Baopuzi (Three Volumes)

Name: Baopuzi (Three Volumes)
ISBN: 9787101091922

Ge Hong / 张松辉 / 张景Zhonghua Book Company2013

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Word count: 750 words
Chapters: 40
Series: Complete Texts, Full Annotation, and Full Translation of Chinese Classics
ISBN: 9787101091922

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Summary

Baopuzi is a masters' work written by Ge Hong of the Eastern Jin dynasty, divided into the Inner Chapters and the Outer Chapters, which differ in scope and intellectual orientation. The twenty juan of the Inner Chapters belong to Daoism and revolve around the existence of immortals and the learnability of the immortal way, expounding a Daoist philosophy centered on xuan, yi, xuanyi, and zhenyi, discussing the preparation and application of golden elixirs and immortal medicines, and health-preserving techniques such as guiding qi and preserving essence, and recording a bibliography of Daoist scriptures. It is a systematic summation of immortal thought and alchemical health practices from the Warring States period through the Han dynasty and laid the theoretical foundation for the immortal Daoism of the Wei and Jin. Its records of refining minerals and medicines are important historical material for the study of ancient Chinese chemistry, medicine, and health preservation. The twenty-five juan of the Outer Chapters are mainly Confucian, also drawing on Daoism, Legalism, and a small amount of immortal health theory, discussing the gains and losses of current politics, the way of ruler and minister, employing people and promoting the worthy, punishments and social intercourse, and literary expression, using the past to criticize the present. The Siku Quanshu Zongmu calls it broad and eloquent in argument and rich in principle, while Lu Xun praised it for discussing the social conditions of the late Jin. This edition is one volume in the Complete Texts, Full Annotation, and Full Translation of Chinese Classics series from Zhonghua Book Company, translated and annotated by Zhang Songhui and Zhang Jing, using the Pingjinguan Congshu block-printed edition as the base text and consulting other editions. It includes the original text with introductory explanations, concise annotations, and vernacular translations, in simplified horizontal typesetting, in three hardcover volumes, with the Inner Chapters in one volume and the Outer Chapters in two volumes, upper and lower, making this difficult Jin-dynasty classic directly accessible to general readers.

Editor's review

读《抱朴子》最大的障碍，往往来自它那套骈散夹杂、典故密集的晋代文风。《内篇》谈金丹、仙药与符箓禁咒，《外篇》议刑名、举荐与文章之道，若手头只有一部白文，普通读者往往开卷数页便不得不合上。这个三册本正是为此而设：以《平津馆丛书》刻本为底本，参校他本，每卷先出前言解题，正文分段标点，难词僻典随文注出，并附完整白话译文，让原文与译文能够对照阅读。译注者张松辉长期从事中国思想史与道家道教文学研究，译笔在保持学术准确的同时力求明白晓畅。装帧为简体横排精装三册，《内篇》独成一册，《外篇》分上下两册，既适合从头通读，也适合按主题检索。《内篇》中金丹、黄白诸卷尤能见出葛洪对物质变化的观察，《外篇》中《诘鲍》《疾谬》《酒诫》诸篇则是对两晋社会风气的直接记录。对于既想读懂文本、又不愿被注疏体系挡在门外的读者，这是一个省力而不失可靠的入口。

Who it's for

A good fit for

对道教思想、神仙方术与魏晋思想史有兴趣的读者
希望直接读懂原文、需要注释与白话译文辅助的普通读者
研究中国古代化学、医药与养生史，需要查阅原始文献者
喜欢《中华经典名著全本全注全译丛书》体例、追求全本无删节的读者

Not a good fit for

只想要一部轻量通俗读物、无暇阅读古文的休闲读者
希望读到带有现代科学评价与系统批判的研究专著的读者
需要繁体竖排、以校勘记为主的学术整理本的版本研究者

Reading tips

初学者先读《内篇》的《畅玄》《论仙》《对俗》，把握葛洪论证神仙长生的基本思路，再进入金丹、仙药诸卷。
《外篇》可先挑《勖学》《交际》《疾谬》《酒诫》《诘鲍》等与现实议题相关的篇章，读来更易入手。
涉及炼丹、药物与方术的段落，宜结合注释理解古代术语，不要把其中的功效记述当作现代医学结论。
三册不必线性通读，可按“道教哲学—方术技术—社会批评”三个主题分组阅读，并随手记录内外篇观点的异同。

About the publisher

Zhonghua Book Company China · Founded in 1912

Zhonghua Book Company is a publisher known for collating ancient texts and academic publishing, with its output centered on Eastern philosophy, culture, classic works, art, and historical reading. Its library contains 532 titles, including Chen Shou's Records of the Three Kingdoms, Guo Qingfan's Collected Commentaries on Zhuangzi, the four-volume Chinese Literature: Four Great Classical Novels, and the two-volume Table of Seal and Clerical Script Forms from Qin, Han, Wei, and Jin. These titles span historical classics, commentaries on the philosophers, classical novels, and philological reference works. Representative authors include Chen Shou, Guo Qingfan, Wu Cheng'en, Shi Nai'an, Cao Xueqin, Luo Guanzhong, Xu Wenwu, and the Hanyu Dazidian character-form group, reflecting a focus on primary sources and scholarly editors. Its publishing character lies in combining authoritative editions and annotated texts with both accessible classics and specialized research. Public information on its fuller catalog is limited; this note describes only the directions evident in the library's holdings.

Baopuzi Inner Chapters: Preface
Chapter 1: Freeing the Mysteries
Chapter 2: On Immortals
Chapter 3: On Custom
Chapter 4: Golden Elixirs
Chapter 5: Ultimate Principle
Chapter 6: Subtle Meaning
Chapter 7: Resolving Difficulties
Chapter 8: Explaining Obstructions
Chapter 9: The Meaning of the Way
Chapter 10: Clarifying the Root
Chapter 11: Immortal Medicines
Chapter 12: Discerning Questions
Chapter 13: Exhausting Words
Chapter 14: Diligent Seeking
Chapter 15: Miscellaneous Responses
Chapter 16: Transmutation
Chapter 17: Climbing and Crossing
Chapter 18: Earthly Truth
Chapter 19: Far-Ranging Survey
Chapter 20: Dispelling Delusions
Baopuzi Outer Chapters, Volume One: Preface
Chapter 1: Admirable Retreat
Chapter 2: The Recluse
Chapter 3: Encouraging Learning
Chapter 4: Revering Teaching
Chapter 5: The Way of the Ruler
Chapter 6: The Minister's Integrity
Chapter 7: Good Counsel
Chapter 8: Difficulties of the Times
Chapter 9: The Principle of Office
Chapter 10: Attending to What Is Right
Chapter 11: Valuing the Worthy
Chapter 12: Appointing the Capable
Chapter 13: Respecting Scholars
Chapter 14: Examining Punishments
Chapter 15: Scrutinizing Recommendations
Chapter 16: Social Intercourse
Chapter 17: Filling Gaps
Chapter 18: Selecting Talent

FAQ

《抱朴子》内篇和外篇有什么不同？

两篇同为葛洪所撰，但取向不同。《内篇》二十卷属道家，讲神仙实有、金丹仙药、养生方术与道经书目；《外篇》二十五卷以儒家为主，兼采道法，论君臣之道、用人刑罚、交际文辞与社会风气。葛洪自认为“道本儒末”。

这个三册本是全本吗？有白话翻译吗？

这是中华书局“中华经典名著全本全注全译丛书”的一种，收录《内篇》二十卷与《外篇》二十五卷全文，配题解、注释和白话译文，简体横排精装，全三册中《内篇》一册、《外篇》上下两册。

底本用的是什么版本？

据中华书局介绍，本版以《平津馆丛书》刻本为底本，参校其他重要版本。这与王明《抱朴子内篇校释》、杨明照《抱朴子外篇校笺》所依据的孙星衍平津馆校本同源，但三家整理方式不同。

书里讲炼丹，是不是可以照着操作？

不可以。《内篇》金丹、黄白诸卷记录的是古代炼丹术，涉及朱砂、汞、铅、砷等有毒物质，属于历史文献与科技史材料，绝不可据以自行炼制或服用，阅读时应以史料视角对待。

和中华书局“新编诸子集成”本相比怎么选？

“新编诸子集成”中的王明《抱朴子内篇校释》和杨明照《抱朴子外篇校笺》是繁体竖排的学术整理本，校勘精细、适合研究引用；本三册本带白话译文、简体横排，更适合通读与入门。可按需求二者并用。

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About the author

Ge Hong Author · China

Ge Hong, courtesy name Zhichuan, styled himself Baopuzi and was known as the Minor Immortal, was a native of Jurong in Danyang (present-day Jiangsu). A Daoist priest, Daoist scholar, alchemist and physician of the Eastern Jin period, he came from a prominent Jiangnan clan and studied Daoism under Zheng Yin. He was enfeoffed as General Fubo and Marquis of Guannei for military merit, and later withdrew to Mount Luofu to pursue alchemy and writing. His works blend Confucianism and Daoism, notably the inner and outer chapters of Baopuzi, Zhouhou Beiji Fang and Shenxian Zhuan, and he is regarded as one of the founders of the theory of immortal Daoism. The collection holds 18 of his works, spanning medicine, folk literature, culture, health, Eastern philosophy and history; Zhouhou Beiji Fang and Baopuzi are especially influential, combining practical medical prescriptions with philosophical discourse and leaving a lasting mark on later Daoist and medical culture. Public information on his birth and death years is limited.

张松辉 Author

Zhang Songhui is a research-oriented author focusing on classical Chinese philosophy and the collation of canonical texts. Public information about him is limited, and no systematic record of his life or academic background is available. Judging from the eight works held in the library, his work centers on annotating and translating early Daoist writings and later works of moral exhortation and miscellaneous thought, including the Daodejing, the silk-manuscript Laozi, the Baopuzi, the Su Shu, and the Liaofan's Four Lessons, many of them issued in the Complete Text, Complete Annotation, Complete Translation series of Chinese classics. His editions are characterized by full texts, full annotation, and full translation, aimed at general readers: they clarify wording and explain context while balancing scholarly norms with readability. He has also compiled the multi-volume Reading China through Classics, which guides readers toward traditional culture by way of canonical texts. His works fall under Eastern philosophy, folk literature, and philosophical reading, suitable both as introductions and for study reference.

张景 Author

Zhang Jing—public information about this author is limited. It is known only that seven of the author's works are held in the Chinese book database, commonly classified under Eastern philosophy and classic works. Zhang Jing's work centers on the editing and interpretation of classical Chinese texts, covering important Confucian and Daoist writings such as the Dao De Jing, Liaofan's Four Lessons, Su Shu, and Zhuangzi, as well as a dramatic work, Feiwan Ji, from the Sixty Plays anthology. Judging from the publications, Zhang Jing has contributed to popular annotated-translation series such as the Complete Annotated Translation of Chinese Classics, written accessible guides like You Really Can Understand Zhuangzi, and taken part in general-interest writing such as Seeing China Through Classics. Overall, the writing is aimed at general readers, seeking to bridge annotation, translation, and explanation so that traditional classics become more approachable.