Baopuzi () is a literary work written by Ge Hong (AD 283–343), (), a scholar during the turbulent Jin dynasty.
Baopuzi is divided into two main sections, the esoteric Neipian () and the section intended for the public to understand: Waipian (). The Taoist Inner Chapters discuss topics such as techniques to achieve "hsien" (), Chinese alchemy, elixirs, and demonology. The Confucian Outer Chapters discuss Chinese literature, Legalism, politics, and society.
Title The eponymous title Baopuzi derives from Ge Hong's hao (), the hao being a type of sobriquet or pseudonym. Baopuzi literally means "The Master Who Embraces Simplicity;"Puett, Michael (2007). "Humans, Spirits, and Sages in Chinese Late Antiquity: Ge Hong's Master Who Embraces Simplicity (Baopuzi)", in Extrême-Orient, Extrême-Occident, 29, pp. 95-119. compounded from the words bao () meaning "embrace; hug; carry; hold in both arms; cherish"; pu () meaning "uncarved wood", also being a Taoist metaphor for a "person's original nature; simple; plain"; and, zi (子) meaning "child; offspring; master (title of respect)". Baopu (Pao-p'u; literally:"Simplex"), is a classical allusion to the Tao Te Ching (19):
Ge Hong's autobiography explains his rationale for choosing his pen name Baopuzi. I [Hong] am an unsophisticated person; dull by nature, and a stammerer. My physical frame is unpleasant to look at; and I am not competent enough to boast of myself and gloss over the defects. My hat and shoes are dirty; my clothes sometimes the worse for wear or patched; but this does not always bother me. Styles in clothing change too quickly and too often: One moment they are broad at the neck, and the belt is wide; another moment they fit tight and have big sleeves; then again they become long and sweep the ground, or short and do not cover the feet. I am an unsophisticated person, It has been my plan to preserve regularity and not to follow the whims of the world. My speech is frank and sincere; I engage in no banter. If I do not come upon the right person, I can spend the day in silence. This is the reason my neighbors call me Simplex (Pao-p'u), which name I have used as a sobriquet in my writings.Baopuzi, "Outer Chapters (外篇), 52 Autobiography (自敘)," 8 Compare these autobiography translations: "people all call me a pao-p'u scholar (i.e., one who keeps his basic nature, one who is unperturbed by the desires of the world)"; "among the people of his district there were those who called him "The Scholar Who Embraces Simplicity"." Wu and Davis noted, "This name has been translated Old Sober-Sides, but Dr. Wu considers that it has no satirical intent and would better be translated Solemn-Seeming Philosopher." Fabrizio Pregadio translates "Master Who Embraces Spontaneous Nature".
History In comparison to many other Taoist texts, the origins of the Baopuzi are well documented. Ge completed the book during the era of Jianwu (), 317–318, when Emperor Yuan of Jin founded the Eastern Jin dynasty. Ge Hongu subsequently revised Baopuzi during the era of Xianhe (), 326–334.
Ge Hong's autobiography (Outer Chapter 50) records writing the Baopuzi. In my twenties I planned to compose some little things in order not to waste my time, for it seemed best to create something that would constitute the sayings of one sole thinker. This is when I outlined my philosophical writing, but it was also the moment when I became involved in armed rebellion and found myself wandering and scattered even farther afield, some of my things getting lost. Although constantly on the move, I did not abandon my brush again for a dozen or so years, so that at the age of 37 or 38 [A.D. 317-18] I found my work completed. In all, I have composed Nei p'ien in 20 scrolls, Wai p'ien in 50; … [list of other writings, totaling 310 scrolls] My Nei p'ien, telling of gods and genii, prescriptions and medicines, ghosts and marvels, transformations, maintenance of life, extension of years, exorcising evils, and banishing misfortune, belongs to the Taoist school. My Wai p'ien, giving an account of success and failure in human affairs and of good and evil in public affairs, belongs to the Confucian school.Tr. , cf. . Compare the more literal translation of Davis and Ch'en, "I left off writing for ten and odd years, for I was constantly on the road, until the era Chien-wu (317-318 A.D.) when I got it ready."
Ge's autobiography mentions his military service fighting rebels against the Jin dynasty, and successfully defending his hometown of Jurong (), in modern Zhenjiang, Jiangsu. In 330 Emperor Cheng of Jin granted Ge the fief of "Marquis of Guanzhong" with income from 200 Jurong households. Scholars believe Ge revised the Baopuzi during this period, sometime around 330 or 332.
The Baopuzi consists of 70 pian () "chapters; books" divided between the 20 "Inner Chapters" and 50 "Outer Chapters" (which can be compared with the Zhuangzi textual division). Nathan Sivin described it as "not one book but two, considerably different in theme". The Neipian and Waipian "led entirely separate physical existences; they were not combined under a single title until a millennium after Ko's time".
The (1444–1445) Ming dynasty Daozang "Taoist canon" first printed the two Baopuzi parts together. This Zhengtong Daozang (), or "Taoist Canon of the Zhengtong Era (1436-1450)", bibliographically categorized the Baopuzi under the Taiqing "Supreme Clarity" section for alchemical texts. Daozang editions encompass six juan ( "scrolls; fascicles; volumes"), three each for the Inner and Outer Chapters. Most received versions of Baopuzi descend from this Ming Daozang text.
Content
The Baopuzi'''s Inner and Outer Chapters discuss miscellaneous topics ranging from esotericism to social philosophy. The Inner Chapters discuss techniques to achieve hsien, also transcribed as "xian", () "immortality; transcendence", Chinese alchemy, meditation, Daoyin exercises, Chinese herbology, demons and other spiritual creatures, and fu () "magic talismans". The Outer Chapters discuss Chinese philosophy, Confucianism, Legalism, government, politics, literature, scholarship, and include Ge's autobiography, which Waley called "the fullest document of this kind that early China produced".
According to Ge Hong's autobiography, he divided the Inner and Outer Chapters on the distinction between Taoism and Confucianism. Ge philosophically described Taoism as the ben () "root; trunk; origin" and Confucianism as the mo () "tip; branch; end".Inner Chapter 10, tr. . When asked, "Which has the priority, Confucianism or Taoism?" – Baopuzi replies, "Taoism is the very trunk of Confucianism, but Confucianism is only a branch of Taoism."
While the Baopuzi Inner and Outer Chapters differ in content, they share a general format with an unnamed interlocutor posing questions and Ge Hong providing answers. The conventional syntax is Huowen yue () "Someone asked, saying" and Baopuzi da yue () "Baopuzi answered, saying".
Inner Chapters The twenty Neipian "Inner Chapters" record arcane techniques for achieving hsien "transcendence; immortality". These techniques span two types of Chinese alchemy that Tang dynasty scholars later differentiated into neidan "internal elixir; internal alchemy" and waidan "external elixir; external alchemy". The word dan 丹 "cinnabar; red; pellet; [Chinese medicine] pill" means "pill of immortality, or elixir of life. Ge Hong details his researches into the arts of transcendence and immortality. "Internal alchemy" concerns creating an "immortal body" within the corporeal body through both physiological methods (dietary, respiratory, martial, etc.) and mental practices (meditation, extracorporeal visualization, etc.). "External" or "laboratory alchemy" concerns compounding elixirs (esp. from minerals and metals), writing fu talismans or amulets, herbalism, and exorcism.
Lai outlines the Inner Chapters subjects: (1) proofs of the per se existence of immortals and transcendent states of immortality of the body; (2) stipulation of the accessibility to the perfect state of long life to everyone, irrespective of one's social status but dependent on whether one could study deeply and strenuously cultivate the necessary esoteric methods; (3) elaboration of diverse esoteric techniques leading one to become a hsien-immortal; and (4) descriptions and criticism of the diverse contemporary Taoist discourses and sects.
Several chapters have specific themes. Chapters 4, 8, 11, and 16 describe waidan "external alchemy". Inner Chapter 18 details meditation practices. In Chapter 19, Ge Hong praises his master Zheng Yin (), catalogs Taoist books, and lists talismans.
+ Table 1: The Neipian "Inner Chapters" Number Pinyin Characters TranslationAdapted from . 1 Changxuan Defining the Mysterious 2 Lunxian About Immortals 3 Duisu Rejoinders to Popular Conceptions 4 Jindan Gold and Cinnabar [pill of immortality] 5 Zhili The Ultimate Order 6 Weizhi The Meaning of "Subtle" 7 Sainan Countering Objections 8 Shizhi Resolving Obstructions 9 Daoyi The Meaning of "the Way" 10 Mingben Clarifying the Basic [Confucian and Taoist differences] 11 Xianyao The Medicine of Immortality 12 Bianwen Discerning Questions 13 Jiyan The Ultimate Words [regarding immortality] 14 Qinqiu Diligently Seeking [for a teacher] 15 Zaying Miscellaneous Answers 16 Huangbai Yellow and White [gold and silver] 17 Dengshe Climbing [Mountains] and Crossing [Rivers] 18 Dizhen The Terrestrial Truth 19 Xialan Broad Overview [of Taoist literature] 20 Quhuo Allaying Doubts
Many scholars have praised the Inner Chapters. Joseph Needham, who called Ge Hong "the greatest alchemist in Chinese history", quoted the following passage about medicines from different biological categories. Interlocutor: Life and death are predetermined by fate and their duration is normally fixed. Life is not something any medicine can shorten or lengthen. A finger that has been cut off cannot be joined on again and expected to continue growing. Blood from a wound, though swallowed, is of no benefit. Therefore, it is most inappropriate to approve of taking such nonhuman substances as pine or thuya [cypress] to protract the brief span of life. Ko: According to your argument, a thing is beneficial only if it belongs to the same category as that which is treated. … If we followed your suggestion and mistrusted things of a different type, we would be obliged to crush flesh and smelt bone to prepare a medicine for wounds, or to fry skin and roast hair to treat baldness. Water and soil are not of the same substance as the various plants; yet the latter rely upon them for growth. The grains are not of the same species as living men; yet living men need them in order to stay alive. Fat is not to be classed with fire, nor water with fish, yet when there is no more fat the fires dies, and when there is no more water, fish perish. (3) Needham evaluated this passage, "Admittedly there is much in the Pao Phu Tzu which is wild, fanciful and superstitious, but here we have a discussion scientifically as sound as anything in Aristotle, and very much superior to anything which the contemporary occident could produce."
In addition to quoting early alchemical texts, the Inner Chapters describe Ge Hong's laboratory experiments. Wu and Davis mention the Baopuzi formula for making mosaic gold "a golden crystalline powder used as a pigment" from Ch'ih Yen "red crystal salt" (produced from amethyst, calcite crystal, and alum) and Hwei Chih "limewater".