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郭璞
Biography of Guo Pu.
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郭璞，字景純，河東聞喜人也。 父瑗，尚書都令史。 時尚書杜預有所增損，瑗多駁正之，以公方著稱。 終於建平太守。 璞好經術，博學有高才，而訥於言論，詞賦為中興之冠。 好古文奇字，妙於陰陽算曆。 有郭公者，客居河東，精于卜筮，璞從之受業。 公以《青囊中書》九卷與之，由是遂洞五行、天文、卜筮之術，攘災轉禍，通致無方，雖京房、管輅不能過也。 璞門人趙載嘗竊《青襄書》，未及讀，而為火所焚。
Guo Pu, courtesy name Jingchun, came from Wenxi in Hedong commandery. His father, Guo Yuan, served as secretary chief clerk of the Ministry of State. Whenever Du Yu revised protocols Guo Yuan corrected his slips so steadily that contemporaries praised his fairness. He died in office as governor of Jianping. Guo Pu loved classical learning and mastered many disciplines despite awkward speech; poets ranked his fu verse foremost among the Restoration authors. He cherished archaic characters and excelled at yin-yang numerology and calendar science. A visitor called Master Guo practiced divination west of the river, and Guo Pu apprenticed himself to him. The master handed him nine volumes of The Satchel of Azure Secrets; Guo Pu thereby mastered the Five Agents, astronomy, and milfoil divination, turning aside disasters with uncanny ease—skills said to eclipse Jing Fang and Guan Lu. Disciple Zhao Zai once stole the azure satchel text; flames consumed it before he could open a page.
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惠懷之際，河東先擾。 璞筮之，投策而歎曰：「嗟乎！ 黔黎將湮於異類，桑梓其翦為龍荒乎！」 於是潛結姻昵及交遊數十家，欲避地東南。 抵將軍趙固，會固所乘良馬死，固惜之，不接賓客。 璞至，門吏不為通。 璞曰：「吾能活馬。」 吏驚入白固。 固趨出，曰：「君能活吾馬乎？」 璞曰：「得健夫二三十人，皆持長竿，東行三十里，有丘林社廟者，便以竿打拍，當得一物，宜急持歸。 得此，馬活矣。」 固如其言，果得一物似猴，持歸。 此物見死馬，便噓吸其鼻。 頃之馬起，奮迅嘶鳴，食如常，不復見向物。 固奇之，厚加資給。
Between Emperors Hui and Huai turmoil struck Hedong first. Guo Pu cast the milfoil, threw down the stalks, and cried: "Alas! The black-haired masses face extinction among foreign tribes; will our home mulberries be scythed into steppe waste? He then quietly tied marriage ties and travel bonds with dozens of families, planning to escape southeast. He came to General Zhao Gu while Zhao's prized mount had died; Zhao mourned the beast and refused visitors. Gatekeepers barred Guo Pu when he arrived. Guo Pu announced: "I can bring that horse back to life. Startled guards rushed within to tell Zhao Gu. Zhao Gu hurried forth demanding: "Can you truly revive my horse?" Guo Pu instructed: "Take twenty or thirty sturdy men with long poles. Thirty li east stand hills, woods, and village shrines; beat every shrine until something appears—snatch it and run home. Bring that thing here and the horse will rise." Zhao Gu obeyed; his men returned clutching a monkey-like creature. Set beside the corpse it breathed into the nostrils. Moments later the horse lurched up, neighed, and fed as always while the creature vanished. Zhao Gu stood amazed and rewarded him lavishly.
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行至廬江，太守胡孟康被丞相召為軍諮祭酒。 時江淮清宴，孟康安之，無心南渡。 璞為占曰「敗」。 康不之信。 璞將促裝去之，愛主人婢，無由而得，乃取小豆三斗，繞主人宅散之。 主人晨見赤衣人數千圍其家，就視則滅，甚惡之，請璞為卦。 璞曰：「君家不宜畜此婢，可于東南二十里賣之，慎勿爭價，則此妖可除也。」 主人從之。 璞陰令人賤買此婢。 復為符投于井中，數千赤衣人皆反縛，一一自投于井，主人大悅。 璞攜婢去。 後數旬而廬江陷。
At Lujiang, Prefect Hu Mengkang received summons from the chancellor to serve as army counsellor and libationer. The Yangzi region seemed tranquil, so Hu rested easy and saw no need to flee south. Guo Pu cast lots for him and read defeat. Hu Mengkang refused to credit it. Guo Pu meant to pack out yet coveted his host's maid; unable to win her openly he scattered three pecks of beans around the compound. At dawn the host saw thousands of red figures ringing his halls; they vanished on approach. Uneasy, he asked Guo Pu for a reading. Guo Pu said: "You must not keep this servant—sell her twenty li southeast without bargaining and the haunting ends. The master complied. Guo Pu secretly sent buyers to purchase her cheap. He dropped another charm into the well; thousands of red phantoms appeared bound hand and foot and plunged after it, delighting the host. Guo Pu walked away with the girl. Within weeks Lujiang fell to the enemy.
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璞既過江，宣城太守殷祐引為參軍。 時有物大如水牛，灰色卑腳，腳類象，胸前尾上皆白，大力而遲鈍，來到城下，眾咸異焉。 祐使人伏而取之，令璞作卦，遇《遁》之《蠱》，其卦曰：「《艮》體連《乾》，其物壯巨。 山潛之畜，匪兕匪武。 身與鬼並，精見二午。 法當為禽，兩靈不許。 遂被一創，還其本墅。 按卦名之，是為驢鼠。」 卜適了，伏者以戟刺之，深尺餘，遂去不復見。 郡綱紀上祠，請殺之。 巫云：「廟神不悅，曰：『此是䢼亭驢山君鼠，使詣荊山，暫來過我，不須觸之。』」 其精妙如此。 祐遷石頭督護，璞復隨之。 時有鼯鼠出延陵，璞占之曰：「此郡東當有妖人欲稱制者，尋亦自死矣。 後當有妖樹生，然若瑞而非瑞，辛螫之木也。 儻有此者，東南數百里必有作逆者，期明年矣。」 無錫縣欻有茱萸四株交枝而生，若連理者，其年盜殺吳興太守袁琇。 或以問璞，璞曰：「卯爻發而沴金，此木不曲直而成災也。」 王導深重之，引參己軍事。 嘗令作卦，璞言：「公有震厄，可命駕西出數十里，得一柏樹，截斷如身長，置常寢處，災當可消矣。」 導從其言。 數日果震，柏樹粉碎。
After crossing the Yangzi Guo Pu joined Xuancheng prefect Yin You as military adviser. A beast as big as a buffalo—grey hide, stub legs like an elephant's, white chest and tail—strong but sluggish—appeared below the walls and amazed everyone. Yin You had it trapped and told Guo Pu to divine; the cast ran Retreat turning into Corruption: "Gen rests upon Qian—the beast is massive. A creature lurking in the hills—neither rhinoceros nor tiger. Its body mingles ghosts; omens pair on the noon stems. Justice names it prey, yet twin spirits withhold consent. One wound drives it home to its mountain den. Name it by the hexagram—call it the donkey-rat." As soon as the reading ended ambushers thrust halberds a foot deep; the thing fled unseen. County officers petitioned the shrine gods for permission to kill it. The medium reported the temple god displeased: "This is Lord Rat of Donkey Mountain at Gongting bound for Jing Mountain—only passing through—do not harm him. Such was the finesse of Guo Pu's craft." When Yin You moved to command Stone Citadel Guo Pu followed. When a giant flying squirrel appeared at Yanling Guo Pu foretold: "East of this commandery a sorcerer will seize the mandate—and soon perish. Later an uncanny tree will sprout—looking auspicious yet poisonous as nettles. Should it appear, rebels will stir within a few hundred li southeast within the coming year." Cornus trees in Wuxi suddenly intertwined like paired trunks; that year bandits slew Wuxing prefect Yuan Xiu. Questioned later Guo Pu explained: "The Mao trigram stirs and injures metal—wood turns vicious instead of sheltering. Wang Dao esteemed him and brought him onto staff. Asked once to read Wang Dao's fate Guo Pu said: "Thunder threatens you—drive west several tens of li, fell a cypress your height, lay it where you sleep, and the omen lifts. Wang Dao obeyed. Days later lightning struck and shattered the timber.
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時元帝初鎮鄴，導令璞筮之，遇《咸》之《井》，璞曰：「東北郡縣有『武』名者，當出鐸，以著受命之符。 西南郡縣有『陽』名者，井當沸。」 其後晉陵武進縣人于田中得銅鐸五枚，曆陽縣中井沸，經日乃止。 及帝為晉王，又使璞筮，遇《豫》之《睽》，璞曰：「會稽當出鐘，以告成功，上有勒銘，應在人家井泥中得之。 繇辭所謂'先王以作樂崇德，殷薦之上帝'者也。」 及帝即位，太興初，會稽剡縣人果于井中得一鐘，長七寸二分，口徑四寸半，上有古文奇書十八字，云「會稽嶽命」，余字時人莫識之。 璞曰：「蓋王者之作，必有靈符，塞天人之心，與神物合契，然後可以言受命矣。 觀五鐸啟號于晉陵，棧鐘告成於會稽，瑞不失類，出皆以方，豈不偉哉！ 若夫鐸發其響，鐘征其象，器以數臻，事以實應，天人之際不可不察。」 帝甚重之。
While Yuan Emperor still held Ye Wang Dao had Guo Pu cast lots; the hexagram ran Concord turning into Well: "A county northeast bearing the syllable Wu will yield bronze clappers proving Heaven's mandate. Where southwest counties bear Yang in their names village wells will boil." Soon peasants at Wujin in Jinling dug up five bronze bells while wells seethed in Liyang for days. After Sima Rui became Jin prince Guo Pu cast again; Rest turning into Opposition foretold: "Kuaiji will yield a triumph bell bearing an inscription dredged from household wells. This matches Xi Ci's line that ancient kings shaped music to magnify virtue and offered it lavishly on high." After enthronement, early in Taixing, villagers of Shan county indeed pulled from a well a bell seven cun two fen long and four and a half cun wide engraved with eighteen archaic graphs reading Kuaiji Peak Mandate while other marks baffled everyone. Guo Pu declared: "True kings always earn spirit tallies that seal heaven and men's wills and align with sacred relics—only then may they speak of mandate. Five clappers hailed Jinling while Kuaiji's bell proclaimed completion—omens arrive by kind and quarter—is this not majestic! Clappers sound the decree and bells manifest the image—implements arrive by number while deeds answer in fact—never neglect the hinge between heaven and man. The emperor prized him highly.
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璞著《江賦》，其辭甚偉，為世所稱。 後復作《南郊賦》，帝見而嘉之，以為著作佐郎。 于時陰陽錯繆，而刑獄繁興，璞上疏曰：
Guo Pu's River Fu moved readers with its grandeur. His Southern Suburb Fu delighted the throne and earned appointment as assistant editor. As yin and yang slipped out of phase and torture multiplied Guo Pu memorialized:
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疏奏，優詔報之。
The throne answered with a gracious rescript.
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其後日有黑氣，璞復上疏曰：
When black vapors veiled the sun he memorialized again:
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頃之遷尚書郎。 數言便宜，多研匡益。 明帝之在東宮，與溫嶠、庾亮並有布衣之好，璞亦以才學見重，埒於嶠、亮，論者美之。 然性輕易，不修威儀，嗜酒好色，時或過度。 著作郎干寶常誡之曰：「此非適性之道也。」 璞曰：「吾所受有本限，用之恆恐不得盡，卿乃憂酒色之為患乎！」
Soon he rose to gentleman of the masters of writing. He tendered timely counsel that sharpened policy. While Ming Emperor was heir Wen Qiao and Yu Liang enjoyed rustic friendship with him; Guo Pu matched them in scholarship and critics admired the pairing. Yet he was careless of dignity, loved wine and women, and often overindulged. Editor Gan Bao warned: "This cannot nourish your nature. Guo Pu replied: "My allotted span is finite—I fear exhausting life without tasting everything—and you fret over wine and beauty?"
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璞既好卜筮，縉紳多笑之。 又自以才高位卑，乃著《客傲》，其辭曰：
Officials mocked his obsession with divination. Believing his gifts outstripped his rank he wrote Guest's Pride, whose text begins:
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，皇孫生，璞上疏曰：
When the imperial grandson was born Guo Pu submitted:
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疏奏，納焉，即大赦改年。
The throne accepted it, proclaimed an amnesty, and changed the era name.
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時暨陽人任穀因耕息於樹下，忽有一人著羽衣就淫之，既而不知所在，穀遂有娠。 積月將產，羽衣人復來，以刀穿其陰下，出一蛇子便去。 谷遂成宦者。 後詣闕上書，自雲有道術。 帝留谷于宮中。 璞復上疏曰：「任穀所為妖異，無有因由。 陛下玄鑒廣覽，欲知其情狀，引之禁內，供給安處。 臣聞為國以禮正，不聞以奇邪。 所聽惟人，故神降之吉。 陛下簡默居正，動遵典刑。 案《周禮》，奇服怪人不入宮，況穀妖詭怪人之甚者，而登講肆之堂，密邇殿省之側，塵點日月，穢亂天聽，臣之私情竊所以不取也。 陛下若以谷信為神靈所憑者，則應敬而遠之。 夫神，聰明正直，接以人事。 若以穀為妖蠱詐妄者，則當投畀裔土，不宜令褻近紫闈。 若以穀或是神祇告譴、為國作眚者，則當克己修禮以弭其妖，不宜令谷安然自容，肆其邪變也。 臣愚以為陰陽陶烝，變化萬端，亦是狐狸魍魎憑假作慝。 願陛下采臣愚懷，特遣穀出。 臣以人乏，忝荷史任，敢忘直筆，惟義是規。」 其後元帝崩，穀因亡走。
A Jiyang farmer named Ren Gu napped beneath a tree where a feather-robed stranger violated him and vanished; Ren Gu conceived. Months later as labour began the stranger returned, slit his groin, drew out a serpentling, and vanished. Ren Gu became a eunuch thereafter. Later he petitioned court boasting arcane arts. The emperor housed Ren Gu inside the palace. Guo Pu wrote again: "Ren Gu's marvel lacks rational cause. Your Majesty wished to study him and lodged him within the palace. States stand on ritual rectitude, not occult strangeness. Listen to men and spirits grant blessing. Your Majesty rules in austere silence and follows statute. Zhou rituals bar freakish dress and persons from palace gates—Ren Gu exceeds every freak yet lectures beside your halls; he soils daylight and befouls imperial ears—I cannot endorse him. If you deem him spirit-possessed honour him from afar. Spirits are lucid and upright and approach through human affairs. If he is fraud banish him beyond the frontier—never seat him beside the purple gates. If spirits warn through him discipline yourself with ritual to end the omen—do not let Ren Gu lounge here spreading corruption. This foolish minister believes yin-yang ferments myriad shapes—often fox-spirits borrow flesh to work harm. May Your Majesty heed this plea and send Ren Gu away from court. Though understaffed I bear the historian's shame—how dare I neglect honest ink or stray from duty. After Yuan Emperor died Ren Gu fled.
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璞以母憂去職，卜葬地于暨陽，去水百步許。 人以近水為言，璞曰：「當即為陸矣。」 其後沙漲，去墓數十里皆為桑田。 未期，王敦起璞為記室參軍。 是時潁川陳述為大將軍掾，有美名，為敦所重，未幾而沒。 璞哭之哀甚，呼曰：「嗣祖，嗣祖，焉知非福！」 夫幾而敦作難。 時明帝即位逾年，未改號，而熒惑守房。 璞時休歸，帝乃遣使齎手詔問璞。 會暨陽縣復上言曰赤烏見。 璞乃上疏請改年肆赦，文多不載。 璞嘗為人葬，帝微服往觀之，因問主人何以葬龍角，此法當滅族。 主人曰：「郭璞雲此葬龍耳，不出三年當致天子也。」 帝曰：「出天子邪？」 答曰：「能致天子問耳。」 帝甚異之。 璞素與桓彝友善，彝每造之，或值璞在婦間，便入。 璞曰：「卿來，他處自可徑前，但不可廁上相尋耳。 必客主有殃。」 彝後因醉詣璞，正逢在廁，掩而觀之，見璞裸身被髮，銜刀設醊。 璞見彝，撫心大驚曰：「吾每屬卿勿來，反更如是！ 非但禍吾，卿亦不免矣。 天實為之，將以誰咎！」 璞終嬰王敦之禍，彝亦死蘇峻之難。
Mourning his mother Guo Pu quit office and chose a gravesite at Jiyang within a hundred paces of the river. Critics warned it stood too close to water; Guo Pu replied: "It will soon lie far inland. Later silt piled until mulberry orchards stretched tens of li beyond the tomb. Before the period elapsed Wang Dun summoned him as secretary of headquarters. Yingchuan's Chen Shu served Wang Dun as aide-in-chief with shining reputation but died soon after. Guo Pu mourned bitterly: "Sizu, Sizu—who says death brings no blessing? Soon Wang Dun rebelled. Ming Emperor had reigned a year without changing the era name while Mars stalled in the Chamber mansion. Guo Pu was home on leave when couriers arrived with the emperor's handwritten questions. Jiyang county reported crimson crows. Guo Pu memorialized for a new era name and blanket amnesty—the full text is omitted here. Guo Pu once directed a burial that Ming Emperor inspected incognito; he challenged the host for burying on dragon horns—a prescription for clan extinction. The host answered: "Guo Pu called this the dragon's ear—within three years it draws the Son of Heaven. The emperor asked: "It produces an emperor? Guo Pu explained: "It draws the emperor to ask directions. The emperor marvelled. Guo Pu befriended Huan Yi, who walked in unannounced even when Guo was among his women. Guo Pu warned: "Elsewhere enter freely—never search me out in the privy. Doing so brings disaster on host and guest. Later a drunken Huan Yi peeked into the latrine and saw Guo Pu naked, hair loose, biting a blade before an altar. Guo Pu clutched his chest: "I forbade you—and still you came! You doom yourself as well as me. Heaven ordains it—whom can we blame? Guo Pu fell to Wang Dun and Huan Yi died in Su Jun's coup.
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王敦之謀逆也，溫嶠、庾亮使璞筮之，璞對不決。 嶠、亮復令占己之吉凶，璞曰：「大吉。」 嶠等退，相謂曰：「璞對不了，是不敢有言，或天奪敦魄。 今吾等與國家共舉大事，而璞雲大吉，是為舉事必有成也。」 於是勸帝討敦。 初，璞每言「殺我者山宗」，至是果有姓崇者構璞於敦。 敦將舉兵，又使璞筮。 璞曰：「無成。」 敦固疑璞之勸嶠、亮，又聞卦凶，乃問璞曰； 「卿更筮吾壽幾何？」 答曰：「思向卦，明公起事，必禍不久。 若住武昌，壽不可測。」 敦大怒曰：「卿壽幾何？」 曰：「命盡今日日中。」 敦怒，收璞，詣南岡斬之。 璞臨出，謂行刑者欲何之。 曰：「南岡頭。」 璞曰：「必在雙柏樹下。」 既至，果然。 復云：「此樹應有大鵲巢。」 眾索之不得。 璞更令尋覓，果於枝間得一大鵲巢，密葉蔽之。 初，璞中興初行經越城，間遇一人，呼其姓名，因以袴褶遺之。 其人辭不受，璞曰：「但取，後自當知。」 其人遂受而去。 至是，果此人行刑。 時年四十九。 及王敦平，追贈弘農太守。
When Wang Dun plotted rebellion Wen Qiao and Yu Liang asked Guo Pu to divine; he hedged. They demanded their own fortunes and heard "great auspicious. They withdrew whispering: "His silence feared frank speech—or heaven seized Wang Dun's wits. Yet Guo Pu blessed our coup—signal victory. They urged Ming Emperor to strike Wang Dun. Guo Pu once predicted "Mountain clan will kill me"—a man surnamed Chong—homophone for clan—slandered him to Wang Dun. Wang Dun prepared rebellion and ordered another casting. "No success," said Guo Pu. Suspicious of Guo Pu's loyalty to Wen Qiao and Yu Liang and hearing ill omens Wang Dun demanded: "Cast again—how long do I live? Guo Pu replied: "Your former hexagram promises swift disaster once you move. Remain at Wuchang and no one can reckon your years. Wang Dun raged: "And your span?" It ends at noon today. Wang Dun seized Guo Pu and marched him to South Ridge for execution. Walking out Guo Pu asked where they headed. "South Ridge crest. Guo Pu said: "Under twin cypresses. They found exactly that. "There should be a giant magpie nest overhead. Searchers found nothing. Guo Pu pointed higher; they found a huge nest hidden in the canopy. Early in the Restoration Guo Pu crossed Yue City, hailed a stranger by name, and gave him riding clothes. The man refused until Guo Pu insisted he take them—"you will understand. The stranger accepted and left. That same man later wielded the headsman's blade. Guo Pu was forty-nine. After Wang Dun fell the court posthumously named him governor of Hongnong.
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初，庾翼幼時嘗令璞筮公家及身，卦成，曰：「建元之末丘山傾，長順之初子凋零。」 及康帝即位，將改元為建元，或謂庾冰曰：「子忘郭生之言邪？ 丘山上名，此號不宜用。」 冰撫心歎恨。 及帝崩，何充改元為永和，庾翼歎曰：「天道精微，乃當如是。 長順者，永和也，吾庸得免乎！」 其年翼卒。 冰又令筮其後嗣，卦成，曰：「卿諸子並當貴盛，然有白龍者，凶徵至矣。 若墓碑生金，庾氏之大忌也。」 後冰子蘊為廣州刺史，妾房內忽有一新生白狗子，莫知所由來，其妾秘愛之，不令蘊知。 狗轉長大，蘊入，是狗眉眼分明，又身至長而弱，異于常狗，蘊甚怪之。 將出，共視在眾人前，忽失所在。 蘊慨然曰：「殆白龍乎！ 庾氏禍至矣。」 又墓碑生金。 俄而為桓溫所滅，終如其言。 璞之占驗，皆如此類也。
In childhood Yu Yi asked Guo Pu to read his clan's fate: "When Jianyuan ends hills crumble; when Changshun begins sons perish. When Kang Emperor wished to adopt Jianyuan advisers reminded Yu Bing of Guo Pu's warning. "Jian pairs with hills—avoid that reign name. Yu Bing smote his breast in regret. After Kang Emperor died He Chong chose Yonghe; Yu Yi sighed: "Heaven's calculus is subtle indeed. "Changshun meant Yonghe—how can I survive? Yu Yi died that year. Yu Bing asked about heirs: "Your sons will flourish yet beware the white dragon. Metal sprouting on a Yu tomb spells doom. Yu Bing's son Yu Yun governed Guangzhou where a concubine secretly raised a newborn white pup. It grew oddly human in face yet weak in limb until Yu Yun noticed. When Yu Yun drew it before witnesses it vanished. Yu Yun cried: "The white dragon! The Yu clan's doom arrives. Metal later filmed their tombstones. Huan Wen soon wiped them out as predicted. Guo Pu's auguries ran true in such cases.
18
璞撰前後筮驗六十餘事，名為《洞林》。 又抄京、費諸家要最，更撰《新林》十篇、《卜韻》一篇。 注釋《爾雅》，別為《音義》、《圖譜》。 又注《三蒼》、《方言》、《穆天子傳》、《山海經》及《楚辭》、《子虛》、《上林賦》數十萬言，皆傳於世。 所作詩賦誄頌亦數萬言。 子驁，官至臨賀太守。
Guo Pu compiled sixty divination cases in Piercing the Forest. He excerpted Jing Fang and Fei Zhi and wrote New Forest in ten fascicles plus Rhymes for Divination. He glossed Erya with separate pronunciations, meanings, and illustrations. He also annotated the Three Archives, Dialect, Travels of Mu Son of Heaven, Classic of Mountains and Seas, Chu Ci, Sir Vacuity, and Upper Woods Fu—hundreds of thousands of characters still circulating. His poems, fu, elegies, and encomia ran tens of thousands of words. His son Guo Ao rose to governor of Linhe.
19
葛洪
Biography of Ge Hong.
20
葛洪，字稚川，丹陽句容人也。 祖系，吳大鴻臚。 父悌，吳平後入晉，為邵陵太守。 洪少好學，家貧，躬自伐薪以貿紙筆，夜輒寫書誦習，遂以儒學知名。 性寡欲，無所愛玩，不知棋局幾道，摴蒱齒名。 為人木訥，不好榮利，閉門卻掃，未嘗交遊。 于余杭山見何幼道、郭文舉，目擊而已，各無所言。 時或尋書問義，不遠數千里崎嶇冒涉，期於必得，遂究覽典籍，尤好神仙導養之法。 從祖玄，吳時學道得仙，號曰葛仙公，以其練丹秘術授弟子鄭隱。 洪就隱學，悉得其法焉。 後師事南海太守上党鮑玄。 玄亦內學，逆占將來，見洪深重之，以女妻洪。 洪傳玄業，兼綜練醫術，凡所著撰，皆精核是非，而才章富贍。
Ge Hong, courtesy name Zhichuan, came from Jurong in Danyang commandery. His ancestor Ge Xi served Wu as grand herald. His father Ge Ti entered Jin service after Wu fell and governed Shaoling. Poor yet diligent Ge Hong chopped fuel to buy paper, copying texts by night until scholars noted him. He lacked worldly cravings—never learned chess lines or dice names. Withdrawn and uninterested in fame he barred his gate and seldom socialized. On Yuhang Mountain he met He Youdao and Guo Wenju—they exchanged only glances. He travelled thousands of li for obscure texts and mastered arcana, loving transcendental self-cultivation. His granduncle Ge Xuan became famed Ge Immortal Duke and passed cinnabar secrets to Zheng Yin. Ge Hong studied under Zheng Yin and mastered every technique. He later studied under Nanhai prefect Bao Xuan of Shangdang. Bao Xuan practiced interior arcana, foresaw Ge Hong's greatness, and married him his daughter. Ge Hong inherited Bao's arts and medicine; every treatise weighed evidence yet read elegantly.
21
太安中，石冰作亂，吳興太守顧秘為義軍都督，與周玘等起兵討之，秘檄洪為將兵都尉，攻冰別率，破之，遷伏波將軍。 冰平，洪不論功賞，徑至洛陽，欲搜求異書以廣其學。
During Taian Ge Hong joined Gu Mi's loyal army against Shi Bing as commandant, routed a column, and earned promotion to Wave-Pacifying general. After victory Ge Hong spurned rewards and hurried to Luoyang hunting rare books.
22
洪見天下已亂，欲避地南土，乃參廣州刺史嵇含軍事。 及含遇害，遂停南土多年，征鎮檄命一無所就。 後還鄉里，禮辟皆不赴。 元帝為丞相，辟為掾。 以平賊功，賜爵關內侯。 咸和初，司徒導召補州主簿，轉司徒掾，遷諮議參軍。 干寶深相親友，薦洪才堪國史，選為散騎常侍，領大著作，洪固辭不就。 以年老，欲練丹以祈遐壽，聞交阯出丹，求為句漏令。 帝以洪資高，不許。 洪曰：「非欲為榮，以有丹耳。」 帝從之。 洪遂將子侄俱行。 至廣州，刺史鄧岳留不聽去，洪乃止羅浮山煉丹。 岳表補東官太守，又辭不就。 岳乃以洪兄子望為記室參軍。 在山積年，優遊閑養，著述不輟。 其自序曰：
Seeing chaos Ge Hong joined Guangzhou Inspector Xi Han's staff seeking refuge south. Xi Han's murder stranded Ge Hong for years; he spurned every summons. Even recalled home he refused appointments. When Sima Rui was chancellor Ge Hong accepted aide duty. Suppressing bandits brought him secondary marquis rank. Early in Xianhe Wang Dao named him prefect clerk, then chancellor aide, then consultant. Gan Bao befriended Ge Hong and nominated him for court historian; the court named him supernumerary palace attendant and chief editor but Ge Hong refused. Aging, he sought cinnabar for longevity; learning Jiaozhi yielded ore he asked for the magistracy of Gou Lou. The emperor refused, deeming him too eminent. Ge Hong answered: "I seek the elixir, not rank. The emperor relented. Ge Hong took sons and nephews along. Guangzhou inspector Deng Yue detained him; Ge Hong stayed on Mount Luofu to compound elixirs. Deng Yue petitioned him as governor of Eastern Office yet again he declined. Deng Yue instead appointed Ge Hong's nephew Ge Wang secretary. Years on the mountain passed in serene study and ceaseless writing. His own preface reads:
23
洪體乏進趣之才，偶好無為之業。 假令奮翅則能陵厲玄霄，騁足則能追風躡景，猶欲戢勁翮于於鷦鷃之群，藏逸跡於跛驢之伍，豈況大塊稟我以尋常之短羽，造化假我以至駑之蹇足？ 自卜者審，不能者止，又豈敢力蒼蠅而慕沖天之舉，策跛鱉而追飛兔之軌； 飾嫫母之篤陋，求媒陽之美談； 推沙礫之賤質，索千金于和肆哉！ 夫僬僥之步而企及誇父之蹤，近才所以躓礙也； 要離之羸而強赴扛鼎之勢，秦人所以斷筋也。 是以望絕于榮華之途，而志安乎窮圮之域； 藜藿有八珍之甘，蓬蓽有藻棁之樂也。 故權貴之家，雖咫尺弗從也； 知道之士，雖艱遠必造也。 考覽奇書，既不少矣，率多隱語，難可卒解，自非至精不能尋究，自非篤勤不能悉見也。
Ge Hong admits no zeal for climbing office—only love of quiet non-action. Had I wings to pierce the clouds or legs to outrun the gale, I would still hide among quails and limping asses—how much more when heaven gives me ordinary plumage and Creation fits me with stumbling hooves? The wise know their limits; how may a fly aspire aloft or a lame tortoise chase the swiftest hare? Painting Mother Mo and expecting Yangzhou beauties to praise it— —peddling gravel for jade prices in the He market! A dwarf aping Kuafu's stride only trips— Yao Li lifting tripods broke Qin men's sinews— So I abandon ambition on glory's road and rest content in mean lanes; wild greens taste royal fare and hovels bring palace joy. Mighty houses inches away I shun; men of the Way, however distant, I seek. Strange books abound in riddles; without utmost wit and toil none masters them.
24
道士弘博洽聞者寡，而意斷妄說者眾。 至於時有好事者，欲有所修為，倉卒不知所從，而意之所疑又無足諮。 今為此書，粗舉長生之理。 其至妙者不得宣之於翰墨，蓋粗言較略以示一隅，冀悱憤之徒省之可以思過半矣。 豈謂暗塞必能窮微暢遠乎，聊論其所先覺者耳。 世儒徒知服膺周孔，莫信神仙之書，不但大而笑之，又將謗毀真正。 故予所著子言黃白之事，名曰《內篇》，其餘駁難通釋，名曰《外篇》，大凡內外一百一十六篇。 雖不足藏諸名山，且欲緘之金匱，以示識者。
Few priests read widely while rash guesswork spreads. Would-be adepts rush unsure whom to ask. This book sketches the principles of longevity. The subtlest teachings resist ink; here is a sketch so earnest readers grasp half the lesson. It cannot expose every mystery—only what I already perceive. Confucians mock immortal scriptures—some even slander the true teaching. Hence my Inner Chapters on alchemy and Outer Chapters of debate—116 chapters in all. They may not merit mountain vaults but deserve a golden coffer for discerning eyes.
25
自號抱樸子，因以名書。 其餘所著碑誄詩賦百卷，移檄章表三十卷，神仙、良吏、隱逸、集異等傳各十卷，又抄《五經》、《史》、《漢》、百家之言、方技雜事三百一十卷，《金匱藥方》一百卷，《肘後要急方》四卷。
He styled himself Master Embracing Simplicity and titled his book accordingly. Besides a hundred fascicles of verse and prose, thirty of state papers, and ten each on transcendents, worthy magistrates, recluses, and marvels, he copied 310 fascicles of classics, histories, and technical lore, 100 of Metal Casket Formulas, and 4 of Emergency Formulas from the Elbow Lair.
26
洪博聞深洽，江左絕倫。 著述篇章富於班馬，又精辯玄賾，析理入微。 後忽與嶽疏云：「當遠行尋師，克期便發。」 嶽得疏，狼狽往別。 而洪坐至日中，兀然若睡而卒，嶽至，遂不及見。 時年八十一。 視其顏色如生，體亦柔軟，舉屍入棺，甚輕，如空衣，世以為屍解得仙雲。
Ge Hong's erudition was unrivalled south of the Yangzi. His corpus outbulked Ban and Sima and dissected arcana to the finest grain. Suddenly he wrote Deng Yue that he must journey for a teacher and would leave on schedule. Deng Yue rushed to bid farewell. Ge Hong sat motionless like sleep until noon and died before Deng Yue arrived. He was eighty-one. His colour stayed lifelike, his limbs supple; lifted into the coffin he weighed like empty clothes—people called it corpse liberation and transcendence.
27
【史評】
Historians' appraisal
28
史臣曰：景純篤志綈緗，洽聞強記，在異書而畢綜，瞻往滯而咸釋； 情源秀逸，思業高奇； 襲文雅於西朝，振辭鋒于南夏，為中興才學之宗矣。 夫語怪征神，伎成則賤，前修貽訓，鄙乎茲道。 景純之探策定數，考往知來，邁京管於前圖，軼梓窀於遐篆。 而宦微於世，禮薄于時，區區然寄《客傲》以申懷，斯亦伎成之累也。 若乃大塊流形，玄天賦命，吉凶修短，定乎自然。 雖稽象或通，而厭勝難恃，稟之有在，必也無差，自可居常待終，頹心委運，何至銜刀被髮，遑遑于穢向之間哉！ 晚抗忠言，無救王敦之逆； 初慚智免，竟斃「山宗」之謀。 仲尼所謂攻乎異端，斯害也已，悲夫！ 稚川束發從師，老而忘倦。 紬奇冊府，總百代之遺編； 紀化仙都，窮九丹之秘術。 謝浮榮而捐雜藝，賤尺寶而貴分陰，遊德棲真，超然事外。 全生之道，其最優乎！
The historians say: Guo Pu devoted himself to silk tomes, remembered all he read, mastered exotic texts, and cleared every crux; his spirit flowed refined and his ideas soared; he inherited Western Jin letters and led southern literature—the patriarch of Restoration letters. Tales of spirits win cheap fame once skill turns stale—ancient teachers warned us to scorn such arts. Yet Guo Pu's stalk divining surpassed Jing Fang and Guan Lu and outdid astrologers like Zi Shen. Office humbled him and ritual slighted him—hence his petty Guest's Pride—a burden of wasted craft. Great Nature shapes forms and dark Heaven assigns spans—good or ill, long or short rest in what is natural. Even divination may glimpse fate yet charms cannot be trusted—what is allotted cannot err—one may calmly await destiny—why bite blades and loose hair in frantic sorcery? Late loyal words could not stop Wang Dun's revolt; early wit spared him yet the "mountain clan" prophecy slew him. Confucius warned against heterodox arts—their harm proves real—alas! Zhichuan tied his hair and studied on, tireless in age. He threaded marvel vaults and gathered generations of scattered writings; he chronicled transcendence and plumbed the ninefold elixir. He spurned vanity and baubles, prized each inch of time, roamed in virtue and lodged in truth beyond worldly affairs. Of ways to preserve life his was finest.
29
贊曰：景純通秀，夙振宏材。 沈研鳥冊，洞曉龜枚。 匪甯國釁，坐致身災。 稚川優洽，貧而樂道。 載范斯文，永傳洪藻。
The encomium sings: Jingchun's brilliance shone early and vast. He plumbed omens of birds and turtles. He brought the state no grief yet met personal doom. Zhichuan was learned though poor and rejoiced in the Way. His pattern endures and his great letters shine on.