Ge Hong was a Taoist thinker, theoretician, immortal, medicalist, health careist, and alchemist.
Ge Hong's first fame in history was not because of Taoist doctrine, but because of Confucianism.
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Since ancient times, everyone who can leave a name in history has a common feature is that they are knowledgeable.
The main thing is that it is really difficult to convince others of you without two sons, and there is a type of person who is talented and intelligent in the knowledge, and once he learns, such as the Six Ancestors Huineng, a word is not known because of the talent and wisdom, and the high level of understanding has become Zen Buddhism.
Another situation is that the qualifications are average, but the natural diligence and extensive reading of books, accumulated over time, and have also achieved great success, such as Wang Yangming.
And Ge Hong obviously belongs to the latter.
Ge Hong, who had been addicted to books since he was a child, had read more than many ministers who were officials in the dynasty at the age of 13, mainly because it was in the war-torn years at that time, and many people did not have time to read.
When Ge Hong was 13 years old, because of the war, all the books in his family were burned, so he borrowed books everywhere, and Ge Hong not only borrowed books to read, but also took notes.
At the age of 16, Ge Hong began to formally contact Taoist doctrine and could not extricate himself from it.
Taoist classics such as the Taiqing Danjing and the Jiuding Danjing were pinched by Ge Hongxin.
When Ge Hong was 21 years old, a peasant revolt was launched in the Jingchu region, and Ge Hong was appointed as the governor of Bingdu and beheaded the head of the thieves.
Later, Ge Hong felt that the officialdom was sinister and the people's hearts were dangerous, so he resigned his official position in Guangzhou and went into hiding.
After his retreat, he began to devote himself to the study of Taoism and preached everywhere.
At this stage, Ge Hong lived in seclusion for a total of 13 years, and during these 13 years, Ge Hong also made great contributions to medicine.
Some of the Taoist doctrines are related to health maintenance and treatment, such as the Taoist Eight Duan Jin, which is a regular exercise of health maintenance.
His "Elbow Reserve Formula" contains a variety of diseases, many of which are precious medical materials.
In particular, the description of smallpox symptoms is the earliest record in the world and is very accurate.
"Elbow Backup Emergency Formula" provides great reference value and contribution to the clinical first aid of future generations.
However, when Ge Hong was returning to hiding, he was recalled to be an official again, and after 20 years of officialdom, he went into hiding again.
The Book of Jin records:
"(Ge Hong) in old age, wanting to refine Dan to pray for longevity, smelling the Dan, asking for a leak order. The emperor was high in Hong's capital and was not allowed. Hong Yue: 'Proud of non-desire, have a dan'er.' 'The emperor obeys it. Hong Sui took his sons and nephews. To Guangzhou, thorn Shi Deng Yueliu, do not listen, go, Hong Nai stop Luofu Mountain alchemy. ”
This retreat was slightly more difficult, because the Guangzhou side did not agree with Ge Hong's return to retreat, and Ge Hong was hard to go because he wanted to refine Dan.
Alchemy is for immortality, and the final pursuit of anything related to Taoism seems to be immortality.
Ge Hong once said: "The longer jindan is burned, the more wonderful the change." Gold into the fire, a hundred refinements, buried, immortal. Taking these two things, refining the human body, can make people immortal. ”
But in fact, Ge Hong died at the age of 61.
The reason for Ge Hong's death is also said to be related to cultivation, and Ge Hong's long-term use of Dan medicine after his return to hermitage is likely to be heavy metal poisoning.
In addition, Ge Hong's cultivation is mainly based on the technique of room and guidance, and in order to cultivate the technique of room, he often takes five stones.
It is equivalent to today's stimulant.
Historian Yu Jiaxi called Wushishan "more fierce than opium."
Ge Hong went into hiding for the second time, and he originally wanted to cultivate into an immortal, but unfortunately he died within a few years.