In the history of Chinese religion, Ge Hong was, undoubtedly, the first thinker who developed the conception of Xian, to a great extent based on various pre-taoist myths and theory of transformation into Xian. This was the first step toward the full development of a system of thinking for that particular branch of Taoism which espoused immortality and transformation into Xian as the ultimate concern of mankind....[ Read more ]

In the history of Chinese religion, Ge Hong was, undoubtedly, the first thinker who developed the conception of Xian, to a great extent based on various pre-taoist myths and theory of transformation into Xian. This was the first step toward the full development of a system of thinking for that particular branch of Taoism which espoused immortality and transformation into Xian as the ultimate concern of mankind.

In Ge Hong's conception, the characteristics of Xian include immortality and mythical feats. Immortality refers to the ability to transcend the restriction of human life span, whereas mythical feats mean the ability to get rid of the straitjacket imposed by nature on human beings. These two characteristics are the embodiment of the mankind's desire to rise about the physical body. Theoretically speaking, immortality and the mythical feats are attainable by anyone who studies and practice Ge Hong's teachings.

At the same time, however, Ge Hong holds the view that a person destiny is mapped out well before his or her birth by the influences of the stars. He further contends that these influences determined whether the person will be able to transform himself into Xian. Clearly, these two views are not compatible. This leads to an important question: why did Ge Hong preach his teachings, telling people that they have the abiilty to become Xian by study and practice while at the same time holding the view that their destiny has already been predetermined and their ability to become Xian is something that is conferred upon or withheld from them at birth.