Personal Overview
Tao Hongjing (456-536), named Tongming, also known as Huayang Jushi, was a native of Dantu Moling (now Jiangning County, Jiangsu Province) during the Liang Dynasty in the Southern Dynasties. He was a Taoist thinker, medical scientist, alchemist, and writer in the Qi and Liang dynasties of Southern China. He lived in seclusion in Huayang in his later years and was given the posthumous title of Mr. Zhenbai. One of the representatives of the Maoshan School of Taoism during the Southern Qi and Nanliang Dynasties in the Southern Dynasties, he was also a famous medical scientist. A native of Moling, Danyang (now Nanjing, Jiangsu). He was extremely smart since he was a child. He wrote "Xunshan Zhi" at the age of fifteen. At the age of twenty, he was invited to serve as the attendant of the kings, and later became the general of Zuowei Palace. At the age of thirty-six, Liang Dynasty established Qi and lived in seclusion in Huayang Cave in Juqu Mountain (Maoshan). Emperor Wu of Liang had known Tao Hongjing in his early years. After he became emperor, he wanted him to serve as an official and assist in government affairs. Tao then drew a picture of two cows, one grazing freely, the other wearing a golden halter and being led by the nose by a man holding a whip. Emperor Wu of Liang knew what he meant as soon as he saw him. Although he was not an official, he kept writing letters and often discussed important court affairs with him. He was known as the "Prime Minister of the Mountains". His thoughts were derived from Lao-Zhuang philosophy and Ge Hong's Taoism of Immortals, and were mixed with Confucian and Buddhist views. Gongcao Li's running script is particularly wonderful. He has done some research on calendar calculation, geography, medicine, etc. He once compiled the ancient "Shen Nong Baicao Jing" and added new drugs used by famous doctors in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. He compiled the seven-volume "Compendium of Materia Medica", which contains 730 kinds of drugs. He also pioneered the drug classification method that is still used today, using jade, grass, The classification of insects, animals, fruits, vegetables, and rice has a certain impact on the development of herbal medicine (the original book has been lost, and a fragment of it has been found in Dunhuang). Its content has been recorded in herbal books of the past dynasties and has been passed down. He also wrote "Zhen Gao", "Zhen Ling Position and Industry Map", "Tao's Effective Prescriptions", "One Hundred Prescriptions for Buque Ji Hou", "Tao Yinju's Materia Medica", "Yao Zong Jue", etc. His article "Thank you to the book" has been included in junior high school textbooks.
Tao Hongjing has conducted in-depth research in medicine, alchemy, astronomy and calendar, geography, military science, sword making, classics, literature and art, Taoist rituals, etc., and his contribution to pharmacology is the greatest. This is again related to alchemy. He organized and revised the "Shen Nong's Materia Medica" at that time, added 365 kinds of medicines and included them in the "Famous Doctors", and compiled the "Compendium of Materia Medica".
One of Tao Hongjing's contributions to chemistry is to record the flame analysis method of potassium nitrate: "Someone got a substance in the past. Its color and theory are similar to that of saltpeter. It is like holding snow but not ice. Burn it with force The so-called "purple green smoke" is a unique property of potassium salt. Tao Hongjing's record is the earliest record of potassium salt identification in the history of world chemistry.
Tao Hongjing has been engaged in alchemy experiments for a long time. Emperor Wu of Liang gave him gold, cinnabar, zengqing, realgar and other raw materials to make elixirs. He mastered a lot of chemical knowledge during the alchemy process. For example, mercury can form amalgam with certain metals, and amalgam can be used for plating. It is pointed out that mercury "can digest gold and silver into mud, which is why people use it to plate things". Hufen (basic lead carbonate) and Huangdan (lead tetraoxide) are not natural products, but are made from lead. It is pointed out that Hu Fen is "made by melting lead"; Huang Dan is "made by boiling lead".
Tao Hongjing wrote many books in his life, about 223 articles. Among them, on medicine, there are seven volumes of "Compendium of Materia Medica", three volumes of "One Hundred Prescriptions Behind the Cubicle", one volume of "Dream Book", five volumes of "Effective Medicinal Prescriptions", one volume of "Methods for Taking Herbs and Miscellaneous Medicines", One volume of "Secret Recipes for Breaking the Valley", one volume of "The Key to Eliminating Three Chis", one volume of "Submissive Qi Daoyin", two volumes of "Records of Nourishing Nature and Prolonging Life", one volume of "Methods to Eliminate Disasters in the World", and one volume of "Collection of Medicine Secrets" wait. Most of them have been lost.
Hongjing was smart since he was a child. He read Ge Hong's "The Legend of Immortals" at the age of ten and determined to keep in good health. When he was less than twenty, he served as an attendant to the kings. Although he is a public servant, he is not sociable and concentrates on studying. At the age of thirty-six, he resigned and lived in seclusion. Emperor Wu of Liang had known Tao Hongjing in his early years. After he became emperor, he wanted him to serve as an official and assist in government affairs. Tao then drew a picture of two cows, one grazing freely, the other wearing a golden halter and being led by the nose by a man holding a whip. Emperor Wu of Liang knew what he meant as soon as he saw him. Although he was not an official, he kept writing letters and was known as the "Prime Minister of the Mountains".
Hong Jing was a man, and the "Book of Liang·Chu Shi Biography" said: "Yuan Tong modest and sincere, came from the underworld, the heart is like a mirror, and he is easy to understand when he encounters things." It is also used as a celestial image, three feet high, engraved with the twenty-eight degrees of the sky, and the seven rays of the sky. It is not only used for astronomical calendars, but also helpful for spiritual practice. I once dreamed that the Buddha received the Bodhisattva and was named Victory Bodhisattva, so he went to the Ashoka Pagoda to swear by himself and receive the five major precepts. He died in the second year of Datong at the age of eighty-five (some say eighty-one years old). His color remained unchanged, he could bend and apply freely, and his fragrance filled the mountain and lingered for several days. He is knowledgeable and has written many works, which are listed below: one hundred volumes of "Xueyuan", twelve volumes of "The Classic of Filial Piety" and prefaces to "The Analects of Confucius", one volume of "Preface to Three Rites", annotations of "Shangshu" and "The Biography of Mao's Poems" 》One volume, 〈Laozi Internal and External Collection》〉four volumes, 〈Jade Chamber》〉three volumes, 〈Three Kingdoms Praise》〉one volume, 〈Baopuzi Annotation〉〉 20 volumes, "Shiyu Que" "Characters" in two volumes, "Records of Ancient and Modern Prefectures and Counties" in three volumes, and "Pictures of the Western Regions" in three volumes, "Almanac of the Emperors" in five volumes, "Continuation of the History of King Kang of Linchuan" in two volumes, and "Taipei" "Gongsun Wu's Brief Annotations" in two volumes, "Yuan Yi Ji Yao" in three volumes, "Qi Yao New and Old Arithmetic Numbers" in two volumes, "Wind, Rain, Drought, Famine and Epidemics" in one volume, "Miscellaneous Matters in Arithmetic and Art" One volume, "Divination Summary", one volume, "Lingqi Secret", one volume, "Calendar of good and bad luck" Ten volumes of imperial edicts, one volume of "Combined Pills and Various Methods", seven volumes of "Compendium of Materia Medica", three volumes of "One hundred squares behind the elbow", and one volume of "Dream Book" , 〈〈Effective Application Prescription〉〉 in five volumes, 〈Ji Jin Dan Yao Bai Prescription〉〉 in one volume, 〈Taking mica and various stone prescriptions〉〉 in one volume, 〈Methods of taking herbs and miscellaneous herbs〉〉 in one volume, 〈〈 One volume of "Secret Recipe for Breaking the Valley", "One volume of "Essential Methods for Eliminating Three Corpses", "One Volume of "Convincing Qi Daoyin", and "One Volume of Methods for Eliminating Disasters in the Human World".
According to Li Yanshou's "Southern History" of the Tang Dynasty: "He wrote ten more unfinished volumes, but only his disciples obtained them." "Fu Xing Jue Zang Fu Medication Essentials" hidden in the Dunhuang Stone Chamber, Be one of them. So far, it is the only medical document that records the content of "The Decoction Classic". It puts forward the outline of the dialectics of the five internal organs and builds a bridge between "Treatise on Febrile Diseases" and "The Decoction Classic". It can be regarded as a pilgrimage. A classic masterpiece that continues the unique knowledge and creates peace for all generations. He has written many books. In addition to the ones mentioned above, there are also "Zhen Gao", "Deng Zhen Yin Jue", "Yang Xing Yan Ming Lu", "Collection of Jin Dan Huang Bai Fang", "Yao Zong Jue", "Huayang Tao" Seclusion Collection" and so on. He is good at calligraphy and painting, and is proficient in medical skills. His calligraphy skills are based on Cao Li, and his paintings are pure. His calligraphy and paintings include "Two Niu Picture", "Mountain Dwelling Picture" and "痗 Crane Inscription".