论葛洪的思想、著述及其价值

Ge Hong's Thoughts,Works and Their Value

葛洪生于名门世家,虽青少年时家道中落,仍发愤读儒家经典,以继承家风、做一个正直人士为愿望。然西晋王朝内部争斗不断,仕途险恶,其青年时的入世思想渐去渐淡,不与权豪世俗之人往来,撰《良吏传》、《隐逸传》,希望士人正气不至毁堕不传;撰《抱朴子外篇》以正世风;又两次筛选、缩编医书以济贫救急。其慕巢、许而决不出身,所尊崇的儒家思想非思孟一派而是荀况一派,所接受的道家思想非老庄而是黄老。其四十岁以前以儒家为主,后期以道家为主,又转入道教的理论营构与养炼术的探索,思想转变的原因是:时值乱世,单纯的儒家理论已无法使人心理平衡和行为守正。他一生的作为与探索,都表明了他在乱世中对社会道德与公众责任心的坚守。

Ge Hong was born as gentlefolk.As his family declined when he was a teenager,Ge still worked diligently to study Confucian classics,inheriting his family tradition to be honest gentry.However,his pragmatic Confucian thoughts were gradually fading away owing to the constant inner conflicts in the Western Jin upper society as well as the perilous official career during his youthful time.At that time,he didn't associate with powerful people and instead wrote books like Liang Li Zhuan(Good official biography),and Baopuzi: Extra Chapter,in the hope that the moral courage of the intellectuals would be maintained,and medical books were selected and simplified to help the poor.He admired Chao Fu and Xu You(two famous hermits in ancient China) and decided not to get involved in political affairs.He worshiped the thoughts of Zisi and Mengzi) instead of that of Xun Kuang.The Taoist thoughts that he accepted was Huang-Lao instead of Lao Zhuang.He believed in Confucian thoughts before he was forty years old.Later he turned to Taoism and constructed the Taoist theory as well as exploring the health alchemy theory.What caused the change is that the pure Confucian theory couldn't help people live in peace with themselves because of numerous depressing social facts.In general,what he had done through his whole life shows his insistence on social morality and public responsibilities.