Ge Xuan

Ge Xuan (Chinese: 葛玄) is a mythological member of the Chinese Ge family and a prominent figure in early Chinese Daoism. His grand-nephew, Ge Hong, wrote at length about him, and claimed that some alchemical texts from the Baopuzi originally came from him and that he lived from 164-244 CE. He is also described by his descendant Ge Chaofu as having been the first recipient of the Lingbao scriptures.

Life

What is known about Ge Xuan today comes from the writings of his grand-nephew Ge Hong, a famous alchemist who wrote the Baopuzi. In his biography of Ge Xuan in the Shenxian Zhuan (Biographies of Divine Immortals), Hong writes that Xuan apparently drowned while at the court of the Wu ruler, Sun Quan after a flotilla of boats capsized. Several days later Xuan returned to the court alive, apparently due to his ability to remain underwater for long periods of time. He was able to remain submerged as a result of his skills in “embryonic breathing”, and his ability to control wind, the rain and rivers. [Bokenkamp (2008), 444.]

Xuan also transmitted a number of alchemical texts to Hong, including the Taiqing Jing (Scripture of Great Clarity), the Jiudian Jing (Scripture of the Nine Elixirs) and the Jinye Jing (Scripture of the Golden Liquor). According the Ge Chaofu, Hong’s grandnephew who was the founder of the Lingbao School of Daoism, he also was the person who received the Lingbao scriptures directly from deities, who gave him the title of ‘Transcendant Duke’. [Bokenkamp (2008), 444.] Ge Xuan remained an important figure in Taoism up into the middle ages, receiving many posthumous titles bestowed on him from the emperor. [Bokenkamp (2008), 445.]

Notes

References

* Bokenkamp, Stephen. "Ge Xuan." in Fabrizio Pregadio, ed., "The Encyclopedia of Taoism" (London: Routledge, 2008), 444-445.