Ge Hong, the master of the Hollow Alchemy for health preservation

In the Chinese classical mythological novel "Journey to the West", Sun Wukong caused a commotion in the Heavenly Palace and was captured and executed by the Jade Emperor. However, no matter how he was cut with a knife or stabbed with a spear, or burned with fire or submerged in water, not a single hair of him could be damaged. It is said that this is because Sun Wukong stole and ate the Nine-Transformation Golden Pill of Laozi. Since ancient times, many people have believed that there exists a miraculous elixir in the world that can rejuvenate and grant immortality, and have been constantly seeking to refine it. This trend was most prevalent during the Han, Wei and Jin Dynasties. In the Jin Dynasty, there emerged an expert in alchemy, and that was Ge Hong. He was proficient in this art and secluded himself on Luofu Mountain to refine elixirs. He was known as Ge Xianweng and lived to be over eighty years old. Of course, it was not because he had taken any golden elixir, but because he truly understood the way of health preservation and put it into practice. Ge Hong was a native of Jurong (now Jurong County, Jiangsu Province) during the Jin Dynasty. His courtesy name was Zhichuan and his pseudonym was Baopuzi. He was born in 284 AD and died in 364 AD. His father, Meng Ti, was once the governor of Shaoling. His great-uncle, Ge Xuan, was a Taoist priest in the State of Wu during The Three Kingdoms period and studied Taoism under the renowned alchemist Zuo Ci of that time. Ge Hong was fond of learning since childhood and was well-versed in the arts of various schools of thought. He was particularly fond of the ways of immortality and health preservation, and was also proficient in medical skills. He authored "Emergency Prescriptions in Reserve at the Elbow", which is the only extant prescription book from the Jin Dynasty and has been highly valued by medical practitioners throughout history. He also authored the Inner and Outer chapters of "Baopuzi". The inner chapters consist of twenty volumes, covering the techniques of self-cultivation and the methods of alchemy and gathering herbs. The outer chapters are fifty volumes, discussing the ways of dealing with the world and handling affairs. Its theory is mainly based on Taoism and includes a large number of health preservation ideas and methods, which have had a great influence on later medical practitioners and health preservation experts. Ge Hong was a successor of Taoism. Throughout his life, he firmly believed in Taoist theories and spared no effort in promoting Taoist doctrines. He believes that compared with Confucianism, Taoism is the origin and Confucianism is the secondary one. The main difference between Taoism and Confucianism lies in that Confucianism is fond of snobbishness and constantly pursues fame and fortune. Taoism pursues a state of being free from desires and demands, thus advocating "holding onto one and excelling alone", and achieving the goal of health preservation and longevity through self-cultivation. To achieve this goal, one must have no desires or demands, eliminate endless delusions, restrain impulsive emotions, be simple and content, nourish one's heart, calm one's spirit, set one's heart to help others, and correct one's own conduct. Only in this way can one receive blessings without inviting them and let them go without warding off disasters, allowing one to die to the fullest of one's natural years. This is a typical Taoist thought of tranquility and non-action. Although it is not advisable for today's complex and highly competitive modern society, it has some aspects worth learning from for the study of health preservation methods. When Ge Hong was thirteen years old, his father passed away. Coupled with repeated wars, his family gradually fell into poverty. He farmed and farmed to get by. In his spare time from farming, he borrowed books to read. In the fields and by the roadside, he used firewood as a pen and went up the mountain to gather firewood to exchange for paper and pen. Under extremely difficult conditions, he read about ten thousand volumes of the sayings of the various schools of thought in the classics and history. But he did not take this as the capital for achieving fame and fortune, and remained content with a rural life. His life at that time was very poor. Even so, "if the master did not keep warm, the house would leak and food would not be sufficient." But he had no worries about such a situation. Take clothing as an example. At that time, the styles of clothing were often changing. Sometimes wide collars and large belts were in vogue, sometimes long skirts and long sleeves were popular, and sometimes tight short jackets were in vogue. However, Ge Hong always wore his shabby clothes, never adding any embellishments and not fearing others' ridicule. Although his own life was extremely hard, he always had the intention to help others. As long as there was still half a month's worth of food left in his home, he would definitely take it out and share it with those in even greater distress. Many people do not understand Ge Hong's actions. For instance, while people often like to curry favor with the powerful and fawn on the powerful, Ge Hong never associated with those who held great power. He was also very cautious in his words and never spoke in a joking way. What he said was all the truth. If he couldn't find a true friend, Ge Hong would remain silent all day long, writing books and practicing Taoism alone in his room. At that time, people all called Ge Hong the "Man of Embracing Simplicity", and Ge Hong thus took the title of "Embracing Simplicity". The key methods of health preservation proposed by Ge Hong can be summarized as conserving essence, practicing 炁 (the same as "qi"), taking medicine and fasting. These are all secrets passed down from master to master. Although it may contain some dross, its main content is a health preservation method that has been passed down for a long time in ancient times and verified through repeated practice. It has been passed down to later generations through Ge Hong's own long-term practice and summary, and has been highly valued by health preservation experts throughout the ages. Ge Hong's health preservation methods should be based on the circulation of qi, that is, Qigong. Because the circulation of qi can replenish essence and enhance the efficacy of medicine, fasting must also be combined with the circulation of qi in order to be sustained. Ge Hong said, "To expel the old and take in the new, one should follow the qi to grow." It is explained that the method of promoting qi circulation and breathing out is to take the qi of nature to replenish the vital energy within the human body. He once imparted to his master the mnemonic: "At the beginning of the blue, the moon and the sun rise in half and merge into one, emerging from the jade pool and entering the golden chamber. It is as big as a tiny ball, as yellow as an orange, with a sweet taste like honey. If you can obtain it, be cautious and do not lose it. If you do not pursue the past, your body will soon perish. The pure white energy is extremely dense. It rises in the secluded pass, three twists and turns, with a brilliant red light that is unparalleled. The shape of the life gate is not complete, deep and wonderful, hard to question." It vividly and profoundly revealed the artistic conception in Qigong practice, leaving behind a precious legacy for the development of Qigong in later generations.