One and Many: A Comparative Study of Plato's Philosophy and Daoism Represented by Ge Hong

Chapter 6. Ge Hong';s Doctrine of Immortal Beings

104 chapter 6 Ge Hong’s Doctrine of Immortal Beings During the Western Han (202 BC–AD 9), a dynasty before Ge Hong, there was a widespread belief in the existence of immortals. Archaeological evidence discovered over the last few decades has revealed a belief in immortality expressed in art and iconography with strong cosmological symbolism in pre-Buddhist China.1 The hope for immortality was mainly focused on the subjects of death, burial ceremonies, and the theology of postmortal existence. Contrary to the belief in life after death, one of Ge Hong’s obscure arguments is his “life without death” doctrine. His Shenxian zhuan 神仙傳 represents a different way to express the belief in the existence of immortals and resembles the biographical genre of the Liexian zhuan 列仙 傳 by Liu Xiang 劉向 (77 BC–AD 6?). The Inner Chapters contains Ge Hong’s attempt to systematize these beliefs in immortality, to defend them against their detractors, and to insist on their core value for his tradition. In the second chapter, “On Immortality ” (lunxian 論仙), he argues that physical immortality is possible. In two alchemical chapters, “Golden Elixirs” (jindan 金丹) and “Yellow White” (huangbai 黃白), he reveals his unshaken faith that physical immortality can be attained through the practice of instrumental alchemy. In the eighteenth chapter, “Earthly Truth” (dizhen 地真), he builds his ethics and political philosophy on the basis of these beliefs. These writings formulate Ge Hong’s doctrine of immortal beings. On the one hand, it insists that suffering and death can be avoided. On the other hand, it forms an ethical platform upon which he presents his religious ethics by defining what life is and how it ought to be lived. Immortality: A Hermeneutical Problem Why does Ge Hong place ethics within the framework of seeking immortal life and value life from the perspective of immortality? The whole doctrine could be subject to attack since physical immortality might be a weak basis on which to build ethics and politics. To gain a more comprehensive understanding of what he means by “immortal beings” (shenxian 神仙) requires a close reading of the texts. ge hong’s doctrine of immortal beings 105 Comparisons with Western Concepts The class of immortal beings is closely associated with the term “immortal life” (changsheng 長生). The term is widely used throughout the Inner Chapters (see Table 6.1). By looking at the three main chapters on the methods of attaining immortal existence, a broad range of meanings can be glimpsed. From Table 6.1 it is evident that the term changsheng does not just denote longevity, but also suggests the sort of existence that surpasses death. The term does not indicate any distinction between longevity and immortality. But the word “long” (chang 長) expresses the meaning of “continuous.” Against a cosmogonical background, to be continuous does not just refer to the continuation of a natural life, but also to the continuity of the genealogical process of Nature. For example, the term “long life and forever seeing” is used in a context that refers to an everlasting existence, which carries the same meaning as the term “long life without death.” “The Dao of xian-hood and long life” and “the Dao of long life” both indicate an active life that attains permanent unity with the Dao and becomes a part of the unfolding creativity of Dao. Thus “long life” means continuous life or an unlimited extension of life. The best English translation is immortal life or immortality. In the Inner Chapters, Ge Hong uses “long life” 109 times but only uses “longevity” (changshou 長壽) once for describing animals with a long natural life, such as the turtle (IC 47).2 Contrary to “long life,” which evidently refers to unlimited life, the word “advanced age” (shou 壽) is quantifiable and finite. In the majority of instances where the word is used, it is associated with the annual cycle of time, namely, the year.3 ThereTable 6.1. Various uses of the term “immortal life” (changsheng 長生) English Chinese Pinyin Reference Long life and forever seeing 長生久視 changsheng jiushi IC 3, 47 Long life in the world 長生世間 changsheng shijian IC 4, 76 The Dao of xian-hood and 仙道長生 xiandao changsheng IC 3, 47 long life Long life without death 長生不死 changsheng busi IC 4, 78 The Dao of long life 長生之道 changsheng zhidao IC 3, 73 Communicating with spirits/gods 通神長生 tongshen changsheng IC 11, 205 and long life 106 textual studies fore, there is a distinction in Ge Hong’s writings...