Biography

There are a variety of sources about Tao Hongjing's life, from his own writings to biographies in the official Twenty-Four Histories. The British sinologist Lionel Giles said Tao's "versatility was amazing: scholar, philosopher, calligraphist, musician, alchemist, pharmacologist, astronomer, he may be regarded as the Chinese counterpart of Leonardo da Vinci".

Secular life

Tao Hongjing was born in Moling (秣陵, present-day Jiangning District, Nanjing, Jiangsu), which was near the Northern and Southern dynasties period capital Jiankang (present-day Nanjing). His father Tao Zhenbao (陶貞寶) and paternal grandfather Tao Long (陶隆) were erudite scholars, skilled calligraphers, and experts in Chinese herbology. His mother Lady Hao (郝夫人) and maternal grandfather were devout Buddhists.

Tao was a prodigious reader and once his interest was aroused in a subject, he would not stop until he had learned all that he could. According to official biographies, he read the Daoist hagiography Shenxian zhuan ("Biographies of the Divine Transcendents") at the age of ten, whereupon he decided to become a yǐnshì (隱士 "recluse; hermit").

Tao Hongjing held several court positions under the Liu Song (420–479), Southern Qi (479–502), and Liang (502–587) dynasties. When Tao was about twenty-five, Xiao Daocheng (蕭道成), the future Emperor Gao (r. 479–482) founder of the Southern Qi dynasty, appointed him as tutor for the imperial princes Xiao Ye (蕭曅, 467–494) and Xiao Gao (蕭暠, 468–491). After Tao's father died in 481, he resigned office to observe the customary three-year period of filial mourning. However, Gao's successor, Emperor Wu of Southern Qi (r. 482–493), appointed him as tutor for his son prince Xiao Jian (蕭鏗, 477–494) in 482, and designated him as General of the Left Guard of the Palace in 483. Tao's mother died in 484, and he resigned from office.

During the period of mourning for his mother from 484 to 486, Tao Hongjing studied with the Taoist master Sun Youyue (孫遊岳, 399–489), who had been a disciple of Lu Xiujing (陸修靜, 406–477), the standardizer of the Lingbao School scriptures and ritual. Tao received training in chanting the scriptures and drawing talismans. Sun showed him some manuscripts of the original "Shangqing Maoshan revelations", in which Tao became fascinated. According to tradition, these revelations were dictated to Yang Xi (330–c. 386), when he was on Maoshan between 364 and 370 and had repeated spiritual visions of Taoist deities from the Heaven of Upper Clarity (namely, Shangqing 上清). Tao made his first visit to Maoshan (Mount Mao, 茅山) west of Jintan. This mountain was originally called Gouqushan 句曲山, which is the name of a Taoist grotto-heaven in Lake Tai, Jiangsu. Tao travelled eastward to Zhejiang to begin collecting the original revelatory manuscripts in 490.

Reclusion on Maoshan

In 492, at the age of 36, Tao Hongjing resigned his official post at court and withdrew to focus upon scholarship and alchemical experimentation on Maoshan. Emperor Wu sponsored the construction of a three-storied thatched hermitage called Huayang guan (華陽館, "Abbey of Flourishing Yang"). Beginning in 497, Emperor Ming of Southern Qi commissioned Tao to experiment with sword making for the imperial family, and provided him monthly with five pounds of fu-ling mushroom and two pints of white honey so that he could undertake experiments in Taoist dietetics. Tao finished compiling the Shangqing revelatory manuscripts, and edited them into the c. 499 Zhen'gao (真誥, "Declarations of the Perfected") compendium. He also began travelling to famous mountains in search of medical plants and elixirs.

Tao Hongjing and Xiao Yan 蕭衍 (464–549), the founder of the Liang dynasty (502–587), were old friends. At the end of the Qi dynasty Tao presented Xiao with a prognostication text that confirmed he was the legitimate successor to the Qi. When Xiao Yan ascended the throne as Emperor Wu of Liang (r. 502–549) he treated Tao Hongjing with great respect. Note: Tao served under two rulers named Wudi (武帝, Martial Emperor), Emperor Wu of Southern Qi and Emperor Wu of Liang; in order to avoid confusion, the latter one will be called '"Xiao Yan". In 514, Xiao Yan ordered the Zhuyang guan (朱陽館, Abbey of Vermilion Yang) state-sponsored hermitage to be built on Maoshan and Tao installed himself in the following year. The emperor kept up a regular correspondence with Tao, often visited Maoshan to consult on important matters of state, and gave him the title Shanzhong zaixiang (山中宰相, "Grand Councilor of the Mountains"). The devout Buddhist Xiao Yan provided Tao with financial support, exempted his Shangqing school from the anti-Taoist decrees of 504 and 517. In 504, Xiao Yan commissioned Tao to undertake alchemical experiments, and provided him with the required minerals.

Between 508 and 512, Tao journeyed throughout the southeast, in the modern provinces of Fujian, Zhejiang, and Fuzhou, in order to continue making alchemical experiments in the mountains. During his travels Tao met the visionary Zhou Ziliang 周子良 (497–516), who became his disciple. For 18 months, Zhou recorded his spiritual visions from some of the same Maoshan divinities seen by Yang Xi, but they informed Zhou that his destiny was to become an immortal, and he committed ritual suicide with a poisonous elixir composed of mushrooms and cinnabar and died from Chinese alchemical elixir poisoning. Tao found Zhou's manuscripts hidden in a Maoshan grotto, and edited them into the Zhoushi mingtong ji (周氏冥通記, "Record of Master Zhou's Communications with the Unseen"), which he presented to Xiao Yan in 517.

Little is known about the last two decades of Tao's life. His only literary works from this period are two stele inscriptions, one devoted to Xu Mai 許邁 (300–348, a patron of Yang Xi), dating from 518, and one to Ge Xuan, dating from 522. From about 520 until his death in 536 at Maoshan, Tao Hongjing spent much of his time trying to make alchemical elixirs.

Names

Like other Chinese scholar-officials, Tao Hongjing had several names. His surname Tao (陶, lit. "pottery") is fairly common and his given name combines hóng (弘 "grand; magnificent; vast") and jǐng (景 "view; scene, scenery"). Tao chose Tongming (通明, Brightly Lit) for his courtesy name and Huayang Yinju (華陽隱居, "Recluse of Flourishing Yang", referring to the name of his Maoshan abbey) for his pseudonym. Tao Hongjing's contemporaries called him Shanzhong zaixiang (山中宰相, Grand Councilor from the Mountains). He received the posthumous names Zhenbai (貞白, "Integrity") or Zhenbai Xiansheng (貞白先生, "Master Integrity") and Huayang Zhenren (華陽真人, Holy man of Flourishing Yang). Xiao Yan granted him the posthumous title Zhongsan Dafu (中散大夫, "Grand Master of Palace Leisure"). During the Tang dynasty Tao was posthumously made the ninth patriarch of the Shangqing lineage.

Literary works

Tao Hongjing's literary career began at the age of fifteen with his 471 fu-like Xunshan zhi (尋山志, "Rhapsody on Exploring the Mountains"). In his youth, Tao also wrote essays, commentaries, and began compiling a 1000-volume compendium of knowledge, the Xueyuan (學園, "Garden of Learning").

Tao Hongjing was a prolific writer and had extensive knowledge of the Chinese classics, history, literature, numerology, astrology, geography, and traditional Chinese medicine. He compiled some fifty works, such as the Gujin zhoujun ji (古今州郡記, "Notes on ancient and modern provinces and commanderies") and Lunyu jizhu (論語集注, "Collected commentaries on the Lunyu").

In Six Dynasties poetry, Tao Hongjing's best known poem was written in reply to Xiao Yan's question, "Is there anything in the mountains?" It expresses his intention of being a recluse and not leaving the mountains.

You asked me "Is there anything in the mountains",

There are many white clouds above the mountain ridge.

They can only be admired and enjoyed by myself,

But they are not worth holding in my hands and presenting to you, my lord.

The Siku quanshu collection includes three works by Tao Hongjing, the Zhen'gao (真誥, "Declarations of the perfected"), Gujin daojian lu (古今刀劍錄, "Register of ancient and recent swords"), and Zhenling weiye tu (真靈位業圖, "Chart of the Ranks and Functions of the Perfected Immortals"), which was the first Daoist work about theogony.

The Daozang (Daoist Canon) contains many of Tao Hongjing's works, such as the Zhen'gao, Huayang Tao Yinju Ji (華陽陶隱居集, "Hermit Tao's Flourishing Yang Writings"), and Yangxing Yanming Lu (養性延命錄, "Extracts on Nourishing Spiritual Nature and Prolonging Bodily Life").

Religion

Tao Hongjing was educated in Daoist traditions associated with the Daode jing, Zhuangzi, and Ge Hong's writings on seeking immortality. Around 486, Tao received initiation into Lingbao School of Daoism from his master Sun Youyue. He advocated the synthesis of the three teachings (Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism) and was initiated into Buddhism in Ningbo. His Maoshan refuge had two halls, one Daoist and one Buddhist, and Tao alternated his worship rituals on a daily basis.

Buddhism

Tao Hongjing continued his interests in Buddhism and formally took vows in 513. Tanluan (475–542), the founder of Pure Land Buddhism in China, reportedly studied Daoism and herbalism under Tao. Some architectural elements from Tao's tomb, discovered on Maoshan during the Cultural Revolution, bear an inscription calling him "a disciple of the Buddha and of the Most High Lord Laozi".

Daoism

Tao Hongjing was effectively the founder of the Shangqing or Maoshan School (Maoshan zong 茅山宗). From 483, Tao became interested in the Shangqing revelations granted to Yang Xi more than a century earlier and decided to collect the original autograph manuscripts, using calligraphy as one of the criteria to establish their authenticity. He began to gather the manuscripts from Daoists living on Maoshan in 488 and his major acquisitions date from that year to 490 when he travelled to Zhejiang. When Tao retired to Maoshan in 492 he intended to edit the manuscripts, drawing inspiration from Gu Huan's (顧歡, 425?–488?) now-lost Zhenji jing (真跡經, "Scripture on the Traces of the Perfected"), an earlier but in Tao's view unsatisfying account of Yang Xi's revelations. In 498–99, supported by the emperor, Tao compiled and fully annotated the manuscripts. His enterprise resulted in two major works, the esoteric c. 493 Dengzhen yinjue (登真隱訣, "Concealed Instructions for the Ascent to Perfection") and the c. 499 Zhen'gao ("Declarations of the Perfected"), which was intended for wide circulation. Tao also compiled a complete catalogue of Shangqing texts, which is no longer extant. Moreover, the Shangqing revelations inspired Tao to compose a commentary to one of the texts received by Yang Xi, the Jianjing (劍經, "Scripture of the Sword"), which is included in the Taiping Yulan. Later, in 517, Tao edited the Zhoushi mingtong ji (周氏冥通記, "Records of Mr. Zhou's Communications with the Unseen") based on his autograph manuscripts from the revelations bestowed upon his disciple Zhou Ziliang, who had committed suicide in 516 after receiving successive visions of the Perfected.

Protoscience

The sinologist Roger Greatrex describes Ge Hong and Tao Hongjing as "early scientists" who made numerous observations of natural phenomena, which they attempted to accord with the Five Elements theory. In modern terms, Tao experimented with protoscience rather than the scientific method. His methodology and results have significance in the history of science in China. Tao's pharmacological commentary uses the termyàn (驗, "examine; test; verify") to denote medical efficacy of substances.

Pharmacology

Tao Hongjing's father and grandfather were experts in herbal drugs, and he shared their interests in pharmacopoeia and medicine. Shortly after compiling the c. 499 Zhen'gao he completed a major work of pharmacology: the Bencao jing jizhu (本草經集注, "Collected Commentaries to the Materia Medica"), which was a critical reedition of the Han dynasty Shennong Bencao Jing attributed to Shennong, the legendary inventor of agriculture and pharmacology. Although Tao's original commentary is no longer extant, it is widely quoted in later materia medica, and portions were discovered in the Dunhuang manuscripts.

Tao's preface explains that beginning in the Wei-Jin period, copies of the Shennong bencao jing text had become corrupted, and contemporary medical practitioners "are not able to clearly comprehend information and as a result their knowledge has become shallow". He further explains that his commentary combines previous material from the Shengnong bencao jing (which Tao refers to as Benjing) and other early pharmacological sources, material from his Mingyi bielu (名醫別錄, "Supplementary Records of Famous Physicians"), and information gathered from alchemical texts, notably what he calls xianjing (仙經, "classics on immortality elixirs") and daoshu (道書, "books on Daoist techniques"). While the early pharmacopeia had only graded substances into superior, medium and inferior, Tao rearranged them into a classification that continues to be used today: minerals, trees and plants, insects and animals, fruits, cultivated vegetables, and grains. For each substance in the Bencao jing jizhu, Tao gives information on the availability, sources, alternative nomenclature, appearance, similarities and confusions, suitability for medicinal usage, effectiveness, quotations from classical and other sources, and errors in existing texts. Tao is considered "the effective founder of critical pharmacology in China", and his editions and commentaries were "painstaking productions, using, for example, different colored inks to distinguish text, original annotations, and his own editorial additions".

In addition, he wrote other pharmacological texts including Tao Yinju Bencao (陶隱居本草, "Hermit Tao's Pharmacopeia"), Yao Zongjue (藥總訣, "General Medicinal Formulae"), and Yangsheng Yanming Lu (養生延命錄, "Extracts on Nourishing Spiritual Nature and Prolonging Bodily Life").

External alchemy

In 497, Emperor Ming assigned Tao Hongjing to experiment with sword foundry, and provided him with an assistant, Huang Wenqing a blacksmith from the imperial workshops, who became a Shangqing initiate in 505.

The Chinese associated metallurgy with alchemy, both of which used furnaces.

Around 504, Tao changed to researching waidan (lit. "outer alchemy", preparing herbal and chemical elixirs of immortality), and studied several methods that he successively discarded because of unavailable ingredients, even with imperial support. Eventually, in 505, he decided to compound the jiuzhuan huandan (九轉還丹, Reverted Elixir in Nine Cycles). In spite of long research and preparatory work, the compounding failed twice, on New Year's Day 506 and 507. Tao blamed these failures on the lack of genuine isolation, since Maoshan had a large community of permanent residents and their families as well as numerous visitors on pilgrimages. Disappointed, Tao decided to leave Maoshan incognito and engaged in a five-year journey to the southeast, from 508 to 512. Another attempt to produce the elixir failed during those years. The History of the Southern Dynasties records that Tao eventually managed to compound a white powder elixir.

Hongjing had obtained supernatural talismans and secret instructions. He considered that he might succeed in achieving an elixir, but was hindered by the lack of ingredients. The emperor supplied him with gold, cinnabar, malachite, realgar, and the rest, and he subsequently compounded a Sublimated Elixir (feidan 飛丹). It was the color of frost or snow, and when ingested made the body weightless. When the emperor had consumed this elixir, there were confirmatory effects, and he honored Tao all the more.

生平

在世

陶弘景為江東名門，按其侄陶翊的《華陽隱居先生本起錄》，弘景為陶濬的七世孫。祖陶隆，南朝宋隨孝武帝征戰有功，封晉安侯。父陶貞寶，官至江夏孝昌相。弘景自九歲開始讀《禮記》《尚書》《易經》《論語》等儒家經典。十歲得葛洪《神仙傳》，「晝夜研尋，便有養生之志」。他擅長寫作，十五歲作〈尋山志〉，表達傾慕隱逸生活。20餘歲時，陶弘景投靠當權的蕭道成，479年蕭道成篡位後，獲授豫章王侍郎，謝絕受職。481年父親陶貞寶被妾侍所殺，此事使陶弘景決意終身不婚。482年，陶弘景出任齊高帝第16子蕭鏗的侍讀，獲授振武將軍。他受到權貴的排擠，鬱鬱不得志，491年，獲授奉朝請，陶弘景自覺官職卑微，仕途失意，便決意辭官歸隱。492年，上「解官表」辭職，隱居句容縣句曲山，自號「華陽隱居」，官員士人為他送別，盛況空前。

隱居

陶弘景與弟子在茅山興建華陽上下二館，草創時期，情況相當艱難。493年齊明帝要求陶弘景去參拜各名嶽大山，祈求天下太平，前後3年。其後明帝常派使者來找陶弘景，其聲名愈來愈大。好友沈約出任東陽太守時，多次邀請陶弘景出山，陶弘景都謝絕。他回到茅山後建造一幢三層樓房，自己住在最上層，弟子住中層，下層則用以接待來客，在山中專心整理道教典籍，寫成《本草經集注》等著作。501年蕭衍起兵時，陶弘景上表慶賀歡迎，並援引圖讖，獻上國號「梁」，當時蕭衍極信任陶弘景，就國家大事一月數次遣使入山向陶弘景諮詢，時人稱陶弘景為「山中宰相」。蕭衍曾邀請陶弘景出山參政，陶弘景畫了兩頭牛，其一在草叢間散步，另一則頭戴金籠，被人用繩子牽著，用棍驅趕，表明不願下山。

505年，梁武帝請求陶弘景為他煉製金丹，陶弘景在中茅山覓地煉丹，翌年初開鼎，未成。508年，陶弘景改名王整，悄悄離開茅山，輾轉去到永嘉青嶂山繼續煉丹，在當地收了周子良為弟子，並於511年經海路到達霍山。霍山在今福建寧德縣霍童山，相傳是仙人大茅君與魏夫人所在之處。次年陶弘景離開霍山回到浙東海島木溜嶼，梁武帝遣使召回陶弘景。515年，移居梁武帝為他修建位於茅山的朱陽館。515年其弟子周子良自殺，留下大量通靈記錄，陶弘景整理成《周氏冥通記》，加上注釋。520年，陶弘景受蕭綱邀請到京口，談論數天；527年，獻上善勝、威勝二刀給梁武帝；536年過世，年八十一。朝廷追贈予中散大夫之職，賜號貞白先生。

宗教信仰

道教

陶弘景10歲時讀葛洪的《神仙傳》，憧憬神仙的世界，12歲時看見郗愔親筆書寫的《太清諸丹法》，便欣然有志煉丹，20餘歲時開始服食仙藥，後來拜孫遊嶽為師，接受道教的符圖經法。484年，陶弘景忽然得病，7日不省人事，不飲不食，期間夢中有神秘體驗，目睹神界仙境的景物，促使他日後決心修道，由此確立道教信仰，尊崇東晉時楊羲、許謐、許翽三君遺下的經文。自此他一意尋求楊、許三君的上清經真跡，遊歷浙、越各地，從其他道士及士大夫處搜集楊、許的手跡，編成《真誥》和《登真隱訣》二書，整理上清派的經典，以及上清經所奉諸神的名號。他高度崇拜上清經，甚至相信誦經萬遍，毋須服藥就能升仙。

上清經外，陶弘景也傳授《老君六甲符》、《西嶽公禁山符》、《五嶽真形圖》、《三皇文》及《靈寶五符》這5種道教經書符圖。他搜集各種服食仙方，編成《太清草木集要》2卷、《太清諸丹集要》3卷、《合丹節度》4卷、《服餌方》3卷，又編成《養生延命錄》2卷，主要取材自張湛等人編輯的《養生要集》，徵引書籍30多種，採摭前人各家的養生言論。養生思想方面，陶弘景主張形神雙修，養神和煉形並重，保持形神統一，以致長壽長生。修道者應服食藥石以煉形，吸收天地精氣以養神，以和氣洗滌氣質，以德行止息爭辯。為了保存形神，人應清心寡慾，減少思慮，保持內心和諧，控制七情六慾，並保持恰當的飲食和生活方式。

煉丹方面，陶弘景採用「九轉丹」方，從505年至525年，7次起爐煉丹，據說最後終於成功了，但他對煉丹一事沒有十足信心，當初受梁武帝所託也感為難，始終沒有試食。他認為在茅山煉丹，過於接近民居，以致無成，因此他離開茅山再找遠離人煙的地方煉丹。陶弘景相信自己會升為仙官，其弟子周子良能夠通神，曾獲神靈告知陶弘景數年後將仙遊，並得到蓬萊都水監一職，陶弘景對此深信不疑，預早營造自己的墓室。

佛教

陶弘景兼修佛道二教，調和三教。南遊霍山回到茅山後，他對佛教更為信奉，513年，夢見佛祖授予他勝力菩薩之名，於是到鄮縣阿育王塔受五大戒。他在茅山設立佛道二堂，隔日朝拜，並在茅山建造菩提白塔。他自稱「勝力菩薩捨身」、「釋迦佛陀弟子」。晚年時，北方淨土宗始祖曇鸞慕名南來就學，陶弘景授予本草書和仙術，又向曇鸞學習《觀無量壽經》。遺囑並用佛道二教的衣飾安葬。

學問

文藝

陶弘景博學多才，「一事不知，以為深恥」，琴棋書畫都擅長，他所作的〈水仙賦〉，沈約認為深不可測。他能寫出山川之美，其遊記〈尋山志〉敘述脫離世俗，遊覽山水，尋訪仙藥的快樂，詳細描寫深山幽谷的景色；他曾作詩給齊帝回答「山中何所有」：

:::山中何所有，嶺上多白雲。只可自怡悅，不堪持寄君。

經學方面，陶弘景保持東漢經學家的風格，曾註解《毛詩序》、鄭玄《三禮序》、《孝經》和《論語》；其註解屬於訓詁章句的範圍，不同於當時南朝講究義理的學風。史學方面，陶弘景撰有《帝王年曆》5卷，以《竹書紀年》為年代依據；地理方面，撰有《古今州郡記》，兵書方面，撰有《真人水鏡》10卷及《握鏡》1卷，古籍研究方面，他撰有《老子》注4卷、《鬼穀子》注3卷。陶弘景也是個書法家，工於隸書，其書法有王羲之的風格，列入庾肩吾《書品》中共九品的第六品；唐代書法家評論他的書法有骨氣而銳利。他特別擅長於鑑別王羲之作品的真偽，曾替梁武帝鑑定王羲之的書蹟，認為古今書法中，鍾繇第一，王羲之第二，王獻之第三。

科學

醫學方面，陶弘景精通藥性，常救人濟世，他繼承祖父陶隆和父親陶貞寶的本草學知識，校訂《神農本草經》，附加《名醫別錄》中的新藥，撰有《本草經集注》7卷、《效驗方》5卷及《補闕肘後百一方》3卷。《補闕肘後百一方》補充葛洪的《肘後救卒方》而成，有藥方101首。當時《神農本草經》頗有錯亂，陶弘景釐定當中藥物365種，並增加《名醫別錄》的365種，合計730種藥物，形成有條理有系統的《本草經集注》，書中以紅黑二色墨點註明藥物的熱性或寒性，總結前人的用藥經驗；《神農本草經》的正文用紅字書寫，來自《名醫別錄》及陶弘景自己增加的內容則用黑字。他放棄將藥物按療效分為三品的分類方法，首創把藥物按「自然範疇」分為玉石、草、穀、蔬、木、果、蟲獸7類。

陶弘景亦精通天文，製作渾天儀，高3尺許，能自動運轉，著有《天文星經》5卷、《天儀說要》1卷。他又撰有《古今刀劍錄》1卷，親自鑄煉刀劍，曾呈獻兩把寶刀給梁武帝，梁元帝蕭繹打算以陶弘景所鑄寶劍陪葬。

地位

道教史上，陶弘景整理經典，首創編製道教的神譜，集上清派之大成，功績巨大，受元代茅山宗追尊為第九代宗師，被視為茅山派的創始人。學術史上，陶弘景被視為百科全書式的學者，其「一事不知，以為深恥」的求學態度，特別受到清代考據學家的推許。科技史上，陶弘景被譽為中國歷史上最著名的醫生、博物學家和煉丹術士之一，他也是出色的植物學家，能正確描述植物的外表特點，其《本草經集注》的植物分類系統，比羅馬帝國時代迪奧科里斯的經典著作《藥物論》更合乎邏輯，後來唐代《新修本草》和明代李時珍《本草綱目》的分類法，都建基於《本草經集注》發展而來。