ''Alchemy, Medicine and Religion in the China of A.D. 320: The'' Nei Pien'' of Ko Hung''. Mineola, NY: Dover. 1981.
*Wells, Matthew. "Self as Historical Artifact: Ge Hong and Early Chinese Autobiography". Early Medieval China 9 (2003): 71–103.
*Wong, Eva. ''Teachings of the Tao''. Boston: Shambhala, 1997. (96–104)
*Wu Lu-ch’iang and Tenney Davis. "An Ancient Chinese Alchemical Classic. Ko Hung on the Gold Medicine and on the Yellow and the White." ''Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences'' 70 (1935): 221–84. haps. 4 and 16