Life

He was a native of Xincai County, in southern Henan. After diligent study of the classics during his childhood and youth, Gan Bao was appointed head of Office of History at the court. Apparently, the position was granted to him in recognition of his skills which he demonstrated in his Chin-chi (晋纪, "Jin-ji"), presumably a written account of earlier court activities.

Soushen Ji

Gan Bao subsequently occupied other prominent positions at the court, but today he is best remembered for the book Soushen Ji, which he probably compiled. An extremely important early example of the Zhiguai genre, the book comprises several hundred short stories and witness reports about spirits and supernatural events.

Gan Bao's biography in Book of Jin recorded that Gan Bao's father had an affair with a maid. Out of jealousy, after his father died, his mother entombed the maid together with his father's remains. Due to their young age, Gan Bao and his elder brother did not know of this incident. After their mother died more than 10 years later, their father's tomb was opened (presumably to inter their mother together with her late husband). Gan Bao's family found the maid lying on the father's coffin as though she was alive. The maid was taken back to the Gan household, and regained consciousness after a few days. She explained that she survived more than 10 years sealed inside the tomb with the help of the father's ghost, which brought her food and water. The father's ghost also treated her in the same loving way as he did while he was alive. The family confirmed the maid's account by summoning the father's ghost in a ritual. Gan Bao eventually married the maid and had a son with her.

In another incident, Gan Bao's elder brother fell gravely ill and stopped breathing. Yet, his body did not turn cold even after several days. Later, the elder brother regained consciousnesses and commented that events in the supernatural world felt like dreams to him; he did not even realise that he had lost consciousness. His curiosity sparked by these two incidents, Gan Bao then began collecting short stories and witness reports about spirits and supernatural events.

生平

祖父幹統，三國時為東吳奮武將軍、都亭侯；父幹瑩，曾仕吳，任立節都尉，遷居海鹽。幹寶博覽群書，晉元帝時召為佐著作郎，「以家貧，求補山陰令，遷始安太守。」曾參與鎮壓荊湘流民起義（杜弢之亂），賜爵關內侯。後王導提拔為司徒右長史，遷散騎常侍。咸康二年（336年）三月卒。

著作

東晉元帝時擔任佐著作郎的史官職務，曾奉命領修國史，著《晉紀》，時稱《良史》，現在已經失傳。還有著名的《搜神記》，記錄神仙鬼怪之事，原有30卷，現在僅保存20卷。精於易學，著有《周易注》十卷、《周易爻義》一卷、《周易宗塗》四卷、《周易問難》二卷、《周易玄品》二卷等書，今皆散佚，散見于唐李鼎祚的《周易集解》、陸德明《經典釋文》。另撰有：《易音》、《毛詩音》、《周官禮注》、《答周官駁難》、《周官音》、《後養議》、《春秋左氏函傳義》、《春秋序論》、《正音》、《立言》、《夏侯弘見鬼》等。作品多佚，後人有輯本。

幹寶表示作史書要明確五志：「體國經野之言則書之，用兵征伐之權則書之，忠臣、烈士、孝子、貞婦之節則書之，文誥專對之辭則書之，木力技藝殊異則書之。」

生卒年考証

《辭海》《中國文學大辭典》無載幹寶生卒年。許逸民《中國古代小說百科全書》、曹道衡、沈玉成《中古文學史料叢考》據《幹寶事跡》幹寶卒年五十歲左右，判斷幹寶生于286年。李劍國《幹寶考》則認為《幹寶傳》沒有幹瑩入晉的記載，說明幹瑩在東吳滅亡前去世，並假設年幼喪父的幹寶五歲喪父，認為幹寶出生不遲于276年。張慶民《幹寶生平事跡新考》根據《宋書·五行志一》的記載，判斷幹寶在元康（291年—299年）末年已經成年，認為其生于280年左右。孫俍工《中國文藝辭典》稱幹寶為「晉惠帝末至穆帝年間人」，生卒年約306—361年；李穎科《幹寶及其<晉紀>》認為幹寶生卒年為289—336年；王盡忠《幹寶生平略考》認為其生于283年。

幹寶族裔幹乃軍在研究幹寶的專家王盡忠協助下，據《幹氏宗譜》判斷幹寶生卒年為283年至351年。王盡忠認為東晉為幹寶立《御製神道碑》稱其「輔弼四朝」、落款「永和七年」，判斷其卒于351年。幹乃軍據此修訂了《幹寶歷史年表》，並于2002年7月將幹寶生卒年發表于《中州今古》。何金鎧《<搜神記>長短談》認為其卒于399年；但以上及孫俍工的結論都顯然與《建康實錄》所載幹寶卒年不符。

以上引述詳見楊淑鵬《幹寶與<搜神記>研究》等。

評價

尚秉和《續修四庫全書總目提要》評：「元時有屠曾者，始輯其佚。明下德間，其孫勛重訂，其書刻在《鹽邑志林》，即今孫堂《漢魏二十一家易注》所據而補訂，武進張惠言梓入《易義別錄》，歷城馬國翰、甘泉黃奭又據而參校習刊之，載《玉函山房輯佚書》、《漢堂叢書》中。孫、馬、黃三家輯本，互有詳略，然馬、黃多者二事，孫多者七事，較其得失，孫本為優」。

延伸閱讀

注釋

• 《晉書·幹寶傳》