Where There Is Xuan, There Is Unlimited Happiness

Ge Hong who lived between Western Jin Dynasty and Eastern Jin Dynasty was learned and versatile , and wrote many books. He carried on and summarized the traditions of Fang-Xian Taoism and Huang-Lao Taoism from Qin Dynasty and Han Dynasty, and then established the theological system and theoretical foundation for the celestial Taoism. So Ge Hong and his thoughts about celestial beings have been a theory we can't evade if we want to study the development of Taoism, and his theory constructed with the core of "Xuan" has also been an important part to the study of the philosophy of Taoism. This dissertation discusses Ge Hong's belief in celestial beings from the viewpoint of ultimate concern and tries to explain that Ge Hong's thoughts of celestial beings are reflections on the states and values of individual existence with a high altitude of ultimate concern. Individual existence can achieve the direct unity of the state and value of existence by ultimately concerning the ultimate existence: "Xuan" through the transcendence of real existence.This dissertation begins with the discussion of the concept of "Xuan" for the reason that "Xuan" is not only the ultimate existence of Ge Hong's thought system but the ultimate existence of individual existence, i.e. "Xuan" is not only the basis of individual existence in the world, but the basis of individual transcending the world That's the foundation of Ge Hong's belief in celestial beings. That "individual obtains Tao is a celestial being" means individual can transcend the real world by ultimate concern about ultimate existence, so the images of celestial beings link up the divison of the subject and object of concern in Ge Hong's thought of ultimate concern. The two basic features of the images of celestial beings: long life and freedom, not only express the newly existence states after obtaining Tao but show the ultimate values of individual life. So celestial beings imply the direct unity of states and values of individual existence.Those beings transcending real world unite in an special order the world of celestial beings whom Ge Hong had described. It's the unit of particularity and generalization, in which perpetual happiness and freedom form the basic features of the surpassing state, and the diversified, special and concrete happiness show the distinctive enchantment.In fact, the world of celestial beings is a concrete description of Ge Hong's thought of ultimate concern.Also this paper analyzes Ge Hong' answers to other modes of values he encountered, such as the absorption and transcendence to Confucious, the objection and criticsm to Xuan Xue, and the totally negative prohibition to folk Taoism. It's my task to explain that Ge Hong's thought of celestial beings is coherent, and the reflections on the states and values of individual life is a subject from beginning to end, and His answers to the above value states also embody his thought of ultimate concern.we can summarize Ge Hong's core thought of ultimate concern in a word: "where there is Xuan, there is unlimited happiness". What "Xuan" means here is an ultimate exitence, what "is" means is individual's conformance and concern to ultimate exitence, and we think "unlimited hapiness" express his final aim of ultimate concern .